Synthesis, characterization, stability and thermal conductivity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and eco-friendly jatropha seed oil based nanofluid: An experimental investigation and modeling approach

A Bibliometric Analysis of Research and Development of Nanofluids

Nanofluid concept was defined over 28 years ago. Since then, a veritable science has been developed around this concept. From 1993 until 2020, up to 18021 articles were published in high-quality journals worldwide. The high scientific interest in nanofluids lies in their exceptional thermophysical properties and their possibilities to design more efficient processes and systems. Although the numerous articles, there is a lack of information on the scope, its social and economic impact, or its future trends. This study provides an overview through bibliometric methods that allow better knowledge of the research field. The main goal is to offer a more generalized and strategic vision to help those researchers interested in this topic with accurate information on its impact. In addition, this study helps to maximize international collaborations and provide relevant information to decision-makers. The analysis reveals that research in nanofluids in the last decade has experienced a great specialization in a wide variety of new applications, reaching more new sectors. The main research communities, the most productive authors, or the most relevant journals are some of the analyzed metrics that provide key parameters for contextualization, allowing a clear vision of the current state of the nanofluids research field.

Thermo-Optical Characterization of Therminol55 Based MXene-Al2O3 Hybridized Nanofluid and New Correlations for Thermal Properties

The current research focuses on formulating a new class of Therminol55-based nanofluids that incorporates an MXene/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite as the new class of dispersant at three different concentrations of 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 wt%. The optical and thermophysical properties of the formulated nanofluid are assessed experimentally. Zeta potential and FTIR analyses are employed to evaluate the composite particles' surface charge and chemical stability, respectively. Thermal conductivity is observed to increase with nanoparticle loading and maximally augmented by 61.8% for 0.20 wt%, whereas dynamic viscosity increased with adding nanoparticles but remarkably dropped with increasing temperature. In addition, the prepared TH55/MXene + Al₂O₃ samples are thermally stable up to 200 °C according to TGA analyses. Moreover, the proposed correlations for the thermal conductivity and viscosity showed good agreement with the experimental data. The study’s findings suggest that the formulated nanofluid could be a viable contender to be used as a heat transfer fluid in the thermal sector.

Effect of Temperature, Syngas Space Velocity and Catalyst Stability of Co-Mn/CNT Bimetallic Catalyst on Fischer Tropsch Synthesis Performance

The effect of reaction temperature, syngas space velocity, and catalyst stability on Fischer-Tropsch reaction was investigated using a fixed-bed microreactor. Cobalt and Manganese bimetallic catalysts on carbon nanotubes (CNT) support (Co-Mn/CNT) were synthesized via the strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) method. For testing the performance of the catalyst, Co-Mn/CNT catalysts with four different manganese percentages (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%) were synthesized. Synthesized catalysts were then analyzed by TEM, FESEM, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), and zeta potential sizer. In this study, the temperature was varied from 200 to 280 °C and syngas space velocity was varied from 0.5 to 4.5 L/g.h. Results showed an increasing reaction temperature from 200 °C to 280 °C with reaction pressure of 20 atm, the Space velocity of 2.5 L/h.g and H2/CO ratio of 2, lead to the rise of CO % conversion from 59.5% to 88.2% and an increase for C5+ selectivity from 83.2% to 85.8%. When compared to the other catalyst formulation, the catalyst sample with 95% cobalt and 5% manganese on CNT support (95Co5Mn/CNT) performed more stable for 48 h on stream.

Comparison between multi-walled carbon nanotubes and titanium dioxide nanoparticles as additives on performance of turbine meter oil nano lubricant

This research aims of compare the impact of the mass fraction of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nano additive on the tribological and thermophysical attributes of turbine meter oil. These attributes include the average friction coefficient, pressure drop, wear, flash point, pour point, relative viscosity, kinematics viscosity, and viscosity index. The pressure drops and the average friction coefficient inside the copper tube were simulated and compared with experimental results. In this study, for the synthesis of nano lubricants from turbine meter oil as a pure fluid and from MWCNTs and TiO₂ as nano additives in the mass fraction of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 wt.% and from oleic acid and Triton x100 as surfactants were utilized. The results illustrated that the wear depth of copper pins in the presence of nano lubricant with 0.4 wt.% of MWCNTs and 0.1 wt.% TiO₂ was improved by 88.26% and 71.43%, respectively. Increasing 0.3 wt.% of TiO₂ and MWCNTs into the oil caused to improvement in viscosity index. The simulation data and experimental data for the pressure drop were closer together and indicated a minor error that the maximum error is less than 10%.

