EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A NANOFLUID (Al2O3/WATER) IN A PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

A plate heat exchanger (PHE) is lightweight, compact in volume, and conducts good heat exchange. It is also continually being made safer and more reliable. By maximizing resource use and permitting heat reuse, PHE saves energy. Using nanofluids as working fluids has become a significant and modern technique for enhancing the performance of PHE. The operation of PHE using nanofluid (Al2O3/water) at various volume concentrations was investigated in the present research. This experimental study utilized a compact Armfield plate heat exchanger with a dedicated service unit. Five volume concentrations (0.2%, 0.5%, 0.8%, 1.3%, and 1.8%) were used in this research. The working fluid is described by a Reynolds number between 100 and 800. By analyzing the variables in the experiments, a set of factors can be calculated to determine the performance of the fluid used. The overall heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, friction factor, and Nusselt number were calculated. Based on the amount of nanoparticles in the base fluid, the experimental findings showed that nanofluids had a substantial impact on the process of heat transfer. Depending on the nanofluid's volume concentration, the Nusselt number rises from 4% to 36% as compared to the case with pure distilled water. An increase in the volume concentration of the nanofluids increases the friction factor and pressure drop. An empirical correlation is proposed to calculate the Nu number as a function of the Re number and the volumetric concentration of the nanofluid (Al2O3/water).