Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2022) 147:7631–7664

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-021-11092-8

Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal

performance in terms of thermo‑hydraulic, thermodynamics
and thermo‑economic analysis
Duygu Yılmaz Aydın1 · Metin Gürü2

Received: 22 April 2021 / Accepted: 25 September 2021 / Published online: 25 October 2021
© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2021

Abstract
In recent years, with the adaptation of nanotechnological engineering applications to complex systems, the use of nanoflu-
ids with better thermo-physical properties compared to conventional fluids has become widespread. In addition, studies on
the preparation techniques of nanofluids, improving their thermal properties and evaluating their thermal performance are
increasing. This study presents a review about preparation, evaluating and enhancement of the stability and thermal properties
of nanofluids. Furthermore, the recent advances about the thermo-hydraulic, thermodynamic and thermo-economic perfor-
mances of nanofluids in different types of thermal systems are summarized as well. The stability of nanofluid is a significant
factor affecting its applicability. Various techniques have been used in the literature to enhance the stability of nanofluids such
as surfactant addition, ultrasonic mixing and pH control. By using nanofluids, the desired thermo-physical properties can
be obtained in order to improve the heat transfer property in the system. Some researchers recommend to hybrid nanofluids
because of the hybrid effect of two or more particle types they contain. The reviewed literature also indicates that the use
of nanofluids instead of conventional working fluids is an effective way to increase the thermo-hydraulic performance of
thermal systems. In addition, according to the literature review, minimum entropy generation is an effective way to increase
the energy efficiency and improve thermodynamic performance of the thermal system and the use of nanofluids provide a
significant reduction in entropy production.

Keywords  Nanofluid · Thermal conductivity · Heat transfer · Thermo-hydraulic performance · Thermodynamic

performance

Abbreviations PG Polyglycol
DI Deionized DLS Dynamic light scattering
EG Ethylene glycol CNT Carbon nanotube
DEG Diethylene glycol MWCNT Multi-walled carbon nanotube
DW Distilled water FMWCNT Functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotube
HE Heat exchanger SWCNT Single-walled carbon nanotube
CTAB Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide ISSRC Integrated solar regenerative Rankine cycle
SDBS Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate TEM Transmission electron microscopy
SDS Sodium dodecyl sulfate FESEM Field emission scanning electron microscopy
vol Volume Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number
Re Reynolds number
* Duygu Yılmaz Aydın F Friction factor
[email protected] D Inner diameter of microchannel, m
1 knf Thermal conductivity of nanofluid
Bioengineering Department, Engineering and Natural
Sciences Faculty, Malatya Turgut Özal University, Malatya, kbf Thermal conductivity of base fluid
Turkey μ Viscosity (kg ­m−1 s)
2
Chemical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, ρ Density (kg ­m−3)
Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey ṁ Mass flow rate, kg ­s−1

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7632 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

Δp Pressure drop (Pa) researchers are actively working on nanofluid systems to

λm Thermal conductivity of nanofluid study their capabilities for use in heat transfer applications.
(W ­m−1 ­K−1) Nanofluids has been used in many applications such as auto-
λf Thermal conductivity of liquid metal mobile, solar energy, mechanics, heat exchangers in reactors,
(W ­m−1 ­K−1) optics, detergents, biomedical and electronic cooling [7].
h Forced convection heat transfer coefficient With the use of high-tech nanofluids in the world of science,
(W ­m−2 ­K−1) contributing to the development of more compact and high-
efficiency heat exchanger designs from a different perspec-
tive has increased. Many researchers [8–15] used different
Introduction nanofluids as working fluid in heat pipe and heat exchangers
and they obtained enhancement in thermal performance of
The need for energy is increasing day by day with the rapid the systems. Nanofluids are also being used in solar collec-
development in technology. Especially in today's world tors for heat transfer enhancement [16–18].
where fossil energy resources are about to be exhausted, In the literature, there have been many valuable studies
the importance of studies to research new energy resources about preparation, stability and thermal properties of nano-
has increased. Energy has become an important cost item fluids and their applications in thermal systems. However,
in daily life, especially in industrial enterprises. This prob- none of the previous research has presented a summary of
lem shows that the existing energy resources should be used the thermo-hydraulic, thermodynamic and thermo-economic
more effectively and efficiently. It has become a necessity to performance of nanofluids in thermal systems, along with
increase efficiency at every stage from the production to the the properties of other nanofluids. This study aims to present
use of energy, which is an important need in all areas of life. a comprehensive review of the preparation, stability, thermo-
The concept of efficiency becomes more significant in heat- physical properties of nanofluids, as well as a summary of
ing systems, especially in industrial facilities. Heat pipes, the thermo-hydraulic, thermodynamic and thermo-economic
heat exchangers and heat plates are used in many different performance studies of nanofluids in different thermal sys-
thermal systems to transfer heat from one place to another in tems (Fig. 1).
industrial applications. In these systems, conventional fluids
are generally used such as water, ethylene glycol and oil.
The most important parameter affecting the thermal per- Nanofluid types and base fluids
formance of the fluid used in heating and cooling systems
is its thermo-physical properties. The poor thermal charac- Nanoparticle and base fluid are the main components of a
teristics of conventional working fluids led to the search for nanofluid. A wide variety of nanoparticles has been used
new working fluids. Therefore, the thermal performance of in studies in the literature. Metals such as Ag, Cu [19, 20],
the systems is increased by adding particles with superior ceramics compounds such as A ­ l2O3, ­Fe3O4, CuO, T ­ iO2,
thermo-physical properties into the base fluid [1]. Millim- ­SiO2, ­CeO2, ZnO [21–27], carbon-based nanoparticles such
eter- and micrometer-sized particles added to the base fluid as carbon nanotubes [28] and hybrid nanoparticles such as
cause many problems in heat transfer devices such as parti- Cu–CNT, ­TiO2–Ag, ­Al2O3–Ag [29–31] are used as nanopar-
cle clogging, low specific surface area, high pumping power ticle in nanofluids. Since nanosized particles will be needed
and low dispersion stability. In recent years, nanofluids have first in the preparation of nanofluid, the material to be used
been used in heat transfer devices to overcome these prob- must be reduced to nanosize. There are two widely used
lems. The occurrence of heat transfer on the surface of the methods for this process, namely the top-down method and
particle causes the thermal properties of nanofluids to be the bottom-up method. Top-down method, which is based
more developed than the colloidal suspensions of micro- on the principle of reducing the material size to nanoscale
particles [2]. New generation nanofluids that can be used by giving mechanical energy, is a method that requires
in heat transfer devices have been prepared by adding high high energy. Mechanical grinding can be given as exam-
thermal conductivity nanoparticles to industrial heat transfer ples of this method. The bottom-up method is based on
fluids. Nanofluids are used in heat transfer systems to ensure the principle of enlarging particles in atomic or molecular
stability and higher heat transfer. In addition, they can sig- form through chemical reactions and bringing them to the
nificantly reduce erosion and clogging because nanoparticles nanoscale. Sol–gel, chemical vapor condensation and gas
are so small [3]. Other benefits foreseen for nanofluids are condensation techniques can be given as examples of this
reduction in pump power demand and significant energy method [32]. Generally, water, ethylene glycol, mixture of
savings [4]. water and ethylene glycol, oil, acetone, toluene, glycerol,
Nanofluids also enhance the convective heat transfer coef- etc. are used as base fluid in nanofluids. Studies have shown
ficient so they increase Re and Nu Number [5, 6]. Many that thermal performance changes with the use of different

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Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7633

Fig. 1  Overview of preparation,
stability and thermo-physical
properties of nanofluids NANOFLUIDS

Preparation
methods

One step method Two step method

Enhancement Surfactant adding

methods
Control of stability Ultrasonication
pH control

Zeta potential measurement

Sedimentation method
Evaluating
Dynamic light scattering
methods
UV-visible absorption
Electron microscopy

No Is nanofluid
satable?

Yes

Thermopyhsical
properties

Thermal Electrical
Viscosity Heat capacity Density
conductivity conductivity

base fluids. In a study, a nanofluid was prepared using water Cu–H2O nanofluids in concentric tube. They revealed that
and mixture of ethylene glycol and water as the base fluids the thermal conductivity enhanced by 60% when the vol-
and 4 vol% SiC nanoparticles. Authors observed that SiC/ ume fraction of nanoparticles was 2%. Kumar et al. [36]
EG–water nanofluid has approximately 5% higher thermal produced Zn–oil and Cu–oil nanofluids by using two-step
conductivity under the same conditions than when water is approach. They investigated thermo-physcial properties of
used as the base fluid [33]. Nikkam et al. [34] demonstrated the nanofluids. The results showed that Cu–oil nanofluid
that EG-based nanofluids show better thermal performance provided bigger thermal conductivity and viscosity enhance-
than DEG-based nanofluids. ment than Zn–oil nanofluid. Chen et al. [37] prepared silver
nanofluid by using ascorbic acid as a reductant and were
Metal‑based nanofluids used as the working fluid in the solar collector to enhance
collector efficiency.
Metal nanofluid can be defined as the suspension of pure
metal in a base fluid. Due to the high thermal conductivity Ceramic‑based nanofluid
of metals, the thermal conductivity of metal nanofluids is
higher than other nanofluids (Table 1). Shahril et al. [35] Ceramic nanofluids are suspensions of low-density and high-
conducted experiments on the heat transfer performance of stability ceramic particles formed with base fluids. Since

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7634 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

Table 1  Thermal conductivities of some nanoparticle material and (Table 1). Carbon-based nanofluids provide improved heat
base fluids transfer and higher stability with lower pressure drop com-
Material Thermal conduc- Reference pared to conventional fluids.
tivity (W/mK) Sadeghinezhad et al. [49] made thermal performance
analysis on graphene–water nanofluid with varying mass
Silver 424 Perry and Green [230]
ratios in the range of 0.025–0.1%. They found that the
Copper 398 Perry and Green [230]
thermal conductivity enhanced in the range of 7.96–25%
Aluminum 273 Perry and Green [230]
compared to water with the use of graphene nanoparticles.
Iron 80 Perry and Green [230]
Akhavan-Zanjani et al. [50] researched on the change in
Steel 46 Alghoul et al. [231]
heat transfer by using graphene nanoparticles in a horizon-
Al2O3 40 Shackelford and Alexander
[232] tal circular tube with constant heat flux on its surface. They
CuO 77 Hwang et al. [233] studied at different nanoparticle concentrations in the range
TiO2 8.37 Xuan et al. [234] of 0.005–0.02% by volume. They revealed that heat transfer
ZnO 29 Kim et al. [235] coefficient improved by 6.04% at the nanoparticle concen-
SiO2 1.2 Vajjha et al. [236] tration of 0.02%. Akhavan-Zanjani et al. [51] took meas-
Diamond 3300 Sundar et al. [237] urements about the improvement of thermal conductivity
Carbon nanotubes 2000 Choi et al. [43] coefficient and heat transfer in their experimental research
Graphite 2000 Balandin [238] using graphene–water nanofluid in laminar flow conditions
Water 0.608 Wessel [239] in a pipe. According to the results, the using graphene–water
Ethylene glycol 0.257 Perry and Green [230] fluid at a concentration of 0.005, 0.01, 0.02% provide 17.9,
40:60% EG/W 0.404 Sundar et al. [240] 22.5, 26% heat transfer enhancement compared to base fluid,
respectively. Arzani et al. [52] researched how the use of
graphene nanofluid affects heat transfer and pressure drop.
ceramic particles are more economical and accessible, It has been stated that the Nu number enhances with the
they have been used in many studies in the literature. The increasing of graphene concentration and therefore the fric-
ceramic particles increase the heat capacity of the base fluid. tion value increases.
Mohamed et al. [38] used ZnO–water nanofluid in flat-plate
solar collector to investigate performance of energy storage Hybrid nanofluid
system using nanofluid. They achieved stored energy incre-
ment of 7.78% for volume fraction of 0.1% compared to fluid Hybrid nanofluids are advanced varieties of nanofluids
without nanoparticles. Noghrehabadi et al. [39] tested S­ iO2/ obtained by suspending a combination of multiple nano-
water nanofluid with a mass fraction of 1% as a coolant in a particles in different base fluids. Hybrid nanoparticles can
symmetric, square flat-plate solar collector. They revealed form a nanocomposite structure in the base fluid, resulting
that ­SiO2/water nanofluid increased the efficiency of the in superior thermo-physical properties that are much higher
square flat-plate solar collector compared with pure water. than either type of nanoparticle. The thermal conductivity
Choudhary et al. [40] investigated effect of MgO/EG–DW and viscosity of nanoparticles change with the combina-
nanofluid on the thermal performance of flat-plate solar col- tion of nanoparticles. The aim of the synthesis of hybrid
lector. They observed 16.36% maximum thermal efficiency nanofluids is to provide higher thermal conductivity than
enhancement at the conditions of 2.5 Lit/min and 0.2% vol- nanofluids containing a single type of nanoparticle due to
ume fraction instead of EG/DW. Zhong et al. [41] used T ­ iO2 the synergistic effect. The thermal conductivity of the base
nanofluid inside a multiport mini-channel. They observed fluid increases by raising the concentration of hybrid nano-
that thermal conductivity enhanced by 4.2% averagely for particles to optimum point. This phenomenon is possibly
the 1% nanofluid. They also observed that the heat transfer related to an increase in the number of particles dispersed
performance increased when using the nanofluid compared in the base fluid, thereby increasing the collision under the
to base water. Brownian motion. Viscosity increases as a result of the pres-
ence of hybrid nanostructure in the base fluid, interactions
Carbon‑based nanofluid between nanoparticles and liquid molecules. Viscosity is
formed due to the shear stress between them. Therefore, as
Carbon-based nanofluids like carbon nanotube [42–44], the particle concentration increases, viscous stress becomes
graphite [45, 46] and graphene oxide [47, 48] nanofluids significant and increases the viscosity of the nanofluid. An
have the nanoparticle percolation networks. These materi- increase in the viscosity of the hybrid nanofluid is observed
als have anisotropic thermal conductivity, which provides because the nanoparticles in the fluids can easily form a
abnormal increase in thermal conductivities of base fluids cluster and undergo surface adsorption [53]. The increment

