Experimental Study on the Thermal Properties and Stability of Hybrid Nanofluids and Evaluation of Its Heat Exchange Efficiency

In recent years, hybrid nanofluids, as a new kind of working fluid, have been widely studied because they possessing better heat transfer performance than single component nanofluids when prepared with proper constituents and proportions. The application of hybrid nanofluids in nuclear power system as a working fluid is an effective way of improving the capability of In-Vessel Retention (IVR) when the reactor is in a severe accident. In order to obtain hybrid nanofluids with excellent heat transfer performance, three kinds of hybrid nanofluids with high thermal conductivity are measured by transient plane source method, and their viscosity and stability are also investigated experimentally. These experimental results are used to evaluate the heat transfer efficiency of hybrid nanofluids. The results show that: (1) The thermal conductivity of hybrid nanofluids increases with increasing temperature and volume concentration. When compared to the base fluid, the thermal conductivity of Al2O3-CuO/H2O, Al2O3-C/H2O and AlN-TiO2/H2O nanofluids at 0.25% volume concentration increased by 36%, 24%, and 22%, respectively. (2) Surfactants can improve the stability of hybrid nanofluids. The Zeta potential value is related to the thermal conductivity of the hybrid nanofluids, and it could be used to explain the relationship between the thermal conductivity of the hybrid nanofluids and the dispersion. It also could provide a reference for subsequent screening of high thermal conductivity nanofluids. (3) The addition of C/H2O can effectively reduce the dynamic viscosity coefficient of hybrid nanofluids. (4) The analysis of heat transfer efficiency of the hybrid nanofluids found that both Al2O3-CuO/H2O and Al2O3-C/H2O have better heat transfer ability than water under certain mixing conditions. This study is conducive to further optimizing hybrid nanofluids and its application to the In-Vessel Retention in severe reactor accidents.