Investigação experimental das propriedades termofísicas e da convecção forçada de nanofluido de grafeno

This work presents an experimental investigation of thermal hydraulic performance of the nanofluid composed by graphene nanoparticles dispersed in a mixture of water and ethylene glycol at a ratio of 70:30% by volume. The tests were carried out under forced convection inside a circular tube with uniform heat flux on the wall for the laminar-turbulent transition regime. The mass flow rate ranged from 40 to 70 g/s corresponding to Reynolds numbers between 3000 and 7500. The heat flux was maintained constant at values of 11, 16 and 21 kW/m², as well as the inlet temperature of 15, 20 and 25°C. Three samples were produced with the nanofluid volumetric concentration of 0.05%, 0.10% and 0.15%. Thermophysical properties were experimentaly measured for all samples that were critically compared and discussed with theoretical models most commonly used in the literature. Initially, experiments with distilled water confirmed the validity of the experimental equipment for the thermo-hydraulic tests. Therefore, nanofluid samples that showed the highest thermal conductivity, corresponding to the volumetric concentrations of 0.15% and 0.10%, were subjected to the tests. The thermal-hydraulic performance for both samples was unsatisfactory. The heat transfer coefficients for convection of nanofluids reduced 21% in average, for the sample with = 0.15% and 26% and for =0.10%. The pressure drop of the samples was higher than the base fluid. Finally, the pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient by convection of both samples were also compared to theoretical models. The models used for pressure drop showed an excellent agreement with experimental results, which is remarkable considering the transitional flow.