The effect of temperature dependence on measuring the thermal conductivity of nanoparticle suspension

This paper reports on measurements of the effective thermal conductivities for deionized water at room temperature with inclusion of 50 nm CuO nanoparticles with concentration lower than 0.6% by volume. The enhancement of heat transfer by evaluating the temperature effect on thermal conductivity was discussed. The analysis with governed equations of heat and mass in nanoparticle suspension (nanofluid) indicates that the spatial distribution of nanoparticles and temperature may influence each other greatly, and thus on thermal conductivity. The effectiveness of quasi-steady-state method for measuring thermal conductivity of nanofluid was evaluated. It shows that an appropriate heating flux and temperature difference would be needed to measure the thermal conductivity of nanofluid with this method.