Comparison and critical analysis of experimental results and correlations for thermal conductivity of nanofluids

Suspensions of nanoparticles in liquids, known recently as nanofluids, have generated considerable interest for their potential to enhance the heat transfer in thermal systems, and reduce the possibility of erosion, sedimentation and clogging that plagued earlier solid-liquid mixtures with larger particles. Nanofluids have attracted enormous interest from research and industry due to high thermal conductivity and their potential for high rate of heat exchange incurring a little penalty in pressure drop. It has been found that the thermal conductivity of nanofluids is notably higgher than that of the base fluid. Many attempts in this field have been made to formulate appropriate effective thermal conductivity. The goal of this study is to evaluate and compare several experimental results for thermal conductivity obtained in the literature with correlations developed to predict this property in order to determine the best correlation that fit reasonably the experimental data.