Abstract

This paper presents the most recent review of research articles and patents on thermal conductivity on nanofluids. Larger portion of literature accounts for experimental investigations, which is a sign of the preference for hands-on work by experimentalists. Metallic, non-metallic as well as ceramic nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes were suspended in common heat transfer liquids and their thermal conductivities were measured. In contrast to previous belief, it has now been proven that when the nanoparticle concentration is kept low the degree of enhancement falls reasonably within the boundaries predicted by the effective medium theories. There are strong evidences to suggest that the main mechanisms driving the thermal conductivity behavior are nanoparticle aggregation and the particle Brownian motion in suspension.

Keywords: Aggregation, brownian motion, enhancement, nanofluids, thermal conductivity.