Demonstration of Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Nanofluids

Historically, plate-fin heat exchangers with heat transfer fluids such as poly Ą-olefin have been used for the majority of heat removal and heat transfer within advanced military aircraft. However, with the continual increases in thermal loads due to advancements such as high-powered solid-state electronics within the next generation weapon systems, improvements to the current industry standard are required. In addition to novel heat exchanger configurations, improvements in the thermal properties of the heat transfer fluid have been proposed using solid-liquid suspensions based upon nanoparticles. Although a wealth of research data exists for the thermal conductivity improvements with the addition of nanoparticles, experimental demonstration within practical application has been lacking. To address this shortcoming, Mainstream will rely on its expertise in nanotechnology, heat transfer fluids, and thermal management systems to demonstrate the thermal transport improvement using nanofluids within an aircraft-suitable single-phase heat exchanger. The Phase I effort will characterize the thermal/physical properties of the nanofluid, demonstrate the heat transfer coefficient augmentation, and assess candidate aircraft heat exchangers for replacement of the heat transfer fluid.