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Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7635

of thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity of the base Table 2  Some hybrid nanofluids used in the literature
fluid with the hybrid nanoparticles concentration are known Researchers Nanoparticles Base fluid
as desirable and undesirable results, respectively. Thus,
using nanofluids for thermal enhancement requires careful Suresh et al. [53] Al2O3–Cu Water
attention and design [54]. Hybrid nanofluids provide effec- Esfe et al. [241] MWCNT–ZnO Oil
tive results in heat transfer applications and they have the Esfe et al. [242] Cu–TiO2 Water/EG
potential to make a significant contribution to reducing the Abbasi et al. [243] Al2O3/MWCNT Water
cost of heat transfer equipment by making them smaller and Afrand [244] fMWCNT–MgO EG
lighter. Sundar et al. [55] determined that hybrid nanofluids Gürbüz et al. [245] CuO–Al2O3 Water
have higher thermal conductivity and viscosity than single- Ahammed [246] Al2O3–graphene Water
nanoparticle-type suspensions. Nine et al. [56] observed Chen et al. [247] Fe2O3/MWCNT Water
that ­Al2O3–MWCNT nanofluid provides 8% enhancement Esfe et al. [248] Ag–MgO Water
in thermal conductivity compared to A ­ l2O3 nanofluid. Mad- Chopkar et al. [249] Al2Cu/Ag2Al Water/EG
hesh et al. [57] conducted a study about heat transfer char- Martin et al. [250] Fe–CuO Water
acteristics of Cu–TiO2 hybrid nanofluid. They observed that Minea [251] SiO2/TiO2/Al2O3 Water
convective heat transfer coefficient, Nu number and overall Asadi and Asadi [252] MWCNT–ZnO Oil
heat transfer coefficient enhanced by 52, 49 and 68%, respec- Gürbüz et al. [253] ZnO–Al2O3 Ammonia/water
tively, when they used hybrid nanofluid in a heat exchanger Nine et al. [254] Cu–CuO2 Water
according to base fluid. Yarmand et al. [58] investigated heat Jana et al. [255] CNT–Au Water
transfer performance of graphene-Pt nanofluid. They studied Baghbanzadeh et al. [256] Silicon–MWCNT Water
at the range of 5000–17,500 Reynolds number and different Paul et al. [257] Al–Zn EG
concentrations by mass of 0.02%, 0.06% and 0.1%. They Munkhbayar et al. [258] Ag–MWCNT Water
obtained more effective heat transfer when using graphene- Batmunkh et al. [259] Ag–TiO2 Water
Pt nanofluid compared to using single-type particle of gra- Arani and Pourmoghadam Al2O3/MWCNT EG
[260]
phene (Table 2).
Farajzadeh et al. [261] Al2O3/TiO2 Water
Esfe et al. [262] MgO–SWCNT EG
Giwa et al. [263] γ-Al2O3/MWCNT Water
Preparation methods of nanofluids
Giwa et al. [264] MgO–ZnO Water

The homogeneous distribution of the particles in the nano-

fluid mainly depends on the preparation method used.
Thermo-physical properties and agglomeration tendencies heat transfer properties of nanofluids prepared by one-step
of two similar nanofluids prepared by different methods method and two-step method. They observed that one-step
may differ from each other. One-step method and two-step nanofluid was more stable without any stabilizer. They
method are used in the preparation of nanofluids. also found that single method nanofluid increased thermal
conductivity by 21%, while two-step nanofluid increased it
Two‑step method by 39.4% at a concentration of 0.01%. In general, the two-
step method is preferred for oxide nanoparticles, while the
In this method, the desired nanoparticles are obtained and one-step method is preferred for metal nanoparticles [67]
then the nanoparticles are dispersed into the basic fluid at a (Fig. 3).
certain volume or mass concentration with or without. The
two-step method is the most commonly used method due to One‑step method
its low production cost and the easy accessibility of nano-
particles [59]. This method has a higher commercialization The one-step approach is based on combining the production
potential, since it is possible to produce large quantities of and dispersion processes of nanoparticles in a nanofluid in a
nanofluids. Magnetic stirrers [60, 61] homogenizers [62], single step. For this method, chemical precipitation, chemi-
sonication [63–65] are used to ensure homogeneous distribu- cal vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition (PVD) tech-
tion. In the two-step method, surfactants are used to increase nique, inert gas condensation, microemulsion, sonochemical
stability and prevent agglomeration. In some studies, no sur- method, spray pyrolysis method are widely used. The one-
factant or polymer was used while preparing a stable nano- step method is generally preferred for metal materials with
fluid with a two-step method (Fig. 2). high heat conduction coefficient and rapidly oxidizing. This
Mohammadpoor et al. [66] synthesized Cu/EG nanofluid is because when metal nanoparticles are synthesized with
using different methods. They compared the stability and the fluid, their contact with air is prevented. However, this

13

7636 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

Magnetic stirrer
or/and
Surfactant

Base fluid Nanoparticle

Homogenizer

Ultrasonic bath or/and

Nanofluid

Fig. 2  Preparation of nanofluid by using two-step method

Stability of nanofluids
Two-step method
The stability of nanofluid is a significant factor affecting
its applicability. Poor stability due to particle–particle and
particle–liquid interactions is an important problem for
Advantages Disadvantages
nanofluids. Additionally, temperature and magnetic field can
• Ideal for large scale • Rapid
agglomeration adversely affect the stability of the nanofluid [69]. Magnetic
• Cost effective
• Suitable for oxide
- • Limited control field intensity is very important for nanofluids. Hong et al.
nanoparcle • High surface [70] investigated the effect of magnetic field strength and
energy
duration of action on the thermal conductivity of the nano-
fluid. Under the influence of the magnetic field, the magnetic
Fig. 3  Advantages and disadvantages of two-step method particles ­(Fe2O3) form interconnected networks and also
tend to take the one oriented toward the field direction, the
nanotubes also move nearby, causing more physical contact,
thereby increasing the thermal conductivity. They achieved
One-step method a maximum increase of 35% using the magnetic field-free
nanofluid. They also observed that as the residence time in
the magnetic field increased, larger particle clusters formed
and the thermal conductivity decreased. The strong magnetic
Advantages Disadvantages
field causes the repulsive force of the static electric charge
• High stability • Not proper for
large scale
between the suspension particles to decrease, thus making
• Less
agglomeration production them agglomerate. Bigger clump of particles also form with
• No storage, no • More expensive a longer time in magnetic field; thus, the thermal conduc-
drying, no • Suitable only low
oxidaon vapor pressure tivity decreases. Chang et al. [71] investigated the effect of
• Greater control liquids magnetic field on the stability of CuO nanofluid. The CuO
nanofluid loses stability at a faster rate in the presence of
magnetic field. The repulsive potential acting between two
Fig. 4  Advantages and disadvantages of one-step method
suspended particles diminishes leading to higher nanopar-
ticle aggregation. Formation of coarse particle takes place
method is suitable only low-vapor-pressure liquids, which under the effect of magnetic field. Average particle size
limits the use of the method [68] (Fig. 4). increases whereas zeta potential value decreases under the

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Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7637

influence of strong magnetic field, which is a clear indication 30 mV, precipitate formation is observed in a short time,
of clustering tendency and poor stability. Zhang et al. [72] stability is achieved at 30 mV, but it can be said that the
investigated effect of particle concentration on the stability stability is very good when the zeta potential is 45 mV and
of water-based S ­ iO2 nanofluid. They found that the initial above. Kim et al. [77] prepared gold/water nanofluid with-
stability of the nanofluid was worse with increasing concen- out adding any surfactant. They determined the stability of
tration. Large amounts of agglomeration in unstable nano- nanofluid by measuring the zeta potential. The zeta poten-
fluids can cause precipitation and adsorption on the inner tial of the nanofluid containing 0.018% and 0.0025% nano-
surface of the system; this can lead to decreased heat transfer particles by volume was found as − 32.1 mV and − 38.5,
efficiency, increased pumping power and even blockage in respectively. Mondragon et al. [265] researched the effect
system pipe blocks [73]. Such behavior can be attributed to of silica nanoparticle concentration on the stability of sil-
two opposing forces: (1) The van der Waals force causes ica nanofluid. When the mass concentration of nanoparti-
agglomeration and then the particles separate from the nano- cles is 2%, the zeta potential value was −48.63 mV, while
fluid and sink to the bottom by the force of gravity. (2) Elec- when the concentration was 20%, the zeta potential value
trical double-layer repulsion tends to separate particles from was found to be −16 mV. They observed that the nanofluid
each other by steric and electrostatic repulsion mechanisms containing 20% nanoparticles by mass showed a minimum
[7475, 76]. The electrical double-layer repulsion force must stability of 48 h (Table 3).
be dominant over the van der Waals pull force for a stable
nanofluid otherwise, particles tend to agglomerate and even
cause sedimentation. In other words, to provide the stabil- Sedimentation method
ity of nanofluids, it is necessary to reduce the interaction
between particles and activate their repulsive forces. The method of analyzing the stability of nanoparticles in
nanofluids by observing their precipitation is called sedi-
Methods of evaluating nanofluid stability mentation method. The sedimentation method is one of
the simplest nanofluidic stability determination methods.
There are different methods used to evaluate the stability of This method is based on the principle of measuring the
nanofluids. These are zeta potential measurement, sedimen- sedimentation volume or amount over time by filling it
tation method, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy from a prepared nanofluid into a transparent graduated
method, electron microscopy method and dynamic light glass tube [79]. Nanofluid is considered stable when the
scattering method. nanoparticles in it are homogeneously dispersed and there
is no precipitation over time. When the particle size is get-
Zeta potential measurement ting smaller, sedimentation rate decreases. Therefore, the
deposition rate of nanoparticles will be slower compared
The electrical potential value of the repulsive force to large-sized particles in the base fluid. Sedimentation is a
between nanoparticles is called zeta potential. It is meas- simple method compared to other techniques. Sedimenta-
ured in millivolts. Zeta potential value can take negative tion can be analyzed by photographing the fluid and taking
or positive values according to the particle surface charge. images. Figure 5 schematically shows the sedimentation-
High zeta potential nanofluids are electrically stable. For based stability evaluation method.
nanofluids, when the zeta potential value is between 15 and

Table 3  Zeta potential values of Researchers Nanofluid Surfactant Zeta potential value

some different nanofluids
Chakraborty et al. [266] Cu–Zn–Al/water None 38.6 mV
Wang et al. [96] Al2O3/water SDBS  − 40.1 mV
Sandhu et al. [267] Al2O3/water–EG None 57 mV
Sandhu et al. [267] CuO/water–EG SDS 47 mV
Ahammed et al. [268] Graphene/water SDBS  − 63.7 mV
Srinivas et al. [269] CNT/water None 20.5 mV
Hwang et al. [270] Carbon Black/water SDS  − 26.9 mV
Mostafizur et al. [271] SiO2/methanol None  − 40 mV
Ghadimi et al. [272] TiO2/water None  − 33.3 mV
Gupta and Sharma [29] Cu–CNT/water None  − 46.6 mV
Xian et al. [78] TiO2/water–EG SDBS −60 mV

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7638 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

nanofluid with the finest particle size showed the highest

Nanoparticle
stability.
Sedimentation rate/mg/h

Agglomerated particles

Base fluid Stability enhancement methods

Sedimentation
Various techniques have been used in the literature to
enhance the stability of nanofluids. The most used of these
are surfactant addition, ultrasonic mixing and pH control.
Stable nanofluid Unstable nanofluid

