To investigate the interaction between nanoparticles and electromagnetic waves, a numerical simulation model based on FEM was built in this thesis. Numerical simulation is an important auxiliary research method besides experiments. The optical properties of nanoparticles consist of scattering, absorption, and extinction, and in the case of nanoparticle suspension, the transmission is also involved. This thesis addressed two typical applications based on the established model, one was regarding the nanofluids for solar energy harvesting, and the other was regarding the optical properties of atmospheric soot. In the case of the nanofluids solar energy harvesting, the established model provided a convenient and rapid screening of potential nanoparticles and nanofluids candidates for solar energy harvesting. A core-shell structure nanoparticle, using Cu as the core material in a diameter of 90 nm coated with 5 nm thickness graphene, exhibited a better photothermal property under the solar radiation. In the second case regarding atmospheric soot, the established model provided an efficient method for understandings on the optical properties and warming effects of realistic soot particles. It was found that the sizes and material characteristics of soot, would greatly affect their scattering and absorption of light. Moreover, two submodels were introduced and integrated, which can better predict behaviors of real atmospheric soot involving their core-shell structures (moisture or organic condensates) and their fractal agglomerate structures. In conclusion, the established model helps to understand the interaction between nanoparticles and electromagnetic waves, which shows great potentials of wide applications.

In this thesis, the two-dimensional, transient, laminar flow of viscous and incompressible fluids is solved by using the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM). Natural convection and mixed convection flows are also solved with the addition of energy equation. Solutions of natural convection flow of nanofluids and micropolar fluids in enclosures are obtained for highly large values of Rayleigh number. The fundamental solution of Laplace equation is used for obtaining boundary element method (BEM) matrices whereas all the other terms in the differential equations governing the flows are considered as nonhomogeneity. This is the main advantage of DRBEM to tackle the nonlinearities in the equations with considerably small computational cost. All the convective terms are evaluated by using the DRBEM coordinate matrix which is already computed in the formulation of nonlinear terms. The resulting systems of initial value problems with respect to time are solved with forward and central differences using relaxation parameters, and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The numerical stability analysis is developed for the flow problems considered with respect to the choice of the time step, relaxation parameters and problem constants. The stability analysis is made through an eigenvalue decomposition of the final coefficient matrix in the DRBEM discretized system. It is found that the implicit central difference time integration scheme with relaxation parameter value close to one, and quite large time steps gives numerically stable solutions for all flow problems solved in the thesis. One-and-two-sided lid-driven cavity flow, natural and mixed convection flows in cavities, natural convection flow of nanofluids and micropolar fluids in enclosures are solved with several geometric configurations. The solutions are visualized in terms of streamlines, vorticity, microrotation, pressure contours, isotherms and flow vectors to simulate the flow behaviour.

A nanofluid is the suspension of nanoparticles in a base fluid. Nanofluids are promising for heat transfer enhancement due to their high thermal conductivity. Presently, discrepancy exists in nanofluid thermal conductivity data in the literature, and enhancement mechanisms have not been fully understood yet. In the first part of this study, a literature review of nanofluid thermal conductivity is performed. Experimental studies are discussed through the effects of some parameters such as particle volume fraction, particle size, and temperature on conductivity. Enhancement mechanisms of conductivity are summarized, theoretical models are explained, model predictions are compared with experimental data, and discrepancies are indicated. Nanofluid forced convection research is important for practical application of nanofluids. Recent experiments showed that nanofluid heat transfer enhancement exceeds the associated thermal conductivity enhancement, which might be explained by thermal dispersion, which occurs due to random motion of nanoparticles. In the second part of the study, to examine the validity of a thermal dispersion model, hydrodynamically developed, thermally developing laminar Al2O3/water nanofluid flow inside a circular tube under constant wall temperature and heat flux boundary conditions is analyzed by using finite difference method with Alternating Direction Implicit Scheme. Numerical results are compared with experimental and numerical data in the literature and good agreement is observed especially with experimental data, which indicates the validity of the thermal dispersion model for explaining nanofluid heat transfer. Additionally, a theoretical analysis is performed, which shows that usage of classical correlations for heat transfer analysis of nanofluids is not valid.

