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Experimental Analysis of Automobile Radiator

using MWCNT-Water Nanofluid
Archit Deshpande Viraj Patil
Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering
Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering Pune Vidyarthi Griha’s
Pune, India College of Engineering and Technology
Pune, India

Rohit Patil
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering
Pune, India

Abstract- The heat generated in an automobile engine needs ao Air outlet

to be extracted and dissipated for its efficient working. The
objective of this experiment was to improve the thermo- ai Air inlet
hydraulic performance of the radiator which can be achieved by wo Water outlet
using nanofluids as engine coolant for increasing the heat
rejection capacity on the coolant side. The present study
wi Water inlet
investigates the performance of MWCNT-water nanofluid at 1,2,3 Thermocouple number
different temperatures (50, 60, and 70oC). The results indicate
that maximum increase in thermal capacity was observed to be
32% at 50oC (0.2% particle concentration).
II. INTRODUCTION
Keywords— Nanofluid, MWCNT, radiator coolant
The function of engine coolant is to absorb the excessive
I. NOMENCLATURE heat generated in the engine and dissipate it to the surrounding
air using the radiator. Most commonly used coolants are
Nu Nusselt Number - ethylene glycol, water and heavy oils. These fluids have a
high specific heat capacity but low thermal conductivity,
Re Reynold Number - which results in lesser heat transfer rates. Nanofluids exhibit
Pr Prandtl Number - enhanced thermal conductivity and the convective heat
Pe Peclet Number - transfer as they are prepared by dispersing metallic and non-
metallic nano sized particles in base fluid. Thus these fluids
Q Thermal Capacity kW
can be studied for their effective use in the conventional
Cp Specific Heat kJ/kg-K radiator.
T Temperature ºC Nanofluids need to be stabilized, with suitable surfactant,
K Thermal Conductivity W/mK if they are to be used for a long duration of time. The
nanoparticles experience a strong Van der Waal’s force of
m Mass flow-rate kg/s
attraction. Due to this the particles are pulled towards each
other and they tend to form large particle size (agglomerate).
GREEK SYMBOLS The agglomeration of nanoparticles results in not only
⍴ Density kg/m3 settlement and clogging of channels but also decreasing the
thermal conductivity of nanofluids. A surfactant molecule has
µ Dynamic viscosity Ns/m2 a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a long hydrophobic
ϕ Particle concentration g/ltr (water-hating or oil-loving) tail. Surfactants play major roles
in the formation of nano-emulsions: By lowering the
SUBSCRIPT
interfacial tension, Laplace pressure P (the difference in
nf Nano-fluid pressure between inside and outside the droplet) is reduced
bf Base-fluid and hence the stress needed to break up a drop is reduced.
p Particle Thus surfactants prevent coalescence of newly formed drops.
Several types of nanoparticles can be employed for
a Air nanofluid preparation including metals (gold, copper, silver,
w Water etc.), metal oxides (Al2O3, CuO, TiO2, Fe2O3, SiO2, etc.) &
HE Heat Exchanger organic compounds (glucose, sucrose, etc.). They have a
plethora of applications like electronics, semi-conductors,