Experimental Study of Thermal Properties and Dynamic Viscosity of Graphene Oxide/Oil Nano-Lubricant

This experimental study was carried out based on the nanotechnology approach to enhance the efficacy of engine oil. Atomic and surface structures of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles were investigated by using a field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The nano lubricant was produced by using a two-step method. The stability of nano lubricant was analyzed through dynamic light scattering. Various properties such as thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity, flash point, cloud point and freezing point were investigated and the results were compared with the base oil (Oil- SAE-50). The results show that the thermal conductivity of nano lubricant was improved compared to the base fluid. This increase was correlated with progressing temperature. The dynamic viscosity was increased by variations in the volume fraction and reached its highest value of 36% compared to the base oil. The cloud point and freezing point are critical factors for oils, especially in cold seasons, so the efficacy of nano lubricant was improved maximally by 13.3% and 12.9%, respectively, compared to the base oil. The flash point was enhanced by 8%, which remarkably enhances the usability of the oil. It is ultimately assumed that this nano lubricant to be applied as an efficient alternative in industrial systems.

Carbon Nanotori Structures for Thermal Transport Applications on Lubricants

Carbon nanostructures have been recently applied to improve industrial manufacturing processes and other materials; such is the case for lubricants used in the metal-mechanic industry. Nanotori are toroidal carbon nanostructures, obtained from chemical treatment of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). This material has been shown to have superb anti-wear and friction reduction performance, having the ability to homogeneously disperse within water in concentrations between 1–2 wt.%. Obtained results of these novel nanostructures under water mixtures and novel additives were a set point to our studies in different industrial lubricants. In the present work, nanotori structures have been applied in various filler fractions as reinforcement to evaluate the behavior in thermal transport of water-based (WB) and oil-based (OB) lubricants. Temperature-dependent experiments to evaluate the thermal conductivity were performed using a thermal water bath ranging from room temperature up to 323 K. The obtained results showed a highly effective and favorable improvement in the heat transport of both lubricants; oil-based results were better than water-based results, with nanotori structures increasing the lubricants’ thermal transport properties by 70%, compared to pure lubricant.

Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids: A Review on Prediction Models, Controversies and Challenges

In recent years, the nanofluids (NFs) have become the main candidates for improving or even replacing traditional heat transfer fluids. The possibility of NFs to be used in various technological applications, from renewable energies to nanomedicine, has made NFs and their thermal conductivity one of the most studied topics nowadays. Hence, this review presents an overview of the most important advances and controversial results related to the NFs thermal conductivity. The different techniques used to measure the thermal conductivity of NFs are discussed. Moreover, the fundamental parameters that affect the NFs thermal conductivity are analyzed, and possible improvements are addressed, such as the increase of long-term stability of the nanoparticles (NPs).The most representative prediction classical models based on fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and experimental fittings are presented. Also, the recent statistical machine learning-based prediction models are comprehensively addressed, and the comparison with the classical empirical ones is made, whenever possible.

Physiochemical studies of functionalized MWCNT/transformer oil nanofluid utilized in a double pipe heat exchanger

The transformer-oil based nanofluid suspensions were prepared by adding 0.05 to 0.80 wt% multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with a –COOH group. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used to stabilize the suspensions. The resulting material was used as a coolant in a double pipe heat exchanger operated under co- and counter-current flow conditions. The nanofluid thermo–physical features such as the thermal conductivity, viscosity, and density were determined at various temperatures and mass fractions. Then, pertinent semi-empirical relations were developed. To verify any MWCNT and SDS interactions with the material, the Fourier-transform infrared analysis was performed. Moreover, the stability of the nanofluid suspension was understudied through the UV–vis and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. In addition, the maximum heat transfer coefficient improvement was determined to be 86.7% at a MWCNT mass fraction of 0.8 wt%. Meanwhile, average increments of the overall heat transfer coefficient and thermal conductivity of the prepared nanofluid were revealed about 37.2% and 138%, respectively in comparison with that of the base fluid. Furthermore, the optimum thermal conductivity of 0.388 W/m.K was obtained at 45 °C and 0.8 wt% of the MWCNT. Ultimately, a sensitivity analysis emphasized that, the understudied system’s behaviors were within an accuracy limit of ± 97%.

Influence of solvents on the enhancement of thermophysical properties and stability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanofluid

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are a contemporary class of nanoparticles that have a prominent thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. There have been numerous studies on the enhancement of thermophysical properties of nanofluids. However, there is only limited research on thermal and stability analysis of MWCNT nanofluids with various kinds of solvents or base fluids, namely propylene glycol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, methanol and water. This paper reports the enhancement of thermophysical properties and stability of MWCNTs with six different base fluids in the presence of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate surfactant with a mass concentration of 0.5 wt%. Thermal and dispersion stabilities were determined using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and Zeta potential, along with a visual inspection method to evaluate the agglomeration or sedimentation of MWCNT nanoparticles over a period of one month. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were utilized to identify the molecular components and light absorption of the formulated nanofluids at their maximum wavenumber (4500 cm^-1) and wavelength (800 nm). In addition, thermophysical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, viscosity and density with a peak temperature of 200 °C were also experimentally evaluated. The TGA results illustrated that MWCNT/ethylene glycol nanofluid achieved maximum thermal stability at 140 °C and it revealed a maximum zeta potential value of -61.8 mV. Thus, ethylene glycol solution was found to be the best base liquid to homogenize with MWCNTs for acquiring an enhanced thermophysical property and a long-term stability.