In this study, suspensions of metallic nanoparticles in base fluids, nanofluids, are investigated by using terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Nanofluids are used as the working fluid in a variety of applications especially for the purpose of heat transfer enhancement. Polar fluids are being used as the base in nanofluids for their tendency to stop aggregation and sedimentation. Polar fluids highly absorb THz signal. In order to select the best possible host, various polar liquids have been investigated, and isopropanol (99.5%) is selected to be the best candidate for its low THz absorptivity when compared to ethanol (99.5%), ethylene glycol (99%), methanol (95%) and distilled water. Ag, Pd and Cu nanoparticles have been custom-made in isopropanol by laser ablation method, and the size distributions have been characterized by Zeta Potential Analyzer. The nanoparticle diameters are measured to be on average 10 nm, 12 nm and 75 nm for Ag, Cu and Pd, respectively. Nanofluids of 1X, 2X and 3X concentrations of Ag, Cu and Pd nanoparticles have been prepared by diluting with pure (99.5%) isopropanol. Measurements have been repeated after 7 days up to 12 days in order to check for aggregations and sedimentations. THz-TDS is a strong tool to analyze the refractive index and absorption coefficient, but no distinct difference was observed in the frequency domain analysis for the nanofluid samples. On the other hand, in the time domain data analysis, a shift on the time data with a change in transmission was observed. For Ag nanoparticles a positive time shift with a decrease in transmission with increasing concentration was observed. For Cu nanoparticles an interesting negative time shift and an increase in the intensity was observed with increasing concentration. The Pd nanoparticle solution scans showed almost no shift initially, but a negative time shift after a wait period on the order of days. A model of the transmission of the THz pulse through the nanofluid was developed based on transmission/reflection coefficients due to both dielectric and conducting layered media. The model well explains the positive time shift seen with Ag nanoparticle suspensions but fails to explain the shift seen with the Cu nanoparticle suspensions due to the long path length inside the nanofluid. Negative time-shifts can only be explained by decreasing the path length which suggests additional layering inside the nanofluid medium, or assuming that the chemical composition of the isopropanol host has changed with the addition of Cu and/or Pd nanoparticles. The positive time shifts observed with the Ag nanoparticle suspensions allowed for estimating the change in refractive index of the base fluid. From this change, using effective medium theory based on Maxwell-Garnett model, the concentrations of the nanoparticles were estimated. The results agree within an order of magnitude to commercially available nanofluids which are also non-aggregate.

This project studied the effect of different parameters on the conjugate heat transfer in tube-in-block heat exchangers for various engineering applications. These included magnetic coolers (or heaters) associated with a magnetic refrigeration system, high heat flux coolers for electronic equipment, and hydronic snow melting system embedded in concrete slabs. The results of this research will help in designing the cooling/heating systems and select their appropriate geometrical dimensions and material for specific applications. Types of problems studied in this project are: steady state circular microchannels with heat source in the gadolinium substrate, transient heat transfer in circular microchannels with time varying heat source in a gadolinium substrate, transient heat transfer in composite trapezoidal microchannels of silicon and gadolinium with constant and time varying heat source, steady state heat transfer in microchannels using fluids suspended with nanoparticl es, and analysis of steady state and transient heat transfer in a hydronic snow melting system. For each of these problems a numerical simulation model was developed. The mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations were solved in the fluid region and energy conservation in the solid region of the heat exchanger to arrive at the velocity and temperature distributions. Detailed parametric study was carried out for each problem. Parameters were Reynolds number, heat source value, channel diameter or channel height, solid materials and working fluids. Results are presented in terms of solid-fluid interface temperature, heat flow rate, heat transfer coefficient, and Nusselt number along the length of the channel and with the progression of time. The results showed that an increase in Reynolds number decreases the interface temperature but increases the heat flow rate and Nusselt number. When the heat source varied with time, by applying and removing the magnetic field, the interface temperature, heat flow rate, and Nusselt number attained a periodic variation with time. The decrease in the diameter at constant Reynolds number decreases the interface temperature and increases the heat flow rate at the fluid-solid interface.

<p>Low thermal conductivity is a primary limitation in the development of energy-efficient heat transfer fluids that are required in numerous industrial sectors. Recently submicron and high aspect ratio particles (nanoparticles and nanotubes) were introduced into the heat transfer fluids to enhance the thermal conductivity of the resulting nanofluids. The aim of this project was to investigate the physico-chemical properties of nanofluids synthesized using submicron and high aspect ratio particles suspended in heat transfer fluids .</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Additional advisors: Yogesh K. Vohra, Renato P. Camata, Herbert C. Cheung, Craig A. Elmets. Description based on contents viewed June 23, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: A relatively simple subset of nanotechnology - nanofluids - can be obtained by adding nanoparticles to conventional base fluids. The promise of these fluids stems from the fact that relatively low particle loadings (typically <1% volume fractions) can significantly change the properties of the base fluid. This research explores how low volume fraction nanofluids, composed of common base-fluids, interact with light energy. Comparative experimentation and modeling reveals that absorbing light volumetrically (i.e. in the depth of the fluid) is fundamentally different from surface-based absorption. Depending on the particle material, size, shape, and volume fraction, a fluid can be changed from being mostly transparent to sunlight (in the case of water, alcohols, oils, and glycols) to being a very efficient volumetric absorber of sunlight. This research also visualizes, under high levels of irradiation, how nanofluids undergo interesting, localized phase change phenomena. For this, images were taken of bubble formation and boiling in aqueous nanofluids heated by a hot wire and by a laser. Infrared thermography was also used to quantify this phenomenon. Overall, though, this research reveals the possibility for novel solar collectors in which the working fluid directly absorbs light energy and undergoes phase change in a single step. Modeling results indicate that these improvements can increase a solar thermal receiver's efficiency by up to 10%. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering 2011