Surfactant addition
Time/h

A nanofluid generally consists of two components. These are

Fig. 5  Sedimentation measurement method for nanofluid stability nanoparticles and base fluid. The stability of the nanofluid
evaluation
depends on the type of nanoparticles and the base fluid. Nan-
oparticles can be hydrophobic or hydrophilic, and base fluids
UV–visible absorption spectroscopy method can be polar or nonpolar. Hydrophilic nanoparticles such
as oxide nanoparticles are easily dispersible in polar base
UV–visible absorption spectroscopy is another useful fluids such as water, and hydrophobic nanoparticles such as
and effective method to observe the stability of nanoflu- carbon nanotubes can be dispersed in nonpolar basic fluids
ids. Firstly, Jiang et al. [80] applied the UV–Vis spectro- such as oils without requiring a third component. However,
photometer to evaluate the stability of nanofluids. If the surfactants need to be added to stabilize the nanofluids if
characteristic aborption band of a nanofluid is at a wave- hydrophobic nanoparticles are dispersed in polar base fluids
length of 190–1100 nm, the spectral absorbance method is and hydrophilic nanoparticles in nonpolar base fluids. There
appropriate for evaluating the stability of nanofluids [81]. are four different classes of surfactants. These are anionic,
UV–visible absorption spectroscopy method is based on cationic, nonionic and amphoteric surfactants. Amphoteric
the Beer–Lambert law. UV–visible absorption spectroscopy surfactants contain both cationic and anionic hydrophilic
method is beneficial for obtaining quantitative results [82]. groups. These surfactants can form cations and anions
This method is not suitable for highly concentrated or dark depending on the pH of the medium. They have antibacte-
colored nanofluids because high-concentration nanofluids rial properties, resistance to water hardness and low toxicity
cause high absorption of light and reduce the intensity of the [69] (Fig. 6).
scattered light, which degrades data quality [83]. The foam formation is the disadvantage of surfactants,
which affects the thermal properties of the fluid. The addi-
Electron microscopy method tion of surfactant to the nanofluid can increase the stability
but the high-temperature applications cause negative effect
Electron microscopy is another alternative method to evalu- for surfactant (Table 4).
ate the stability of nanofluids by observing particle agglom-
eration and the distribution of nanoparticles using TEM and Ultrasonication
SEM devices. TEM provides a very high resolution in lattice
images that can reach about 0.1 nm [84]. Duangthongsuk Ultrasonic mixing process, which is a physical method
and Wongwises [85] used TEM to determine the size of ­TiO2 based on the use of ultrasonic waves in a fluid, is used
nanoparticles in the ­TiO2/water nanofluid. The nanoparticles to enhance the stability of the nanofluid by breaking the
were found to have an average diameter of about 21 nm and a gravitational force for the nanoparticles. Sonication time
spherical shape. Li et al. [86] used TEM images of Cu/water is an important parameter. So it should be optimized.
nanofluid, they observed that nanoparticles have a spherical Long-term sonication can damage surfactants in nanoflu-
or near-spherical shape and are well dispersed in the fluid. ids. In addition, nanoparticle size may decrease as soni-
Seob et al. [273] prepared Cu/ethanol, Ni/ethanol, Cu/ethyl- cation time increases. Chen and Wen [88] prepared the
ene glycol and Ni/ethylene glycol nanofluids with the one- gold/water nanofluid with a sonication time ranging from
step method. Using TEM images, they determined that the 10 to 60 min. They observed that as the sonication time
particles are spherical and smaller than 100 nm. They also increased, the amount of agglomerated particles decreased.
observed from the high-resolution images that EG shows However, after 45 min., they found no change in parti-
better dispersion as base fluid compared to ethanol. Cu/EG cle size. Mahbubul et al. [89] applied ultrasonication for
30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 min. for ­TiO2/water nanofluid.

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7639

Anionic surfactants Cationic surfactants Non-ionic surfactants Amphoteric surfactants

Sodium dodecyl Cetyl trimethyl

Gum arab (GA),
benzone ammonium
Polyvinylpyrroli Lecithin,
sulfonate bromide (CTAB),
done (PVP), Sodium
(SDBS), Sodium Benzalkonium
Tween 80, lauroamphoace
dodecyl sulfate chloride
Tween X-100, tate,
(SDS), Cetrimonium
Stearyl alcohol, Hydroxysultain,
Ammonium chloride,
Oleic acid Oleyl Cocamindopropyl
lauryl sulfate, Distearyl
amine, Rokanol betaine
Potassium lauryl dimethylammo
K7, Rokacet 07
sulfate nium chloride

Fig. 6  Examples of surfactant types

Table 4  Effect of different Researchers Nanofluid Surfactant Zeta potential values

surfactants on stability
Li et al. [86] Cu–water CTAB 28.1 mV
SDBS  − 43.8 mV
TX-10 −8.3 Mv
Khairul et al. [274] CuO/water None 28 mV
SDBS −85.1 mV
30 mV
Cacua et al. [275] Al2O3–water None 20 mv
SDBS 32 mV
CTAB
Choudhury et al. [276] Al2O3–water None 14 mV
SDS −30 mV
Song et al. [277] Stainless steel–water SDBS −70 mV
CTAB 60.1 mV
Chakraborty et al. [278] Cu–Zn–Al–water SDS  − 50.6 mV
Tween 20 24.3 mV
Ghadimi et al. [272] TiO2–water None  − 33.3 mV
SDS −55 mV
Jiang et al. [279] CNT/water None −30 mV
SDS −40 mV
Yılmaz Aydın et al. [87] Dolomite–water SDBS 30 mV
Triton X-100 26 mV

According to the experimental results, they determined the range of 0–5 h. They examined the distribution of nan-
that the optimum ultrasonication time is 150 min. to pro- oparticles by electron microscopy. The researchers found
vide the longest stability. More than 150 min. of soni- that higher ultrasonication time was required to achieve
cation time caused the nanoparticles to re-agglomerate. better stability as well as lower viscosity. According to
Azmi et al. [90] kept ­TiO2/water–ethylene glycol (60:40) the TEM analysis results, they observed better particle
nanofluid in magnetic stirrer for 30 min. and then in ultra- distribution after 2 h of ultrasonication. In addition, an
sonic bath for 2 h. They conducted stability analysis using external force such as ultracentrifugation can be used to
FESEM and TEM. They observed that the nanofluid was separate and purify nanoparticles. This technique relies
stable for more than 7 months. Mahbubul et al. [91] pro- on particle deposition via centrifugal force caused by the
vided the distribution of 0.5% ­A l 2O 3 nanoparticles by rotation of the ultracentrifuge [92].
ultrasonication in distilled water for different periods in

13

7640 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

pH control different weather conditions can be result in producing a

diverse nanofluid. Thus, it should be necessary to find out
The pH value of nanofluids correlates with the surface ten- optimum period and power up to which sonication shows
sion of nanoparticles, and the pH change can be useful in the results assisting stability of nanofluids. Meanwhile, surface
case of unstable nanoparticles. pH control of nanofluid is an modification techniques are relatively difficult and expen-
approved technique for dispersing the aggregated nanopar- sive, which is not suitable for industrial applications. It is
ticles in liquid and finally preparing of a stable nanofluid. easy and economical to obtain stable nanofluids with pH
pH is an effective parameter on stability of nanofluids [93]. control [93]. However, very low or high pH can cause acid-
pH value of a nanofluid can be enhanced or reduced by add- ity or alkalinity in nanofluids that damage the heat transfer-
ing a suitable non-reactive alkaline or acidic solution [94]. ring equipment and restrict the use of nanofluids in prac-
Flow pattern change with pH variation of the nanofluids. tical applications [100]. Surfactant act as bridge between
In addition, this is not only change caused by PH variation nanoparticles and base fluids to form the continuity between
of nanofluids. During the last decade, some studies showed them by decreasing the surface tension of base fluids and by
that the variation of pH in nanofluid is an important param- improving the dispersion process of nanoparticle. However,
eter for enhancing of stability, thermal conductivity and at high temperatures, surfactant-containing nanofluids cause
viscosity of nanofluids. Lee et al. [95] revealed that as the foaming and clogging occurs on the inner walls of the pipes.
pH of the water-based CuO nanofluids varied far from the Therefore, prolonged use of surfactant-containing nanofluids
isoelectric point of particles, the colloidal particles become at high temperatures can cause thermal devices to fail [100].
more stable and finally alter the thermal conductivity of the
fluid. Wang et al. [96] studied the thermal conductivity of Cu
and ­Al2O3 nanoparticles in water under different pH values. Thermo‑physical properties of nanofluids
Results showed that at lower pH values, the thermal conduc-
tivity ratio enhances with pH for different weight fractions In recent years, new kind of working fluids which contain
of nanoparticles, whereas at higher pH values, this ratio nanosized material particles doped into a base fluid (ethylene
decreases. They resulted that there is an optimal pH value glycol, deionized water, etc.) have been preferred for heat
for the highest thermal conductivity of the nanofluids. Wam- transfer applications due to the fact that they have outstand-
kam et al. [97] investigated aggregation, precipitation and ing effects on the thermo-physical properties of the base
enhancement in thermo-physical properties (viscosity and fluid. The various nanomaterials affect the thermo-physical
thermal conductivity) of water-based nanofluids of ZrO2 and properties of the base fluids differently. The concentration,
TiO2 at pH of isoelectric point (IEP). When the pH value shape and size of the nanoparticles are some of the major
of ­ZrO2–water nanofluid was modified from the isoelectric parameters that remarkably change the thermo-physical
point, the nanofluid viscosity enhancement was reduced by properties.
46% because the aggregate size decreased and the nanofluid
samples became stable. Thermal conductivity
Li et al. [86] investigated the effect of pH on the stabil-
ity of SDBS doped copper/water nanofluid. They observed Thermal conductivity is the most significant property for
that the stability of the nanofluid is quite good at pH 9.5. heat transfer systems. Nanofluids provide excellent heat
Ju et al. [98] investigated the pH effect on carbon nanotube transfer efficiency because of their higher thermal conduc-
(CNT) nanofluids. They prepared nanofluid using deionized tivities compared to base fluids. One of the reasons why
water as the base fluid and SDBS as a surfactant. They found nanofluids have a better thermal conductivity than the base
that the agglomeration kinetic of CNTs depends on pH. The fluid is that nanoparticles move in a random direction when
agglomeration of the CNT particles decreased significantly, they collide with molecules in the fluid. This motion is
as the pH increased from 3 to 10. described as Brownian motion, a key mechanism that con-
Comparing the above-mentioned approaches for prepar- trols the thermal behavior of nanoparticle–liquid suspen-
ing stable nanofluids, it can be found that the efficacy of sions [101]. Brownian motion efficiency increases as particle
these techniques may vary according to the type of nanopar- size decreases. Another reason is the nanolayer. Liquid mol-
ticles, type of base fluids, nanoparticle concentrations and ecules close to the solid particle surface form this layer. In
sonication time [99]. When the sonication time and power addition, it is possible to say that the heat transfer coefficient
increase, cluster size reduces and the stability of suspension of the base fluid is also effective on the thermal conductiv-
improves. However, this statement is not true for very high ity of the prepared nanofluid solution. The methods used
power of sonication and for large time intervals [100]. An to measure the thermal conductivity of nanofluids are as
ultrasonic device increases the temperature of the nanofluid follows: hot wire method, transient plane welding method,
but ambient temperature also affect, so various locations or temperature swing technique, steady-state parallel plate

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7641

technique and optical method. Many parameters affect the to estimate the effective thermal conductivity of compos-
thermal conductivity. Some of them are nanoparticle con- ites at high particle concentrations. Patel model [283] takes
centration, nanolayer, size of the nanoparticle, temperature into account the specific surface area of nanoparticles and
and type of the basic fluid. Several models have since been nanoconvection induced by Brownian nanoparticles. In this
developed for thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Some of model, kinetic theory-based microconvection is considered
thermal conductivity models for nanofluids are presented in as well as liquid layering, in addition to particle concentra-
Table 5. In the derivation of most of the analytical models, tion. The Evans et al. [106] was obtained by analyzing and
the classical Maxwell [102] and Hamilton and Crosser [103] simulating the effect of aggregation and interface thermal
models are used as the basis. The Maxwell model can accu- resistance on the effective thermal conductivity of nanoflu-
rately predict of the very dilute particle–liquid mixtures con- ids and nanocomposites. Singh model [107] is a modified
taining spherical shaped particles. Maxwell model is based Hamilton–Crosser model for spherical particles. Rea model
on the conduction solution through a stationary random [282] is based on experimental data of thermal conductivity
suspension of spheres. The Hamilton and Crosser model of alumina and zirconia nanofluids at various temperatures
[103] is the extended version of the Maxwell model to take (20–80 °C). Afrand correlation [109] is proposed to estimate
into account irregular particle geometries by introducing a the thermal conductivity ratio of magnetic nanofluid using
shape factor for determination of particle–liquid mixtures experimental data. In experimental studies, the thermal con-
containing non-spherical particles. Bruggeman model [280] ductivities of F
­ e3O4 nanofluids at different concentrations
is based on the differential effective medium (DEM) theory were measured at different temperatures (20–55 °C). Khdler

