Harnessing Nano-synergy: A comprehensive study of thermophysical characteristics of silver, beryllium oxide, and silicon carbide in hybrid nanofluid formulations

Abstract

Nanofluids, promising to improve heat transfer efficiency, encounter stability anddurability challenges, hindering their industrial applications. The emerging concept ofhybrid nanofluids, alongside surfactant-driven stability research, presents a promisingsolution to tackle challenges in heat transfer, potentially revolutionizing thermalmanagement systems and advancing nanomaterial science. This comprehensive studyinvestigates the thermophysical properties of simple and hybrid nanofluid formulationscomposed of silver (Ag), beryllium oxide (BeO), and silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticlesdispersed in water. Hybrid nanofluids were prepared with varying volumetric ratios of20:80, 40:60, 60:40, and 80:20 and examined across temperatures ranging from 15 to45 °C. The influence of surfactants on stability was explored to augment thermalcharacteristics. Results revealed that the surfactants have a significant effect onstability and the specific mixing ratios can lead to more favourable thermalcharacteristics. Thermal conductivity enhancements, evaluated via the transient hotwire method, demonstrated improvements of 7.43%, 7.17%, and 5.31% for Ag/SiC(60:40), Ag/BeO (60:40), and SiC/BeO (80:20) hybrid nanofluids, respectively,compared to water. Viscosity measurements revealed Newtonian behaviour for the Ag,SiC, and BeO nanofluids, with a minimum viscosity enhancement of 3.01% observedfor the BeO nanofluid. Hybrid Ag/SiC nanofluid demonstrated a maximum viscosityenhancement of 4.90% for 20:80 formulation. Density analysis showed maximumaugmentation of 0.25%, 0.097%, and 0.0775% for the Ag, SiC, and BeO nanofluidsrespectively at 0.025 vol% while hybrid Ag/SiC nanofluid exhibited a maximum of0.23% density increase for the 80:20 composition. The statistical models were alsodeveloped to predict properties against temperature. Furthermore, the cost analysisidentified Ag nanofluid as the most expensive option, while the SiC/BeO hybrid was themost economical. However, the Ag-SiC (60:40) hybrid nanofluid offered a balancedtrade-off between properties and cost.