Experimental investigation of nanofluid shear and longitudinal viscosities

Abstract

Dilute nanoparticle suspensions of alumina in decane and isoparaffinic polyalphaolefin (PAO) exhibit thermal conductivity and shear viscosity that are enhanced compared to continuum models that assume well-dispersed particles. An optical technique has been used to measure the longitudinal viscosity of these suspensions at frequencies from 200to600MHz and evaluate an effective hydrodynamic particle size. The measurements indicate that for the decane-based nanofluids the nanoparticles do not form clusters. In the case of PAO nanofluids, the measurements of longitudinal viscosity and the corresponding values of the particle size are consistent with a picture of nonclustered particles in a weakly shear-thinning viscous oligomeric oil.