Measurement and Model Correlation of Specific Heat Capacity of Water-Based Nanofluids With Silica, Alumina and Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

Nanofluids are being considered for heat transfer applications. However, their thermo-physical properties are poorly known. Here we focus on nanofluid specific heat capacity. Currently, there exist two models to predict a nanofluid’s specific heat capacity as a function of nanoparticle concentration and material. Model I is a straight volume-weighted average; Model II is based on the assumption of thermal equilibrium between the particles and the surrounding fluid. These two models give significantly different predictions for a given system. Using differential scanning calorimetry, the specific heat capacities of water based silica, alumina, and copper oxide nanofluids were measured. Nanoparticle concentrations were varied between 5wt% and 50wt%. Test results were found to be in excellent agreement with Model II, while the predictions of Model I deviate very significantly from the data.