Modeling of TiO2-water Nanofluid Effect on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop

This paper reports a numerical study on the force convection heat transfer and flow characteristics of a nanofluid containing water with various volume fractions of TiO2 (0.002<phi<0.02). The heat transfer coefficient (Nusselt number) and pressure drop of the nanofluid in a horizontal copper tube, under turbulent flow conditions (8000<Re<51000) with a single phase approach were investigated. The Nusselt number was enhanced with increasing the Reynolds number and nanoparticles volume fractions. Besides, with improving the heat transfer coefficient, the pressure drop was increased by using nanofluid. Modeling outcomes were compared with the experimental data. This comparison showed good agreement between the experimental data and the simulated results. In addition, two equations were developed to estimate Nusselt number and friction factor based on the dimensionless numbers.