Table 5  Some thermal conductivity models of nanofluid

Researcher Equation Remarks

Maxwell [102] knf =

kp +2kf +2𝜙(kp −kf )
kf A theory developed for spherical particles dependent on volume
kp +2kf −𝜙(kp −kf ) concentration
Hamilton and Crosser [103] k = kp +(n−1)kf +(n−1)𝜙(kp −kf ) A theory developed for spherical and cylindrical particles
nf kp +(n−1)kf −𝜙(kp −kf )

Bruggeman [280] kp
A theory to estimate the effective thermal conductivity of mixed bod-
√
knf (3𝜙−1) k +[3(1−𝜙)−1]+ Δ
= ies from isotropic substances
f
kf 4

Lu and Lin [281] keff

= 1 + a𝜙p + b𝜙2p The model is based on composites containing aligned spheroidal
kf
inclusions
Eastman et al.[105] A generic model
[ kp 𝜙df
]
keff
kf
= 1+ kf (1−𝜙)dp

Evans et al. [106] k

= 1 + 𝜑p 3kp
k A model developed considering particle thermal conductivity
kf 1
Singh et al. [107] knf = kf (1 + 4𝜙) This is a modified Hamilton–Crosser model
Rea et al. [282] knf = kf (1 + 4.5503𝜙) A model based on experimental data
Khanafer and Vafai A model based on experimental works
( )
knf 47
[104] = 1 + 1.0112𝜙 + 2.4375𝜙 −
kf dp (nm)
kp
( )
0.0248𝜙p
0.613
Wang et al. k 3fq(p)∕p0 A model considering nanoparticle size, volume faction shape,
=1+
[45] kf 1−fq(p)∕p0 nanolayer and interaction between particles
Sundar et al. [237] knf = kbf (1 + 10.5𝜙)0.1051s A model suitable for ­Fe2O3 with a specified range of volume fraction
and temperature
Patel et al. [283] keff
=1+
kp df 𝜙 2k Td
[1 + c π𝛼B𝜇 dp2 ] A microconvection model for thermal conductivity of nanofluids
kf kf dp (1−𝜙) f f p

Wang et al. [108] A fractal model for predicting the effective thermal conductivity of
√
keff (3𝜙−1)kp ∕kf +[3(1−𝜙−1]+ ΔB
=
kf 4 liquid with suspension of nanoparticles
Afrand et al. [109] knf
= 0.7575 + 0.3𝜑0.323 T 0.245 A model developed by curve fitting of data and based on magnetic
kbf
nanofluid
Khndher et al. [110] knf
( )−0.0074
T
(
𝜑
)0.036 A model developed based on temperature, particle volume concentra-
= 1.268 × ×
kbf 80 100 tion
Zaraki et al. [111] knf
= 1 + Nc × 𝜙 A model based on experimental data for low volume fractions of
kbf
nanoparticles (ϕ < 5%)

13

7642 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

model [110] is based on experimental data which include with the particle concentrations. They observed 24.1 and
thermal conductivity of ­Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersed in bio 25.9% enhancement in Nu number for 0.5% concentration of
glycol-based fluid. This correlation is function of concentra- nanofluid and 11,000 and 19,000 Re number while for 0.2%
tion, temperature and the thermal conductivity of base fluid. concentration of nanofluid the Nu number increased 33.3
Zaraki et al. [111] developed a model based on the results and 34.9%, respectively. Similarly, minimum pressure drop
of the measured thermal conductivity of nanofluids reported (17%) was found for 0.1% weight concentration of nanofluid
by the previous studies. This relation is only appropriate for and maximum pressure drop was found (24.9%) for 0.2%
low volume fractions of nanoparticles (ϕ < 5%) where Nc concentration of nanofluid at Re number of 12,000.
denotes the number of thermal conductivity. The number Ezekwem and Dare [117] prepared SiC/DW and SiC/EG
of thermal conductivity (Nc) can be changed by altering nanofluids using a two-step method at volume concentrations
various parameters, such as the size of the nanoparticles, of 0.5–5%. The thermal conductivities of nanofluids were
the shape of the nanoparticles, the type of the nanoparticles analyzed. The thermal conductivity of nanofluid enhanced
and the type of the base fluid. with an increase in the volume concentration of nanopar-
ticles. They found that SiC/EG and SiC/DW nanofluids
Effect of particle concentration on thermal conductivity increased thermal conductivity by 25% and 16% at 5 vol. %
of nanofluids concentration, respectively. Suresh et al. [118] investigated
the thermal conductivity of A ­ l2O3–Cu/water hybrid nano-
The addition of nanoparticles with optimal size improves fluids with different nanoparticle concentrations (0.1–2% by
the thermal performance of thermal systems. However, the volume). They concluded that the thermal conductivity is
thermal conductivity decreases when the particle agglomera- related to nanoparticle concentration. They observed that
tion begins after a certain concentration value. The particles when 2% nanoparticles by volume are added to water, the
with higher volume fraction and size promote agglomera- thermal conductivity increases by 12.11%. Gandhi et al.
tion and sedimentation, which increases the viscosity of the [119] prepared graphene–water nanofluid at the range of
nanofluid and causes particle fouling on the heat transfer sur- 0.001–0.2% by volume concentration and measured thermal
faces. The development of fouling behavior and the higher conductivity. They found that as the nanoparticle concen-
viscosity of the working fluid lead to an increased pressure tration increased, the thermal conductivity increased. The
drop and therefore a greater pumping power demand result- thermal conductivity increased by 27% compared to the base
ing in lower thermal–hydraulic performance and lower ther- fluid when using 0.2% nanofluid. Saholi and Sabbaghi [120]
mal performance than conventional fluid [112, 113114]. In prepared CuO/EG–W nanofluid at different concentrations
order to achieve high heat transfer with low-pressure drop, ranging from 0.01 to 0.1% by mass fraction. They observed
it is necessary to determine the optimum volume fraction of that as the amount of nanoparticles added to the base fluid
nanoparticles with higher thermal conductivity. It is impor- increased, the thermal conductivity increased. However,
tant to maintain the system in maximum heat transfer and after a certain time, the nanoparticles agglomerated and
minimum pumping power to design an energy-saving ther- the nanofluid became unstable, so the thermal conductiv-
mal system [49]. ity started to decrease as the amount of CuO nanoparticles
Goodarzi et al. [115] investigated thermal performance in the nanofluid increased. They obtained 1.66% maximum
and pressure drop of double pipe heat exchanger by using thermal conductivity enhancement at 0.06% nanoparticle
nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) nanofluids with vari- concentration at 70 °C. Increasing the nanoparticle concen-
ous nanosheets at several concentrations (0.01, 0.02, 0.04, tration causes large shear stresses and requires high pumping
0.06 mass%). They revealed adding nanosheets to water power. Therefore, it is significant to choose the appropriate
improve the heat transfer coefficient of the working fluid. nanoparticle concentration in the prepared nanofluids [121].
They obtained 15.86% enhancement of the convective heat
transfer coefficient in comparison with water for 0.06% Effect of particle size on thermal conductivity of nanofluids
concentration of ultrafine particles in NDG nanofluid. They
also concluded an augmentation in Reynolds number and The particle size is a significant parameter affecting the
particle mass percentage could increase the friction factor, thermal conductivity of nanofluids. A lot of study pre-
which then led to the pressure drop and pumping power sented that the thermal conductivity of nanofluid enhances
rise. Akhavan-Behabadi et al. [116] investigated heat trans- with the decreasing of particle size. Chopkar et al. [122]
fer characteristics and pressure drop performance of heat used ­Al2Cu–water nanofluid at 2% concentration. When
exchanger by using MWCNTs–water nanofluid as a work- the particle size was 101  nm, thermal conductivity
ing fluid with different particle mass concentrations of 0.05, increased by 61% compared to water, while when par-
0.1 and 0.2%. They observed heat transfer coefficient of ticle size was 31 nm, thermal conductivity increased by
nanofluid is higher than that of the base fluid and increases 96%. Maheshwary et al. [123] investigated particle size

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7643

effect on thermal conductivity. They found that thermal Effect of temperature on thermal conductivity of nanofluids
conductivity increased with the reduction in particle size
of ­TiO 2–water nanofluid. Some studies in the literature Studies have shown that temperature has an effect on ther-
discussed that thermal conductivity decreases with the mal conductivity and thermal conductivity increases with
reduction of nanoparticle size. Sun et al. [124] prepared temperature increase. The effective viscosity of nanofluids
­S iO 2 –water nanofluid using S­ iO 2 with particle sizes consists of two parts, static and dynamic. The static part of
of 10 nm and 60 nm to show the effect of nanoparticle the viscosity of the nanofluid is a combination of the Ein-
size on thermal conductivity. They observed 11% and stein model and the viscosity effect from the nanolayer. The
13% enhancement in thermal conductivity, respectively. nanolayer-dependent viscosity effect is enhanced in that a
Although there is not a big difference, this study shows nanolayer is around a nanoparticle and its thickness is one
that sometimes there may be an enhancement in thermal nm. The dynamic part consists of the viscosity effect result-
conductivity with increasing nanoparticle size. Yasha- ing from the Brownian motion of the nanoparticles [130].
wantha et al. [125] investigated effect of particle size on The decrease in viscosity at high temperatures is due to the
thermal conductivity. Their results showed that 2 vol. increase in intermolecular distance in the base fluid at high
% graphite–ethylene glycol nanofluid with nanoparticle temperature. As the temperature increases, the intermolecu-
size < 50 nm increased the thermal conductivity by 16.3% lar attraction between the nanoparticles and their base flu-
compared with nanoparticle size < 100 nm. ids weakens. The viscosity increase in nanofluids increases
more with temperature compared to the base fluid. This
effect is greater at higher concentrations. In a study, 2.96
Effect of base fluid on thermal conductivity of nanofluids times higher viscosity increase was observed with a 2.0%
volume concentration at 60 °C compared to the base fluid
Studies have shown that the base fluid is an effective [131]. In addition, the viscosity enhancement can change
parameter on the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. type of base fluid. The viscosity enhancement decreased
Reddy and Rao [126] used ­TiO2 nanofluid with three dif- with increment percentage of ethylene glycol in mixture
ferent base fluids to investigate base fluid effect. They [132]. Naik and Sundar [133] investigated effect of tempera-
used water, EG–water (40:60) and EG–water (50:50) ture on thermal conductivity of CuO nanofluid with a water/
as the base fluids. At 1% nanoparticle concentration propylene glycol mixture (30:70%) as base fluid and they
by volume, they obtained the increase in thermal con- revealed thermal conductivity enhancements of 10.9% and
ductivity of 5.01, 14.38, 4.2%, when they use water, 43.37% for 1.2 vol% and at 298.15 and 338.15 K, respec-
EG–water (40:60), EG–water (50:50), respectively. In tively. Buonomo et al. [134] measured thermal conductivity
their study, the most effective result was obtained when of ­Al2O3–water nanofluid at different temperatures and con-
using EG–water (50:50) mixture as base fluid. Abdol- centrations. They revealed that the increase in the thermal
baqi et al. [127] measured the thermal conductivity of conductivity of nanofluid compared to pure water is higher
­A l 2O 3 nanofluids prepared using different base fluids. as the temperature increases. They showed that the increase
When they used bioglycol–water (60:40) as the base fluid, with 0.5% particle concentration at 25 °C increased from
the thermal conductivity increased by 13%, while the about 0.57% to about 8% at 65 °C. They also found that
thermal conductivity increase was 24% when they used for 4% volume concentration, the increase in thermal con-
bioglycol–water (40:60) as the base fluid. According to ductivity enhanced from 7.6% to 14.4% as the temperature
these results, the maximum increase in thermal conduc- increased from 25 to 65 °C.
tivity increased approximately 2 times with the use of
bioglycol–water (40–60). Usri et al. [128] took thermal Viscosity
conductivity measurements of nanofluids prepared with
water–ethylene glycol (60:40, 50:50 and 40:60) base flu- Viscosity of nanofluid is as important as thermal conductiv-
ids using the two-step method with 13-nm-sized A ­ l 2O 3 ity in heat transfer applications. The viscosity of the base
nanoparticles. According to the experimental results, as fluid changes with adding nanoparticles. The enhancement
the ratio of EG in the mixture increases, the increase in in pressure drop due to viscosity increases the pump power.
thermal conductivity decreases due to its properties. Dad- Many parameters affect the viscosity of nanofluids. These
wal and Joy [129] prepared nanofluids by using magnetite are temperature, nanoparticle concentration, nanoparticle
­(Fe3O4) nanoparticles in two different base fluids. They size and shape, shear stress, surfactant addition, type of
investigated thermal conductivity of nanofluids and they base fluid, agglomeration rate and type of nanoparticles [47].
found the kerosene-based nanofluid showed relatively As the temperature increases, the viscosity decreases due
larger enhancement in the thermal conductivity than the to influence on the intermolecular forces. Surfactants also
toluene-based fluids at similar concentrations. increase the viscosity of the nanofluids [135]. Viscometer

