PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF EFFECTIVE VISCOSITY MODELS FOR NANOFLUIDS

Viscosity is an important consideration in the application of nanofluids as heat transfer fluids. Various models have been developed to predict the viscosity of nanofluids. The accuracy of these models is of important benefit in determining the rheological performance of nanofluids, particularly in conditions which vary continuously. In this paper, a parametric analysis is undertaken to investigate the degree of variability between empirical data and model predictions. It was found that there is high variability in the compared results, which suggests that a wide range of constitutive factors need to be incorporated into the models in order to account adequately for the rheological behaviour of nanofluids.