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medicine, cosmetics, biosensors, paints, solar panels, 1.0 vol. % nano particle concentration and coolant flow rate of
automobiles, etc. 5 l/min, the maximum enhancement in heat transfer of FCNT-
The use of nanoparticles in base fluid results in increase in water nanofluid was found to be 90.76% higher compared
viscosity which would results in higher pressure drop and with water. The thermal performance of the acidic nano-
hence an increase in pumping power requirements in various coolant with pH 5.5 was found to be better compared to the
industrial and automotive applications. nano-coolant with pH value of 6.5 and 9.0. The surface treated
CNT nano-coolant exhibits the deterioration in heat transfer
III. LITERATURE SURVEY performance. In addition, Nusselt number found to increase
with the increase in the nanoparticle concentration and
Tun-Ping Teng et al. [1] analyzed the characteristics of nanofluid velocity. Rahul A. Bhogare et al. [6] observed effect
Al2O3-water nanofluid produced by the direct synthesis of adding Al2O3 nanoparticle to base fluid (mixture of
method at three different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt. Ethylene Glycol +Water) in automobile radiator,
%). Experimental results show that the nanofluid as a coolant experimentally. Effects of fluid inlet temperature, the flow rate
has higher heat transfer capacity than water and a higher and nano particle volume fraction on heat transfer were
concentration of nanoparticles provides an even better ratio of considered. Heat transfer rate increased with increase in
the heat exchange. The maximum enhanced ratio of heat volume concentration of nanoparticles (ranging from 0% to
transfer and pressure drop for all the experimental parameters 1%). About 40% heat transfer enhancement was achieved with
in this study was about 39% and 5.6%, respectively. In addition of 1% Al2O3 particles at by using TiO2 and SiO2
addition to nanoparticle concentration, the temperature and nanoparticles dispersed in water as a base fluid was studied
mass flow rates of the working fluid can affect the enhanced experimentally. The test rig is setup as a car radiator with
rate of heat transfer and pressure drop of nanofluid. Ramgopal tubes and container. The range of Reynolds number and
Varma Ramaraju et al. [2] observed in “SUZUKI (800 cc) - volume fraction are (250 – 1750) and (1.0% – 2.5%)
CAR RADIATOR”, cooling circuit using different nanofluids respectively. Results showed that the heat transfer increases
to replace the conventional engine coolant. In the study, the with increasing of nanofluid volume fraction. There was 20%
effect of nano-fluid heat transfer to enhance in water and and 32% of the energy rate enhancement and 24% and 29.5%
coolant based systems with multi walled carbon nanotubes effectiveness enhancement for TiO2 and SiO2 nanofluids
was investigated and enhancement of heat transfer up to 30% respectively. The experimental data had agreed with other
when coolant and CNTS are used as a cooling medium. Navid investigator.
Bozorgan et al. [3] numerically investigated in a radiator of
Chevrolet Suburban diesel engine under turbulent flow IV. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
conditions. He investigated with CuO-water nanofluid having
particle size of 20 nm and a particle concentration of 2%. The The duct was manufactured using an Aluminium sheet of
heat transfer relations between airflow and nanofluid coolant thickness 0.3 mm. The duct was divided into two parts, inlet
have been obtained to evaluate local convective and overall duct and outlet duct. The radiator was mounted between an
heat transfer coefficients and also pumping power for inlet duct and outlet duct. The length of outlet duct was 300
nanofluid flowing in the radiator with a given heat transfer mm and inlet duct 750 mm. The length of outlet duct was kept
capacity. The nanofluid was circulating through the flat tubes less so that the hot air from the radiator did not accumulate in
with Renf = 6000 while the automotive speed is 70 km/hr., the the duct. If the hot air had accumulated it would have
overall heat transfer coefficient and pumping power have provided ambiguous results. Fan was mounted at the inlet duct
showed an increment of approximately 10% and 23.8% for providing desired air flow rate.
respectively. Hafiz Muhammad Ali et al. [4] studied water For measuring the temperature of fluids, K-type
based MgO nanofluids for different volumetric concentrations thermocouples were used. The thermocouples were connected
(i.e. 0.06%, 0.09% and 0.12%). All concentrations showed to the joints using compression fittings. A digital temperature
enhancement in heat transfer compared to the pure base fluid. indicator (DTI) was used to display the temperature at
Heat transfer enhancement of 31% was obtained at 0.12% different positions of temperature measurement. The
volumetric concentration of MgO in base fluid. The fluid flow thermocouples were arranged in a grid formation at air outlet
rate was kept in a range of 8-16 liter per minute. Lower flow section of the radiator to get the variation in temperature. The
rates resulted in greater heat transfer rates as compared to heat inlet air temperature was measured with a single thermocouple
transfer rates at higher flow rates for the same volumetric mounted in the inlet duct. The inlet and outlet coolant
concentration. Heat transfer rates were found weakly temperatures were measured using a single thermocouple at
dependent on the inlet fluid temperature. An increase of 8oC in inlet and outlet section respectively. The air velocity at the
inlet temperature showed only a 6% increase in heat transfer inlet of duct was measured by digital Anemometer.
rate. Sandesh S. Chougule et al. [5] studied heat transfer For circulating the coolant, heat resistant hose were used
performance of CNT- water nanofluids and water in an as the experimental analysis was going to be conducted at
automobile radiator. The CNT nano-coolants are synthesized high temperature range of 45oC to 70oC. The hose were
by two different methods such as: Functionalized CNT connected to different joints using hose clips. Centrifugal
(FCNT) and surface treatment (SCNT) method. The effects of pump of 0.5 HP was used to circulate the coolant. The flow
various parameters, namely synthesis method, variation in pH rate was kept constant at 24 lpm. The coolant flow rate was
values and nanoparticle concentration on the Nusselt number varied using a bypass valve. The temperature of coolant was
were examined through the experimental investigation. For raised using a 3 kW heater. The inlet temperature was