13

7644 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

types most used in viscosity measurements of nanofluids 1.4

Deonized water Bauxite nanofluid
are vibrating/oscillating viscometer, rotating viscometer, 1.2
orifice-type viscosimeter, capillary viscometer and bubble

Viscosity/mPa.s
1
viscometer [284]. Some of the important viscosity models
are given in Table 6. 0.8

0.6

0.4
Effect of temperature on viscosity of nanofluids
0.2
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Heating the liquids gives higher energy to the molecules of
Temperature/°C
the liquid. This increase in energy contributes to the increase
in random movements and the weakening of the intermo-
Fig. 7  Viscosity values of deionized water and bauxite nanofluid
lecular forces that hold the fluid molecules. These events depending on temperature [140]
cause a decrease in the resistance of the fluid to shear stress
and as a result, a decrease in viscosity is seen. Anoop et al.
[137] prepared A ­ l2O3–water and A ­ l2O3–EG nanofluids at Effect of concentration on viscosity of nanofluids
different nanoparticle concentrations. They took viscosity
measurements at different temperatures. They found that the The concentration of nanofluid is a significant parameter
viscosity increased as the temperature reduced. Kumerasan that affects viscosity. As the concentration of nanoparticles
and Velraj [138] investigated the relationship between the increases, the viscosity of the nanofluid increases because
temperature of MWCNT/EG–water nanofluid and viscos- velocity and the convection reduce. The larger fractions
ity in their study. They observed an increase in viscosity at of nanoparticles make the nanofluid more viscous as such
temperatures above 25 °C. However, in the low-tempera- the velocity and the convection decreases which leads to
ture range, the increase in viscosity was found to be lower the rise of boundary layer thickness resulting in reduced
compared to higher temperatures. Moldoveanu et al. [139] temperature gradient and Nusselt number [67]. Baratpour
investigated the viscosities of ­Al2O3/water, ­SiO2/water and et al. [141] prepared SWCNT/EG nanofluid and studied at
­Al2O3–SiO2/water nanofluids at 25 °C. They presented that various temperatures and concentration. They found that
viscosity decreases with increasing of temperature. Aydın dynamic viscosity increased with increasing solid volume
et al. [140] analyzed viscosity of bauxite/DI water nanofluid. fraction and decreased with increasing temperature. Ban-
They showed that the viscosity is decreasing with increase isharif et al. [142] investigated thermo-physical properties of
in the temperature (Fig. 7). ­Fe3O4/EG–water nanofluid. They observed that the dynamic

Table 6  Some viscosity models of nanofluids

Researcher Equation Remarks

Einstein [285] 𝜇eff = 𝜇(1 + 2.5𝜙)𝜙 < 0.05 A model valid for spherical particles of volume concentration less than or
equal to 2%
Brinkman [286] 𝜇eff
=
𝜇eff
An extended Einstein model
𝜇f (1−𝜙)2.5
Bruijn [287] 𝜇eff
= 1 + 2.5𝜙 + 4.698𝜙2 A model valid for spherical particles
𝜇f
Batchelor [288] A model developed considering interaction between particles
( )
𝜇eff = 𝜇0 1 + 2.5𝜙 + 6.5𝜙2
Wang et al. [289] 𝜇eff
= 1 + 7.3𝜙 + 123𝜙2 A generic model
𝜇f
Dávalos-Orozco et al. [290] 𝜇eff = 𝜇f 1 + 2.5𝜙 + 6.17𝜙2 A model based on volume concentration of nanoparticles
( )

Nguyen et al. [291] A model based on curve fitting of experimental data

( )
𝜇nf = 𝜇0 1 − 0.025𝜙 + 0.015𝜙2
Abedian et al. [292] 𝜇bf
𝜇nf = (1−2.5𝜑) A model developed for particle suspensions
Heyhat et al. [293] A model valid for a specified temperature range, particle size and concen-
( )
5.989𝜙
𝜇nf = 𝜇0 (T)Exp 0.278−𝜙
tration
Esfe et al. [294] A model developed considering effect of particle diameter of Fe–water
( )
𝜇nf 0.69574 0.44708
= 1 = 0.1008 × 𝜑 × dp
𝜇bf nanofluid
Hamid et al. [136] 𝜇
( )0.2321 A model developed for a specified nanoparticle volume concentration and
T
𝜇r = 𝜇nf = 1.42(1 + R)−0.1063 80
bf temperature range
Zaraki et al. [111] 𝜇nf
= 1 + Nν × 𝜙 A model developed for diluted nanofluids with where Nv denotes viscos-
𝜇bf
ity parameter

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7645

viscosity of nanofluid decreased with nanoparticle content and nanoparticle concentration. Yiamsawasd et al. [150] pre-
in particular below 273.15 K, up to 40% at 0.1% in volume. pared nanofluids using ­TiO2 and ­Al2O3 nanoparticles and
pure water and EG/water (20:80 mass%) as base fluid. The
Effect of particle size on viscosity of nanofluids nanoparticle concentration and temperature range from 0
to 8% and 15–65 °C, respectively. They observed that the
The effect of the size of nanoparticles used in nanofluids specific heat of nanofluids is lower than that of the base liq-
on viscosity has been associated with different results in uids. They also observed that the specific heat reduces with
different studies. In some studies, viscosity of nanofluids increasing of the particle concentration and the specific heat
increases with the increasing of particle size [143144] while of nanofluid enhances with increasing temperature. Studies
in some studies, viscosity increases with the decreasing of have shown that nanoparticle concentration and temperature
nanoparticle size [145, 146]. He et al. [147] investigated are effective on specific heat.
viscosity of T ­ iO2–water nanofluid with different concen- The low heat capacity of the working fluid used is a
trations and different particle sizes. They found that when disadvantage for thermal energy storage systems. The
the particle size and particle concentration increases, rela- fluid used as a refrigerant should also have a high heat
tive viscosity of nanofluids increases. Nguyen et al. [148] capacity [151]. Using a working fluid with a higher heat
used ­Al2O3 nanoparticles of 36 nm and 47 nm sizes while capacity is the most direct way to increase the efficiency
preparing ­Al2O3–water nanofluid. They observed that par- of small heat exchangers [152] Therefore, increasing the
ticle size effect became more important at high volumetric heat capacity of nanofluids has become a current issue.
concentration (> 4%) and the viscosity of the nanofluid was One of these methods is the use of nanoencapsulated
found to be greater when using small nanoparticle size than PCMs for the preparation of nanofluids. Nanoencapsulated
when using large nanoparticles. According to this result, phase change material (NEPCM) is a type of nanofluid in
the viscosity of the nanofluid prepared with 47 nm-sized which the nanoparticle consists of a core and a shell. The
particles at high concentration was found to be higher than core is made of a phase change material (PCM), which
the viscosity of the nanofluid prepared with 36 nm particles. can undergo a solid–liquid phase change and absorb or
According to this result, they found that the viscosity of the release a significant amount of energy due to the latent
nanofluid increased as the particle size increased at high heat of phase change. Ghalambaz et al. [153] investigated
concentrations. In an experimental study, ­Al2O3–water nano- heat transfer performance of NEPCM particles in a cavity.
fluid was prepared using 45 nm and 150 nm nanoparticles They observed a higher heat transfer rate in the cavity due
by Anoop et al. [137]. According to the viscosity measure- to the increase in the heat storage capacity of the NEPCM
ment results, the viscosity of the nanofluid prepared with particles as a result of the increase in the latent heat of the
nanoparticles with a particle size of 45 nm was found to PCM cores. The researchers also used nanoencapsulated
be greater than the viscosity of the nanofluid prepared with phase change materials in different systems such as a mini-
nanoparticles with a particle size of 150 nm. In other words, channel heat sink, double pipe heat exchanger, an eccentric
they argued that smaller nanoparticles increased the viscos- annulus, an inclined porous cavity [151, 152, 154, 155].
ity more. Considering the researches, it can be inferred that
viscosity of nanofluids is highly dependent on particle size.
Density
Heat capacity
Density is a significant property of nanofluid. Re number,
Specific heat is another important parameter affecting the friction factor, pressure loss and Nu number are affected
heat transfer rate of nanofluids. It is directly linked to heat by density change. When nanoparticles are dispersed in
storage, transfer and the Prandtl number. Base fluid and base fluids, the density of nanofluids increases. Although
nanoparticles, which are components of a nanofluid, both the researches on density are very limited, the most basic
affect the specific heat capacity of the nanofluid. nanofluid density calculation method by Pak and Cho [156]
Kumerasan and Velraj [138] investigated the specific heat is given in Eq. 1.
of MWCT/EG–water nanofluid in their study. The addition 𝜌nf = 𝜑𝜌p + (1 − 𝜑)𝜌bf (1)
of carbon nanotube particles to the base fluid increased the
specific heat. However, as the nanoparticle concentration where 𝜌nf is the density of the nanofluid, 𝜌p is the density of
increased, the increase in the specific heat value decreased. the particle, 𝜑 is the particle volume concentration and 𝜌bf
Yarmand et al. [149] prepared carbon–graphene/EG nano- is the density of the base fluid. Pak and Cho conducted the
fluid and investigated the specific heat capacity of the hybrid experiment at only one temperature (25 °C) for γ-Al2O3 and
nanofluid. They found that the specific heat capacity of the ­TiO2 nanofluids up to 4.5% volume concentration to verify
hybrid nanofluid enhanced with increasing of temperature Eq. (1).

13

7646 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

It has been concluded that the density of nanofluid related to the geometric arrangements of pipes, which are
enhances with the increase in the concentration of nanopar- mostly known as passive heat transfer improvement meth-
ticles [157, 158]. Considering two solutions with and with- ods, as well as the improvement of fluid-related properties.
out nanoparticles added for unit volume of fluid, although The flowing through pipe bundles is quite often used in
the amount of fluid remains constant, there is an increase in applications such as heating and cooling in industry. The
the total mass, so the solution containing nanoparticles will use of nanofluid is also increasing day by day to improve
be denser than the other. Density is an intensive property the heat transfer in thermal systems. The use of nanofluids
that varies depending on the amount of material. Al-Waeli instead of conventional working fluids is an effective way to
et al. [159] prepared nanofluids with SiC nanoparticle (0.5 increase the thermo-hydraulic performance of these systems
mass %) and different base fluid (water, water/EG, water/ at different types of heat exchangers. It is also significant
PG) and measured the density. They observed the increas- to increase the heat transfer performance of different types
ing temperature results in density decrease. They found that of solar collectors and it is aimed at increasing the thermal
density increase was 0.0015% at 25 °C, whereas increase efficiency of these systems. For this, different types of nano-
rate decreased to 0.002% at 60 °C. EG has a much higher fluids are used to improve thermo-hydraulic performance in
density than PG, but when added to water at 35%, the den- solar power technologies. The improvement in heat transfer
sity difference has been found to be relatively smaller than and enhancement in friction should be considered together.
35% PG and water. The maximum density increase rate was Thermo-hydraulic performance (THP) has been defined as
found 16.71% for EG–water nanofluid. the ratio of the improvement rate expressing the increase in
heat transfer to the friction factor. The main criterion in the
Electrical conductivity evaluation of thermo-hydraulic performance of the thermal
system is given in Eqs. 2 and 3 [164]. Models with a THP
Nanomaterials have high electrical conductivity. There- coefficient above 1 are considered advantageous, while mod-
fore, dispersion of nanomaterials in base fluids enhances els below this value are considered unfavorable models.
electrical conductivity significantly as compared to base ( )
fluid. Various parameters affect the electrical conductiv- Num ∕Nuf
𝜂= ( (2)
ity of nanofluids such as size and shape of nanomaterials,
)1∕3
fm ∕ff
temperature, preparation methods, instruments, surfactant
and volume concentration [160]. Ramalingam et al. [161] ( ) ( )1∕3 ( )2∕3
observed that the electrical conductivity of Cu–S nanofluid Num ∕Nuf hm ∕hf 𝜆f 𝜌f 𝜇m
𝜂= ( = × × ×
increased linearly with temperature. Therefore, the improve-
)1∕3 ( )1∕3 𝜆 𝜌 𝜇f
fm ∕ff ΔPm ∕ΔPf m m

ment electrical conductivity of nanofluids decreased from (3)

