Study of Ultrasonic and Thermal Properties for Heat Transfer Enhancement in Fe 2 O 3 Nanoparticles-Ethylene Glycol Nanofluids

In present work, semiconducting iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles have been synthesized by sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been used for the characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles. Two-step technique was used to formulate stable ethylene glycol (EG) based Fe2O3 nanofluids at room temperature. Thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been measured using hot disc thermal constants analyzer. Significant enhancement in the thermal conductivity is noted at very low nanoparticle loading (up to 1 wt%). Ultrasonic velocity and ultrasonic attenuation in the prepared nanofluids were investigated using an ultrasonic interferometer and acoustic particle sizer (APS-100), respectively. APS-100 was also used for the analysis of particle size distribution (PSD) of Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the prepared nanofluids. The PSD result of APS-100 has been found in good agreement with that of TEM. The characteristics behaviour of Fe2O3 nanofluid has been illustrated based on its ultrasonic and thermal properties. Our investigations advocate that Fe2O3 nanofluids have potential application for effective heat transfer management in various cooling industries.