Investigation of change in surface morphology of heated surfaces upon pool boiling of magnetic fluids under magnetic actuation

Nanofluids are becoming a significant candidate for new generation coolants to be used in industrial applications. In order to reduce clustering and sedimentation of nanoparticles and improve the heat transfer performance simultaneously, magnetic fluids prepared with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles dispersed in water, which were placed in a pool and were exposed to varying magnetic fields to actuate nanoparticles in the system. The effect of magnetic actuation on boiling heat transfer characteristics and on the surface morphology of the pool was examined. An average enhancement of 29% in boiling heat transfer was achieved via magnetic actuation with rather low magnetic field (magnetic flux densities up to 11 mT) densities. Furthermore, it was observed that magnetic actuation significantly prevented the deposition and sedimentation of the nanoparticles in the pool. Otherwise, significant destabilization of nanoparticles causing aggregation and heavy sedimentation was present as a result of the performed surface analysis. Even though magnetic actuation reduced the sedimentation on the macroscale, the deposition of a thick and porous film occurred onto the pool floor, increasing the surface roughness.