2847 to 1925% with the variation of 30 ºC–55 ºC in tempera- The thermal and hydraulic properties of nanofluids are
ture, respectively. Giwa et al. [162] investigated electrical key to evaluating and improving their performance. Thermal
conductivity of deionized water-based γ-Al2O3–MWCNT properties such as thermal conductivity, viscosity and den-
hybrid nanofluids. They obtained maximum enhancements sity are affected by many parameters such as friction factor,
of 442.9 and 26.3% at 55 °C for the electrical conductivity Re number and pump efficiency [165]. The factors affecting
of nanofluids at particle mass ratios of 90:10 and 20:80, thermo-hydraulic performance are given in Fig. 8.
respectively, according to base fluid. Giwa et al. [163] also There are many works about effects of solid particle con-
investigated electrical conductivity of (MWCNT)-Fe 2O3/ centration, Reynolds number, pressure drop, flow rate and
deionized water nanofluid at temperatures and volume con- regime of nanofluids on thermo-hydraulic performance.
centrations ranging from 15 to 55 °C and 0.1–1.5%, respec- Particle concentration is one of the parameters affecting the
tively. Their results showed that electrical conductivity of convective heat transfer on nanofluids. The fluid proper-
the hybrid nanofluids increases with respect to increasing ties change greatly as the concentration increases. Particu-
volume concentration and temperature. larly, the viscosity of a nanofluid is typically significantly
larger than that of the base fluids, meaning that velocity
and pumping power are also larger if Reynolds numbers are
Thermo‑hydraulic performance set equal. In order to obtain a proper comparison concern-
of nanofluids in thermal systems ing the practical efficiency of the fluids, pumping powers
must also be considered. This is a reasonable result, since
The importance of thermo-hydraulic performance of a the practical efficiency must naturally eventually worsen
system is increasing. Therefore, alternative methods for with increasing fraction of solid material. Asirvatham et al.
improving thermo-hydraulic performance in such flows [166] investigated the convective heat transfer of nanofluids
are being searched. These methods include applications

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7647

Fig. 8  Factors affecting the

thermo-hydraulic performance
of nanofluids
Size of Nanoparticle
nanoparticles concentration
Heat tranfer
Magnetic field
coefficient

Type of thermal Factors affecting thermo-hydraulic

Pressure drop
device performance

Flow regime Reynold number

Volumetric flow
Friction factor
rate of nanofluid

in a countercurrent heat transfer test section under laminar, Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al. [169] investigated heat trans-
transition and turbulent flow regimes. Experiments showed fer performance of two types of fin, plate and plate-pin, in
that convective heat transfer coefficient improved with the water-cooled corrugated miniature heat sinks (MHSs) using
suspended nanoparticles by as much as 28.7 and 69.3% ­Al2O3–water nanofluid with different concentrations (0.1
for 0.3 and 0.9% of silver content, respectively. However, and 0.3 mass. %) and different Re number (100–900). They
some studies have also reported that addition of nanopar- performed for triangular, trapezoidal and sinusoidal configu-
ticles deteriorate the heat transfer efficiency of fluids in all rations. They observed that the use of nanofluid improves the
cases, regardless of the concentration. Mikkola et al. [167] overall hydrothermal performance of miniature heat sinks.
investigated effect of particle properties on the convective They determined a maximum hydrothermal performance
heat transfer of nanofluids. They used polystyrene, ­SiO2, factor of 1.84 for 0.3% nanofluid flow in sinusoidal plate-
­Al2O3–water nanofluids with concentrations of varying the pin finned slotted miniature heat sinks.
range of 0.1–1.8 vol%. Convective heat transfer experiments Sarafraz et al. [170] studied on the thermal–hydraulic per-
were carried out using an annular tube heat exchanger with formance of Ga–CuO nanofluid in a rectangular microchan-
the Reynolds numbers varying in the range of 1000–11,000. nel. They evaluated the effects of nanoparticle concentration
They observed increasing the nanoparticle concentration and flow rate of nanofluid on the heat transfer coefficient,
decreased the convective heat transfer efficiency in all cases. pressure drop and thermo-hydraulic performance of the sys-
Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et  al. [168] prepared Cu–water tem. They revealed that the thermo-hydraulic performance
nanofluid with different nanoparticles mass fractions (0.1, was significantly dependent on Reynolds and the nanofluid
0.2, 0.3 and 0.4%). They used plate-fin heat exchangers. concentration. In addition, they achieved the highest thermo-
They found that the nanofluid with the minimum nanopar- hydraulic performance in laminar regime due to small pres-
ticles concentration exhibited the highest thermo-hydraulic sure drop.
performance. The maximum enhancement in thermo- Akçay et  al. [171] determined that although there is
hydraulic performance of 0.1% nanofluid was 23.1%. They no increase in thermo-hydraulic performance at low fre-
showed that the using nanofluids with the lower mass frac- quency and amplitude, there is a frequency value at which
tions performed better. the thermo-hydraulic performance is maximum. Achieving

13

7648 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

the best thermo-hydraulic performance at high amplitude studied three different mass concentration (0.1 mass%,
and a certain frequency (Wo = 10) has shown that pulsative 0.3 mass% and 0.5 mass%) effect. They found that
flow significantly increases heat transfer, although it causes ­TiO2–water nanofluid with 0.5 mass% enhanced the Nus-
some increase in friction. They have observed that as the selt number by 9.7–16.1% and 25.8–32.9% at best com-
frequency increases above the critical value (Wo = 15), the pared with water in the circular tube and elliptical tube,
improvement in thermo-hydraulic performance reduces due respectively. Qi et  al. [176] studied effects of twisted
to the decrease in heat transfer performance and more fric- tape structures on thermo-hydraulic performances of
tion losses. ­TiO2–water nanofluids in a triangular tube. They inves-
Sarafraz et al. [172] also investigated the thermo-hydrau- tigated effects of nanoparticle mass fractions, Reynolds
lic performance of Ga–Al2O3 nanofluid in a copper made numbers and different structure twisted tapes on the Nus-
rectangular microchannel solar thermal receiver. They pre- selt number and enhancement of resistance coefficient
pared the gallium nanofluids at mass fractions of 5%, 10% ratios. They found that triangular tube with twisted tape
and 15% of aluminum oxide in gallium. They noted that improved the Nusselt number by 52.5% and 34.7% at best
although the Reynolds number was small, less energy, fric- in laminar and turbulent flow, respectively, compared with
tion loss and pumping power are needed to overcome the the smooth tube with the same fluid.
pressure drop due to the relatively low pressure drop subject Ajeel et al. [179] investigated the effects of volume
to the system. Thus, they have achieved higher hydraulic fractions and geometric parameters he thermal–hydrau-
performance in the laminar area. They observed that increas- lic performance of hybrid nanofluid (CuO/MgO–water)
ing the ­Al2O3 concentration increased the heat transfer coef- through the curved–corrugated channel. They showed that
ficient and pressure drop of pure Ga. They also observed that thermal–hydraulic performance (THPF) of binary hybrid
the thermo-hydraulic performance decreased when 15% of nanofluid enhanced with increasing volume fraction and
­Al2O3 by mass was used due to the increase in viscosity and the blockage ratio and decreasing the pitch angle while
agglomeration of ­Al2O3 nanoparticles in Ga. recording the best improvement at the particular gap ratio.
Type of thermal device is also an important parameter Thermo-hydraulic performance of radiator with hybrid
that affects the thermo-hydraulic performance of systems nanofluid were investigated by Sahoo et  al. [177]. He
using nanofluids. Bahiraei et al. [173] examined the thermo- investigated effects of spherical, cylindrical and platelet
hydraulic performance of the green graphene nanoplate- shape-based graphene–CNT–Al2O3 hybrid nanofluids as
let nanofluid through the tube equipped with the rotating new radiator coolant. They showed that particle shape in
twisted tape. The variable parameters consist of rotational ternary hybrid nanofluid has a significant impact on the
speed, twisted ratio and nanoparticle mass fraction, which thermo-hydraulic performance. They also revealed that
their influences were evaluated. They revealed that adding the performance index of the radiator system gradually
the nanoplatelets has a smaller effect on the convective heat decreases with an increment in the coolant flow rate and
transfer coefficient at higher rotational speeds. They also vol. fraction of ternary hybrid nanofluids.
presented that the convective heat transfer coefficient and The influence of various magnetic fields on the thermo-
pumping power enhanced by increasing the rotational speed hydraulic performance of magnetic nanofluids has been
and mass fraction and decreased by increasing the twisted the focus of recent research. Fan et al. [178] investigated
ratio. thermo-hydraulic performance of ­F e 3O 4–water–arabic
Ajeel et al. [174] investigated of thermal–hydraulic per- gum nanofluids in an improved heat exchange system.
formance of silica nanofluid in corrugated channels namely A corrugated tube and a perforated turbulator were used
semicircle-corrugated channel and the new form of a trap- in this study. The experimental results reveal that a high
ezoidal-corrugated channel in addition to the straight chan- nanoparticle mass fraction, high magnetic flux density,
nel. Their experimental results indicated that the nanofluid bilateral staggered magnetic field and perforated turbula-
showed better performances in comparison with the base tor can provide superior thermo-hydraulic performance.
fluid where heat transfer and pressure drop were increased Mei et al. [180] studied effects of paralleled magnetic
with increasing volume fractions of S ­ iO2. They is also found field on thermo-hydraulic performances of ­Fe3O4–water
that the use of corrugated channel (TCC) enhanced heat nanofluids in a circular tube. Experimental data showed
transfer rates up to 63.59%, pressure drop by 1.37 times and that Nusselt number was proportional to nanoparticle mass
thermal performance up to 2.22 times as compared to those fraction but had an opposite relationship with magnetic
of straight channel. induction intensity. They also found that resistance coef-
Qi et al. [175] also investigated the heat transfer and ficient enhanced with the nanoparticle mass fraction and
flow characteristics of nanofluids flowing through a hori- by magnetic field.
zontal circular tube and a horizontal elliptical tube. They

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7649

Thermodynamic performance of nanofluids number reveals the contribution of the irreversibilities in the
in thermal systems second law analysis [182, 183]. Bejan gave the equation for
the rate of entropy generation per unit length as
One of the most important parameters to be considered for
q��2 πD2 8̇ ṁ 3 f ((Re)D )
the design of heat transfer systems is the thermodynamic �
Ṡ gen = + (4)
performance of the system. Therefore, the design param- kT 2 Nu((Re)D , Pr) π2 𝜌2 T D5
eters of thermal systems vary not only with the increase in
the heat transfer but also with the amount of power input to �
Ṡ gen �
= (Ṡ gen �
)heat transfer + (Ṡ gen )fluid friction (5)
the system. Therefore, determining the optimum consistency
between the heat transfer rate and the amount of power input The total entropy generation rate is contributed by two
appears as a key element in the design of a thermal system. elements, thermal and fluid friction, as shown in Eq. (4).
There is a need to reduce the entropy generated in the system Equation (4) demonstrates the significance of the Nusselt
and entropy generation analysis must be performed in order number (Nu) and the friction factor (f), which vary depend-
to determine the useful models of thermal systems [177]. It ing on the geometry and flow regime.
has been stated in the studies that the irreversibility should Nanofluids are widely used as materials that can adapt
be reduced in order to maximize the thermodynamic perfor- to thermal systems. It has been determined by the stud-
mance. Two types of irreversibility are known to be effec- ies that nanoparticles in nanofluid improve the thermo-
tive in total entropy calculations. These are the heat transfer physical properties of nanofluid for heat transfer. Increas-
irreversibility and fluid friction irreversibility [181]. There- ing thermal efficiency means maintaining the system in
fore, the development, design and method of thermal system maximum heat transfer and minimum pumping power,
performance need to be thoroughly investigated within the reducing system energy consumption and exergy destruc-
scope of second law analysis. Bejan number and experimen- tion. Exergy loss is directly related to total entropy pro-
tal results of entropy generation are important parameters for duction. Minimum entropy analysis has become important
minimum entropy for a thermal system efficiency. The Bejan in the performance development and design of the ther-
mal system. Minimum entropy generation is an important

Fig. 9  Factors affecting the

thermodynamic performance of
nanofluids
Nanoparticle
Flow regime concentration Nanofluid type