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maintained constant for one run and if the temperature was in a plastic beaker of 1.5 litre capacity. The dispersion
raised above the desired temperature range the power supply technique used was Ultra-sonification. Each batch was
was tripped. The values were noted at the steady state subjected to 4 hours of intense ultrasonic waves in a beaker
condition. Foot valve was used in the coolant reservoir in with the help of Ultrasonic machine. This process led to a
order to avoid blockage in the radiator tubes due to homogeneous mixture of nanoparticles and dispersant in
contaminants if any. distilled water. The particle concentration was maintained at
0.2% gm/ltr.

Fig.3. SEM image of MWCNT provided by UNI

VI. THERMAL CALCULATIONS

Fig.1. Schematic of Experimental Setup The thermal properties of nanofluid where calculated as
follows:
Empirical correlations proposed by Pak [7] for density and
Xuan [8] for specific are as follows:

𝜌𝑛𝑓 = (1 − 𝜙)𝜌𝑏𝑓 + 𝜙𝜌𝑝 (1)

𝑐𝑝𝑛𝑓 = (1 − 𝜙)𝜌𝑏𝑓 𝑐𝑝𝑏𝑓

(2)
+𝜙𝑐𝑝𝑝 𝜌𝑝 𝜌𝑛𝑓
Thermal conductivity and viscosity for nanofluid have
been estimated based on two semi-empirical equations
presented by Hamilton and Crosser [9] in 2013 on the basis of
Fig.2. Photograph of Experimental Setup a wide variety of experimental date available in the literature
V. PREPARATION OF NANOFLUID as following equations:
𝐾𝑛𝑓 𝐾𝑝 + (𝑧 − 1)𝐾𝑏𝑓 + 𝜙(𝑧 − 1)(𝐾𝑏𝑓 − 𝐾𝑝 )
= (3)
The nanoparticles were obtained from United Nanotech 𝐾𝑏𝑓 𝐾𝑝 + (𝑧 − 1)𝐾𝑏𝑓 + 𝜙(𝐾𝑏𝑓 − 𝐾𝑝 )
Innovation Private Limited, Bangalore. The properties of
MWCNT are listed in the following table: Where, z is empirical shape factor given by z = 3/ψ, and ψ
is the particle sphericity, defined as the ratio of the surface
Table.1. Properties of MWCNT nanoparticles area of a sphere with volume equal to that of the particle, to
MWCNT Description Characterization the surface area of the particle.
Production Method Chemical Vapour Proprietary method M. Eftekhar [10] in 2013 proposed on the basis of a wide
Deposition[SLV] variety of experimental date available in the literature
Available Form Black powder Visual
proposed the following equations:
Diameter Avg Outer Diameter: TEM, SEM
5-20 nm 1
Length Avg. 1-10 micron TEM, SEM 𝜇𝑛𝑓 = ( ) ∗ 𝜇𝑏𝑓 (4)
(1 − 𝜙)2.5
Nanotubes Purity >98% TGA, RAMAN
Metal Particles <1% TGA Yimin Xuan [11] proposed a correlate experimental data
Amorphous Carbon <1% TGA, XRD of heat transfer for nanofluids, Nusselt number for turbulent
Specific Surface Area 330m2/gm BET
Bulk Density 0.2-0.35 gm/cc Pycnometer
flow of nanofluids inside a tube is obtained as follows:
1 + 7.6286(𝜙 0.6886 )
𝑁𝑢 = 0.0059 ( )
MWCNT nanofluid requires Sodium Dodecyl Benzene ∗ 𝑃𝑒 0.001 (5)
0.9238 0.04
Sulphonate (SDBS) as a surfactant to remain stable. The ∗ 𝑅𝑒𝑛𝑓 ∗ 𝑃𝑟𝑛𝑓
nanofluid was prepared in 4 batches. Each batch was prepared