[pt] O presente trabalho apresenta um modelo de simulação numérica para um sistema de refrigeração por compressão de vapor, operando com uma mistura de fluido refrigerante (R134a) e nanolubrificante, composto por óleo poliol éster (POE) como fluido base contendo nanopartículas de TiO2 em suspensão. Para o estudo dos trocadores de calor, foi utilizado o método de análise local, onde o condensador e o evaporador foram divididos em volumes de controle para os quais foram aplicadas as equações fundamentais de conservação de massa, energia e quantidade de movimento. Um modelo semi-empírico baseado em parâmetros característicos foi utilizado para modelar o compressor rotativo. A solução do sistema, de equações algébricas não lineares, foi implementada no software EES (Engineering Equation Solver). Os resultados do modelo de simulação foram comparados com dados experimentais disponíveis na literatura, obtendo-se um erro mínimo de 0,68 por cento para a taxa de transferência de calor no evaporador, e um erro máximo de 11,3 por cento no consumo de energia. O erro na temperatura de descarga do compressor variou de 2,91 a 8,83 graus Celsius. / [en] The present work describes the numerical simulation of a heat pump refrigeration system, working with a mixture of refrigerant (R134a) and nanolubricant. The latter is composed of Polyolester (POE) oil as the base fluid containing TiO2 nanoparticles in suspension. In order to take into account the local variation of the two-phase heat transfer coefficient on the refrigerant side, the heat exchangers, condenser and evaporator, were divided into control volumes and, for each one of them, the fundamental equations of mass, energy and momentum were applied. A semi-empirical model was used to model the compressor. The resulting system of non-linear algebraic equations was implemented on the EES (Engineering Equation Solver) platform and an algorithm for the numerical solution was developed. The model was verified against experimental data available in the literature. A minimum error of 0,68 percent on the heat transfer rate in the evaporator, and a maximum of 11,3 percent for the energy consumption, were obtained. The error of the discharge temperature varied between 2,9 and 8,83 degrees Celsius.

[pt] Estudou-se a aplicação de nanofluidos no sistema de arrefecimento de motores a combustão interna. Nanofluidos são suspensões de partículas de diâmetro menor que 100 nm em fluidos convencionais de troca de calor, tais como água, óleo, etileno glicol, entre outros. Devido às suas características favoráveis de transferência de calor, em função da suspensão de partículas, metálicas ou não metálicas, com elevada condutividade térmica, nanofluidos têm sido considerados para atuar como fluidos térmicos em diferentes aplicações. Desenvolveram-se modelos matemáticos para operação em regime permanente, na avaliação do efeito das características térmicas e hidráulicas do escoamento do nanofluido nos componentes do sistema de arrefecimento; e em regime transiente, na avaliação do processo de aquecimento do motor. Fez-se uso do pacote EES para a simulação e consideraram-se os seguintes componentes do sistema de arrefecimento automotivo: radiador, camisas do bloco de cilindros, termostato e bomba do líquido de arrefecimento. Foram empregados o método dos parâmetros concentrados e o método (épsilon)-NTU para a modelagem global do sistema monofásico. Diferentes tipos de nanofluidos, com variações na concentração volumétrica de nanopartículas, foram considerados na avaliação desta alternativa em fluidos térmicos visando aplicações automotivas. / [en] The application of nanofluids in cooling systems of internal combustion engines was studied. Nanofluids consist of nanoparticles (with dimension below 100 (u)m) suspended in traditional heat transfer fluids, such as water or ethylene glycol. Given their favourable heat transfer characteristics, because of the suspension of high thermal conductivity particles, metallic or non-metallic, nanofluids have been considered as potential substitutes for conventional heat transfer fluids. Mathematical models were developed for steady-state operation, for the evaluation of thermal and hydraulic behavior of the cooling system, and for transient regime, for the assessment of the engine start-up process. The EES software was employed for the simulation. The following components of the cooling system were considered: radiator, engine cooling jackets, thermostat and coolant pump. Lumped parameter analysis and the effectiveness- NTU method were used for the single-phase system simulation. Different types of nanofluids, with variation on the volume fraction, were considered in this study.