Factors affecting Type of thermal

Viscosity
thermodynamic performance device

Heat tranfer
Reynold number Magnetic field
coefficient

13

7650 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

parameter to increase the energy efficiency of a system Kolsi et al. [188] investigated the generation of three-
[184] (Fig. 9). dimensional entropy due to natural convection in a cav-
The entropy generation analysis can be divided into ity in which the diamond-shaped body is placed in the
two types based on the flow regime: laminar and turbulent middle of the cavity. A ­ l2O3–water nanofluid was used in
flow. Singh et al. [107] proposed two equations to calculate the study as the working fluid. They observed that total
the ratio of entropy generation due to nanofluid flow to that entropy generation enhances when the volume fraction of
of the base fluid: nanoparticles increases.
Laminar flow: Nu = 11 48 64
and f = Re 4ṁ
Re = π𝜇D Ebrahimi et al. [189] experimentally and numerically
investigated heat transfer and entropy generation using both
Ṡ gen,NF
� 2
k 𝜌2 T 2 C1l,NF 𝜌NF + C2l,NF 𝜇NF kNF TNF nanofluid and vortex generating geometry in a microchan-
= ( )
Ṡ gen
� kNF 𝜌2NF TNF
2 C1l 𝜌2 + C2l 𝜇 k T nel. In the study, they used CuO and ­Al2O3 nanofluid and
(6) calculated entropy production values by the heat transfer and
friction irreversibilities. In addition, in the entropy analysis
where the constants C1l and C2l are defined as
of the thermal systems, the number of Bejan, which was
11 ��2 2 128ṁ 2 developed to determine whether the system is a thermally
C1l = q πD and C2l = (7) useful system or not, was also evaluated. According to the
48 πD4
results of this study, the using nanofluids caused a reduc-
and q′′ is heat flux per unit length (W/m). tion in entropy generation in microchannels compared to
T u r b u l e n t f l o w : Nu = 0.023Re0.8 Pr0.4 and f = pure water. They also found that the number of dimension-
0.361Re−1∕4 less entropy production was higher in using ­Al2O3 nanofluid

Ṡ gen,NF
� 0.25 0.4 2 0.15 0.6 0.4
k0.6 𝜌2 T 2 𝜇NF cp C1t,NF 𝜌NF 𝜇NF + C2t,NF kNF cp TNF
= ( ) (8)
Ṡ gen
� 0.6 2
kNF 2 𝜇 0.25 0.4
𝜌NF TNF cp,NF C1t 𝜌2 𝜇0.15 + C2t k0.6 c0.4
p T

where compared to that CuO nanofluid.

Bizhaem and Abbasi [190] performed the heat transfer
43.478 q��2 π D2 10.112 ṁ 3 4ṁ −1∕4
( )
and entropy generation analysis by using A ­ l2O3–water nano-
C1t = and C2t =
( )0.8
4ṁ π2 D5 πD (9) fluid in a helical pipe in their numerical study. They used
πD
five different Reynolds numbers (200–1500) and three differ-
The entropy generation ratio should be less than unity ent volumetric concentration ratios and stated that the heat
for nanofluids to be more efficient than base fluid. transfer-induced entropy generation is mostly concentrated
There are some studies in the literature on the entropy in the pipe inlet. In addition, it is stated that the entropy gen-
generation of nanofluid in different thermal systems [185, eration reduces due to the very low temperature difference
186, 187]. Peng et al. [164] calculated the augmentation between the fluid average temperature and the wall.
entropy generation number by using Eq. (10) to assess Huminic and Huminic [191] investigated degree of
the thermodynamic performance of liquid metal-based thermodynamic irreversibility of two types of hybrid
nanofluids. They prepared Ga–Cu and Ga–CNT nanofluids nanofluids, namely MWCNT + ­Fe3O4/water and nanodia-
with nanopowder concentrations of 2, 5, 8 and 10 vol%. mond + ­Fe3O4/water used in a flattened tube. They revealed
They revealed that total entropy generation reduced and that the increase in volume concentration of hybrid nanopar-
exergetic productivity enhanced as nanopowder concen- ticles leads to the decrease in the total entropy generation
tration increased. Their results showed that nanopowders of MWCNT + ­Fe3O4/water and ND + ­Fe3O4/water hybrid
provided decreasing of irreversibility and increased the nanofluids compared to base fluid in the flattened tube. They
thermodynamic performance of liquid metal, Ga–CNT observed that maximum reduction of entropy generation for
nanofluids had better thermodynamic performance than 0.3 vol% MWCNT + ­Fe3O4 hybrid nanoparticles was 1.265
Ga–Cu nanofluids under the same conditions. at Re = 2000 and the temperature of 333 K which corre-
sponds to reduction of 26.483% compared to the base fluid.
Sg,nf Bahiraei et al. [192] investigated the entropy generation
N= (10) using graphene–silver nanofluid in a microheat exchanger.
Sg,bf
According to the results, entropy generation was more
where Sg, nf and Sg, bf are the total entropy generation rates intense with the increase in the Reynolds number and the
for nanofluid and base fluid, respectively. reason for this was the increase in the velocity gradient due
to the increasing Reynolds number. Parallel to this, it is

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7651

stated that the thermal boundary layer becomes thinner with Table 7  Prices of most used nanoparticles in studies
the increase in the Reynolds number and the temperature Nanoparticles Purity (%) Size (nm) Quantity (g) Cost (EUR)
change is sudden in a region due to this thinning that devel-
ops in the pipe wall. Therefore, the thermal entropy produc- Silver 99.5  < 100 5 70.80
tion is concentrated in the pipe wall. It was determined that Copper 99 25 5 70.20
the increase in thermal conductivity coefficient with the use Gold 99.9  < 100 1 497
of nanoparticles breaks the thermal gradient in this region Zinc  > 99  < 60 5 69
and consequently decreases the entropy generation. In the Iron 99.5 25 5 92.20
analysis made by the researchers, it has been revealed that Alumina 99.8 13 100 187
the use of nanofluids as fluid minimizes the entropy produc- Copper oxide 99  < 50 5 28.70
tion in the minichannels and microchannels. Silica 99.5  < 20 50 139
Fan et al. [178] evaluated exergy efficiency performance Titanium dioxide 99.7  < 25 50 188
of ­Fe2O3–water nanofluid in the triangle tubes with different Zinc oxide 99  < 100 50 97.70
types of twisted tape. They obtained better exergy efficiency Carbon nano-  > 95 90 25 307
tubes (multi-
performance when Reynolds number was greater than 5000.
walled)
For isosceles right triangle tube with twisted tape, the largest
Diamond  > 97  < 10 5 513
exergy efficiency was obtained when Reynolds number was
9000, but for isosceles 45° triangle tube, the largest exergy
efficiency was obtained when Reynolds number was 8000.
Manay et al. [193] investigated the effects of the volume more economical. Therefore, along with the thermo-physical
concentration of T ­ iO2 nanoparticles (0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and properties of nanofluids, economic analysis of system per-
2.0%) and different microchannel height (200 mm, 300 mm, formance is also important. However, there are a few studies
400 mm and 500 mm) entropy generation of T ­ iO2–water in the literature on the economic analysis of nanofluids. The
nanofluid flow. They noted that the presence of T ­ iO2 nan- optimization of nanoparticle concentration and temperature
oparticles in the base liquid reduced the thermal entropy is necessary to obtain the best economic value.
generation. It was stated that the thermal entropy generation Kianifar et al. [195] analyzed the thermo-economic per-
rate decreased and the frictional and total entropy generation formance of ­Al2O3–EG nanofluid in an isothermal vertical
increased with increasing the Reynolds number and decreas- annulus. They measured viscosity and thermal conductivity
ing the height of the microchannel. Thermal irreversibili- of nanofluid. They studied the effect of using nanofluids in
ties are reduced by increasing the volume concentration of the annulus on the operational cost due to entropy genera-
nanoparticles. tion. They showed that using nanofluids is not cost-effective
in short periods (i.e., 5–6 months) from the point of view of
the second law of thermodynamics.
Thermo‑economics of nanofluids in thermal Alashka and Gadalla [196] performed a thermo-economic
systems analysis using nanofluids as heating fluids in an ISRRC,
which consists of a nanofluid-based parabolic trough solar
Nanofluids are more effective than base fluids in heat trans- collector (PTSC) and a thermal energy storage system
fer applications, but their high cost sometimes limits their (TES). They investigated the effect of dispersing A ­ l2O3, Cu
use. The economic performance of nanofluids consists of and SWCNT nanoparticles into Syltherm and Therminol on
the production cost of nanoparticles, the preparation cost the output performance and cost of the ISRRC. The study
of nanofluids, the operating cost of the instrument with results showed that using of nanofluids enhanced the total
nanofluids, etc. [194]. In particular, the high price of nano- energy generated by ISRRC and net savings of ISRR. It also
particles increases the cost of nanofluid. The cost of dif- caused the reduction in the leveled cost of electricity (LEC).
ferent nanoparticles (from Sigma Aldrich, USA.) are given When they used 3% Cu/Therminol nanofluid, annual energy
in Table 7. It is also important that nanofluids increase the output increased from 166 to 168 GW and the net savings
efficiency of thermal systems such as heat exchangers. The increased from $ 4.67 million to $ 4.71 million, while the
improved heat transfer directly affects the heat transfer area LEC decreased from 2.95 c/kWh to 2.92 c/kWh.
of the heat exchanger, which makes it smaller and lighter. Prajapati and Patel [197] carried out the thermo-econom-
Therefore, nanofluids have the potential to make a significant ical optimization of the nanofluid-based organic Rankine
contribution to the reduction of heat exchanger equipment cycle system, which recovered waste heat energy by maxi-
cost. mizing the first law efficiency and minimizing the leveled
The lower cost of a nanofluid with effective thermo-phys- energy cost. They used CuO–water nanofluid in the evapora-
ical properties makes the operating cost of thermal systems tor and condenser. They showed 3.47% decrease in levelized

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7652 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

energy cost when using nanofluid compared to conventional the system must afford drug loading and release character-
organic Rankine cycle with higher thermal efficiency. They istics, prolonged shelf life and biocompatibility. Specific
also obtained that nanofluid enhances the thermodynamic nanosized particle can deliver high doses of therapeutic fac-
performance of the system. tors into tumor cells without contaminating normal cells.
Mukherjee et al. [194] presented the thermal and cost Chahregh and Dinarvand [200] used T ­ iO2–Ag/blood hybrid
performance of T ­ iO2–water nanofluids. They took thermal nanofluid for application of drug delivery and blood circula-
conductivity and viscosity measurements with 0.01–1 mass. tion in the respiratory system.
% fractions at 25–65 °C. They argued that higher concentra- Magnetic nanofluids (MNF) or ferrofluids are obtained by
tions of nanofluids are unsuitable because of the high cost dispersing MNPs such as metallic Fe, metallic Co, ­Fe3O4,
of nanoparticles and therefore more economical at lower ­Fe2O3, ­CoFe2O4, etc. in a base fluid. The controllability,
concentrations. The results revealed that the best concentra- small size and surface properties of magnetic nanoparticles
tion was 0.01 mass. % the for cost efficiency. allow the carrier to be directed to the desired location via
Mukherjee et al. [198] did an economic study on nano- a magnetic field. In magnetic drug delivery, blood acts as
fluids about their cooling performance. They prepared the main fluid, while magnetic nanoparticles act as carriers
­Al2O3–water nanofluids at 25 °C and 60 °C with different of the drug. The drug-loaded magnetic nanoparticles will
particle concentration of 0.1–1 mass %. They developed a be injected near the tumor due to the intense and concen-
performance index that shows that cost performance related trated magnetic gradient; the tumor can absorb the drug
to the concentration of nanofluid and operating temperature. [201]. Magnetic nanofluids could be used as drug delivery
They observed that the index increases with the increasing vehicles for cancer patients. Compared with other metal-
of concentration at the same temperature. Therefore, they type nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles provide distinc-
revealed that when nanoparticle concentration increases, tive properties for magnetic force treatment of nanofluid.
the cost of the cooling performance increases. They also Superparamagnetic nanoparticles also exhibit magnetic
observed that the economic performance increased at high properties in the presence of an external magnet, but revert
temperatures. They suggested that the nanofluid concentra- to a non-magnetic state upon removal of the magnetic field.
tion and temperature should be optimized to achieve the best This behavior of superparamagnetic materials is important
economic value. for the use of drug delivery therapeutics to specific sites
Hajabdollahi et al. [199] determined optimum parameters [197]. Mannu et al. used PEG-coated N ­ iFe2O4, ­CoFe2O4 and
to improve both thermal effectiveness and total annual cost ­Fe3O4 nanoparticles for preparing the magnetic nanofluids.
of Boehmite alümina–water nanofluid in multitube heat They used the anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin hydrochloride
exchanger. They investigated effect of mass flow rates (0.5, as the model drug for demonstrating the drug loading and
1, 1.5 and 2 kg/s). They revealed that higher concentrations release capabilities of the formulated magnetic nanofluids
of nanoparticles increased both initial cost (nanoparticle with aqueous phosphate buffer as the base liquid [202].
price) and operational cost (due to increases in the pres- Gold nanoparticles provide non-toxic carriers for drug
sure drop) and the total annual cost of the heat exchanger. and gene delivery applications. With these systems, the
The greatest effect of the nanofluid on thermo-economic gold core adds stability to the assembly, while the mon-
improvement was found as the mass flow rate of 1.5 kg/s. olayer allows for adjustment of surface properties such as
They showed that effectiveness is another parameter affect charge and hydrophobicity. Another attractive feature of gold
on thermo-economic performance. The cost reduction in the nanoparticles is their interaction with thiols, which provides
case of cylindrical shape with the mass flow rate of 1.5 kg/s an efficient and selective pathway of controlled intracellular
was found as 14.28% for the fixed value of ε = 0.43, whereas release [203].
was about 20.99% for the ε = 0.54.
Heat exchanger and Heat pipes

