Experimental Investigation on the Specific Heat of Zinc Oxide Nanofluid

摘要

This paper describes a new apparatus and the procedure followed to measure the specific heat of nanofluids. A benchmark test case performed by measuring the specific heat of water by this apparatus shows that the accuracy of measurements is within ± 1.5% when compared to the data available in the literature. Following the benchmark test the apparatus was used to measure the specific heat of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofluid prepared with a 60:40 ethylene glycol and water base fluid. The experimental results show that the specific heat decreases with an increase in particle volumetric concentration. However, it increases with an increase in temperature. A new correlation has been developed from the experimental data that expresses the specific heat of ZnO nanofluid as a function of temperature and concentration.