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The experimental calculation for the radiator is done by

calculating heat transfer rate of hot fluid (water) and heat
transfer rate of cold fluid (air). The inlet and outlet of both
nanofluid and the air is measured. The outlet temperature of
air is calculated as follows:
𝑇1 + 𝑇2 + 𝑇3
𝑇𝑎𝑜 = (6)
3
The thermal capacity of radiator is given by mean of heat
transfer rate of water and heat transfer rate of air. Ideally the
heat transfer rate of hot and cold fluid remains same but
practically due to thermal resistances some amount of heat is
absorbed by intermediate materials which are tube and fins of
radiator in this case, so 𝑄𝑤 >𝑄𝑎 . The thermal capacity is
calculated as follows: Fig.5. Variation of thermal capacity of radiator using Water as coolant

a) Heat transfer Rate of water: The following graph illustrates the percentage difference
𝑄𝑤 = 𝑚𝑤 ∗ 𝑐𝑝𝑤 ∗ (𝑇𝑤𝑖 − 𝑇𝑤𝑜 ) (7) in the capacity of radiator when MWCNT nanofluid and
water were used as coolants. It can be observed that at 50ºC
b) Heat transfer Rate of air: there was maximum difference of 32.14% between the two
𝑄𝑎 = 𝑚𝑎 ∗ 𝑐𝑝𝑎 ∗ (𝑇𝑎𝑜 − 𝑇𝑎𝑖 ) (8) fluids. At 60ºC this difference plummets to 12.97% and
c) Thermal Capacity of Radiator: again rises to 17.96% at 70ºC (with MWCNT nanofluid
(𝑄𝑤 + 𝑄𝑎 ) being greater in all cases).
𝑄𝐻𝐸 = (9)
2

VII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Experiments were conducted using MWCNT-water

nanofluid and Water as engine coolants at varied
temperatures (50ºC, 60ºC, 70ºC). The particle concentration
of nanofluid being 0.2% gm/litre.
The effect of temperature change on thermal capacity of
radiator is evident from the following graph for MWCNT:

Fig.6. Percentage change in thermal capacity by using nanofluid.

The increase in heat capacity of MWCNT nanofluid and water

was observed for 10ºC change in temperature. It was seen that
from 50ºC-60ºC there was increase of 10.26% for MWCNT
nanofluid while 11.58% for that of water. The change in the
next 10ºC was 7.92% for MWCNT nanofluid and 5.61% for
water.
VIII. CONCLUSION
Fig.4. Variation of thermal capacity of radiator using MWCNT-Water as
coolant.
The experiment investigates the comparison between
MWCNT-water nanofluid and water as engine coolants.
The thermal capacity was observed to be 19.26 kW at From the experiment we can conclude the following:
50ºC. There was a rise of 53.27% in capacity as temperature  Introduction of MWCNT nanoparticles in water
was increased to 60ºC. The capacity further enhanced to increases the thermal capacity of radiator.
37.45 kW at 70ºC. Thus as the temperature increases there is  Increasing the concentration of MWCNT
an increase in thermal capacity. nanoparticles increases the capacity of radiator.
Similar experiment was performed with water as coolant  The viscosity of nanofluid is greater than that of
and the results were found to be 14.547kW, 26.137kW & base fluid.
31.748kW at 50ºC, 60ºC and 70ºC respectively. The  Capacity of radiator is directly proportional to
following graph depicts the aforementioned results. temperature.
 Maximum enhancement in thermal capacity of 32%
was observed at 50 ºC. At 60 ºC and 70 ºC there was
an increase of approximately 13% and 18%
respectively.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT [5] Sandesh S. Chougule et al.: “Thermal Performance of Automobile

Radiator Using Carbon Nanotube-Water Nanofluid—Experimental
Study” ASME DECEMBER 2014, Vol. 6 / 041009-5.
The authors would like to thank Tata Toyo Radiator Ltd., [6] Rahul A. Bhogare et al.: “Performance investigation of Automobile
Pune for their support and guidance throughout the Radiator operated with Al2O3 based nanofluid” IOSR Journal of
experiment. We are also grateful to Centre for Materials for Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE) e-ISSN: 2278-
1684,p-ISSN: 2320-334X, Volume 11, Issue 3 Ver. V (May- Jun.
Electronics Technology (C-MET), Pune for providing
2014), PP 23-30.
laboratory assistance. [7] B. C. Pak and Y. I. Cho, “Hydrodynamic and Heat Transfer Study of
Dispersed Fluids with Submicron Metallic Oxide Particles”
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