Performance Enhancement of an Automotive Radiator Using Ethylene Glycol and Al2o3 Nanofluid as a Coolant

K. Sirisha, Dr. P. Vijaya Kumar

Abstract: In this study, a new model of predicting effective thermal conductivity for Al2O3 and ethylene glycol (EG) and water as a new generation of heat transfer fluids, attracted the attention of researchers over the past few years and found its applications in heat exchangers of chemical plants, automotive cooling, building heating, etc. As a reference case, pure water is mixed with glycol at standard proportions 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 mixture is used in an automotive radiator and its performance was studied. The performance comparison will be made between pure water and ethylene glycol tested in an automotive radiator. Finally the recommendations are made and conclusions are drawn based on the improved performance of ethylene glycol in an automotive radiator. All parameters like thermal conductivity, friction factor and heat transfer rate are also better values obtained.

Keywords: heat transfer, ethylene glycol (EG), water, thermal conductivity, Al2O3