Experimental investigation of using Graphene Oxide with Ethylene Glycol and Water mixture to improve the performance of a car radiator

Abstract

Nanofluids offer a good alternative heat transfer mediums with approximately five-fold heat transfer enhancement. This paper presents the results from a research study carried out on the use of Graphene Oxide/ Ethylene glycol Mixture (GnO/H2O-EG) Nanofluid as the heat transfer medium in a car radiator. The radiator consisted of 30 vertical tubes with elliptical cross section. Air makes a cross flow inside the tube bank with constant speed. The system was tested with three different Nanofluid concentrations (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5% by weight). The tests were conducted for flow rates ranging between 2 to 5 lit/min which corresponds to Reynolds number between 14000 and 38000. The effect on fluid outlet temperature to the radiator was analyzed for different flow rates and constant inlet temperature. The data were compared to that obtained with potable water in the radiator. The result of the comparison revealed that the use of graphene oxide increased the temperature drop across can radiator by upto 22 % compared to 50% Glycol mixture