Application of nanofluids Heat pipes are recognized as one of the most efficient pas-
sive heat transfer technologies available and they have high
Drug delivery thermal conductivity. Generally, heat pipes are devices that
can transport large amounts of heat using phase change pro-
There has been a gradual increase in interest in the use of cesses and vapor diffusion.
nanomaterials in drug delivery systems in recent years in The difference in wall temperature causes the steam to
terms of being suitable for delivery to target cells, increas- condense and the latent heat to be released, allowing the
ing therapeutic properties and safety, reducing toxicity and fluid to return to the evaporator zone under the influence of
providing benefits such as biocompatibility. Regarding the gravity (thermosiphons) or a kind of capillary wick struc-
development of a nanofluid formulation for drug delivery, ture. There are many parameters that affect performance in

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7653

heat pipes. One of them is the thermal resistance in the heat achieved 12% and 18% maximum increment in the heat
pipe. The thermal resistance is the structure of the vapor transfer rate using ­TiO2/deionized water and kaolin/deion-
bubbles at the liquid–solid interface during the phase change ized water, respectively.
in the heat pipe. The large size of the bubble core causes
thermal resistance by preventing the heat transfer from the
solid surface to the liquid. The nanoparticles in the work- Automotive applications
ing fluid act on the vapor bubbles during bubble formation,
resulting in much smaller nucleation. This situation facili- Ethylene glycol and water are standard blends used as
tates the heat transfer from solid surfaces to the liquid in engine coolants for automotive systems around the world.
the heat pipe and causes the thermal resistance of the heat Ethylene glycol mixed with water increases the freezing
pipes to decrease. temperature of pure water. Engine oil does not perform
Aydin et al. [13] observed that using bauxite–water nano- better and can even be classified as a poor heat transfer
fluid in the heat pipe reduced the thermal resistance of the medium. However, with the inclusion of nanoparticles in
system by 24.3% and increased the thermal efficiency by this mixture, a more efficient and compact cooling sys-
20.9% under optimum conditions compared to base fluid. tem can be designed. The use of nanofluids can increase
Gürü et al. [8] used a 2% concentration of nanofluid pre- automotive and even industrial engine cooling efficiency.
pared using bentonite, a mineral consisting of many oxides The use of nanofluids increases engine performance and
rich in SiO2 and ­Al2O3, as a working fluid in a thermosi- also allows a reduction in radiator size due to better cool-
phon-type heat pipe. They observed that at 5 g/s cooling ing capabilities. Lubricants to improve the convective heat
water flow rate, the heat pipe thermal resistance decreased removal efficiency of vehicles lead to fully efficient and
by 39% compared to water. They showed that bentonite was low emission vehicles [209].
more effective in reducing the heat pipe thermal resistance Kumar and Sahoo [210] investigated energy perfor-
than bauxite. mance of a wavy fin radiator using ­Al2O3–water nanofluid
Heat exchangers are devices used for the transfer of heat as a coolant. They resulted that the shape of the nanopar-
between two or more fluids. The use of nanofluids in the ticles used in nanofluid affect the performance of radia-
different kinds of heat exchangers has been the subject of tor. They observed that the spherical nanofluids provided
many studies. 21.98% enhancement in heat transfer when compared to
Ullah et al. [204] investigated effects of using A ­ l 2O 3/ the platelet nanofluid.
water and T ­ iO2/water nanofluids on heat transfer efficiency Kole et al. [211] used ­Al 2O 3 nanofluid as car engine
of shell and tube heat exchanger. They achieved the maxi- coolant and investigated the thermal conductivity and vis-
mum heat transfer coefficient enhancement of 41% and 37% cosity of the coolant. ­Al2O3 nanofluid with 3.5% volume
using ­Al2O3 ve ­TiO2 nanofluid, respectively. fraction showed a fairly higher thermal conductivity than
Khanlari [205] studied effect of utilizing A ­ l2O3–SiO2/ the base fluid. They observed 10.41% maximum enhance-
deionized water in the efficiency of parallel flow tube-type ment at room temperature.
heat exchanger and counterflow tube-type heat exchanger. Tzeng et al. [212] investigated effect of nanofluids for
He demonstrated A ­ l22O3–SiO2/deionized water hybrid nano- cooling of automatic transmissions. They used CuO- and
fluid provide a maximum enhancement of 25%, 60% and ­Al2O3–engine transmission oil nanofluids. They resulted
67% of the overall heat transfer coefficient at 0.5%, 1% and that CuO nanofluid produced the lower transmission tem-
1.5% nanoparticle ratio, respectively. peratures both at high and low rotating speeds. From the
Variyenli et al. [206] used fly ash nanofluid as working thermal performance point of view, the use of nanofluid
fluid in plate heat exchangers. The maximum enhancement in conduction has a clear advantage.
was achieved using nanoparticle mass concentration of 2%. Al Rafi et  al. [213] investigated potential of  ­A l 2O 3/
He showed that using the fly ash nanofluid enhanced the EG–water and CuO/EG–water nanofluids in a car radia-
overall heat transfer coefficient between 6 and 20%. tor. They revealed that the addition of EG into the water
Said et al. [207] used CuO/water as heat transfer fluid in decreased the overall heat conductance by 20–25%. They
shell and tube heat exchanger. Their experimental results also demonstrated that ­Al2O3/EG–water at 0.1 vol% and
demonstrated an increase in the heat transfer coefficient and CuO/EG–water at 0.2 Vol% enhanced the heat transfer of
convective coefficient by 7% and 11.39%, respectively. the radiator by 30–35% and 40–45%, respectively.
Khanlari et al. [208] analyzed the effects of using T ­ iO2/ The increased cooling rate will result in a reduction
deionized water and kaolin/deionized water nanofluids as in the size of the required coolant system. Smaller cool-
working fluids in the plate heat exchanger. They revealed ant systems will require smaller and less bulky radia-
that a kaolin/deionized water nanofluid had higher thermal tors, resulting in better engine efficiency and lower fuel
performance than ­TiO2/deionized water nanofluid. They consumption.

13

7654 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

Electronic cooling an economic and environmental point of view, it has been

seen that this practice helps to reduce ­CO2 emissions and
Nanofluids have higher heat transfer capabilities than base increases annual electricity and fuel savings [222].
fluids due to their higher convective heat transfer coef- Dehaj and Mohiabadi [223] investigated performance
ficients. Conventional liquid coolants are being enhanced of magnesium oxide (MgO) and deionized water nanoflu-
with nanoparticles to meet the cooling requirements of ids as working fluids with different concentrations. They
high-power electronic systems. Thus, nanofluids represent showed that the performance of the heat pipe solar collector
an enhanced dimension to cooling techniques for electronics. enhanced as the rate of the refrigerant increased and the
Nanofluids increase the heat transfer coefficient of the cooler concentration of the MgO nanoparticle increased.
by increasing the thermal conductivity of the cooler. Nano- Dehaj et  al. [224] investigated thermal performance
fluids can be used for liquid cooling of computer processors of heat pipe solar collector at different high flow rates of
due to their high thermal conductivity. water and CuO–water nanofluid with various volume frac-
Ma et al. [214] used diamond nanoparticles into high-per- tions. They obtained that the efficiency of solar collector
formance liquid chromatography (HPLC) water. The action enhanced with the flow rate and the volume fraction of the
of the oscillating heat pipe prevents the nanoparticles from nanofluid. They also revealed that the low temperature dif-
collapsing, thereby increasing the efficiency of the cool- ference between the ambient and the inlet nanofluid collector
ing device. They observed that at an input power of 80 W, improves the efficiency of the collector.
the diamond nanofluid reduced the temperature difference Rangabahsiam et al. [225] studied effect of nanofluid con-
between the evaporator and condenser from 40.9 to 24.3 ºC. centration on the efficiency of the heat pipe solar collector.
Nguyen et al. [215] investigated the heat transfer and They used ­Al2O3– and MgO–water nanofluids. In this study,
behavior of ­Al2O3–water nanofluid for use in a closed cool- results showed that when treated with MgO nanofluids, solar
ing system designed for microprocessors or other electronic collector exhibited higher efficiency. They also observed that
devices. They found that the nanofluid caused a significant as the concentration of the nanofluid increases, the efficiency
increase in the cooling convective heat transfer coefficient. of the solar collector enhance regardless of the operating
At a given particle concentration of 6.8%, the heat transfer environment and there is an optimized concentration for the
coefficient increased up to 40% compared to the base fluid existing system.
of water.
Joy et al. [216] investigated the effect of Cu–water and
Al–water nanofluid on increasing the critical heat flux limit Environmental impacts of nanofluids
in a heat pipe for electronic cooling. They found that nano-
fluids increased the critical heat flux limit by 140% at a mass Nanofluids are colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles in the
concentration of 0.01%. base fluid. Therefore, the environmental impact of nano-
Vishnuprasad et  al. [217] studied the cooling perfor- fluids is a combination of the environmental impact of the
mance of microwave-assisted acid-functionalized graphene base fluid and nanoparticles. Water is the most and widely
in water. They observed that microwave-assisted acid-func- used base fluid with very important benefits such as being
tionalized graphene nanofluid recorded an increase of 55.38 non-toxic, nonflammable, safer and easier to use. The type
and 78.5% in thermal conductivity and the convective heat of nanoparticles, their chemical, physical, toxic and environ-
transfer coefficient, respectively. They also revealed that the mental effects are the most important factors that cause the
use of nanofluids under suitable conditions reduced the pro- environmental impact of nanofluids. The volumetric ratio
cessor temperature by 15%. of nanoparticles also determines the environmental impact
of nanofluids. The reduction and control of the environmen-
Solar energy tal impacts of nanofluids mainly depends on the optimum
design of the nanofluid. The use of natural materials such
The use of nanofluids in thermal applications of solar energy as silica, alumina, iron oxides and others results in much
is one of the methods that emerged as a result of the orienta- lower environmental impacts as synthetic production of
tion to alternative energy sources due to the problems expe- such particles is not required. Using such natural materi-
rienced due to the use of fossil fuels. Nanofluids are mostly als helps to reduce production requirements in terms of
preferred in solar collectors and solar hot water systems in energy and materials. The use of natural nanoparticles, usu-
thermal applications of solar energy. Apart from this, several ally non-toxic types, further reduces the possible toxicity
energy storage and solar cell applications are also available of nanofluids during application and when discharged into
in the literature. There are a lot of studies about the solar the environment. Similarly, using a lower concentration of
collector based on nanofluid that demonstrate better result nanoparticles reduces possible environmental damage [226].
than the base fluid [218–220, 221]. When evaluated from The environmental impact of nanofluids is also due to the

13
Nanofluids: preparation, stability, properties, and thermal performance in terms of… 7655

preparation method of nanofluids. Barberio et  al. [227] variation of pH in nanofluid is an important parameter
investigated the environmental impact of alumina nanofluid for enhancing of stability and thermal conductivity of
depending on the nanofluid preparation method, that is, one- nanofluids. Higher pumping power is needed to over-
step or two-step approaches. They compared the production come the influence of the size and shape of nanopar-
of alumina nanofluid using different approaches employing ticles for pressure drop, stability analysis, rheological
combined life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment properties and thermal improvement.
(RA). They observed that the one-step approach has environ- • The thermo-hydraulic properties of nanofluids are key to
mental impact almost three times that of two-step. evaluating and improving their performance. The improve-
The application of nanofluids to enhance the heat trans- ment of thermo-hydraulic performance is affected by many
fer process brings environmental benefits of enhancing the parameters. They are solid particle concentration, Reyn-
energy efficiency of various processes, which in turn reduces olds number, pressure drop, flow rate, regime, magnetic
energy consumption, heat losses or heat dissipation. Nano- field, friction factor and type of thermal device.
fluids provide environmental and economic savings because • In addition, thermodynamic performance is a very
they reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The use of nano- important parameter to be considered for the design of
fluids increases the absorption of C­ O2, which reduces the heat transfer systems. Thermal entropy generation and
environmental impact of carbon emissions that cause cli- exergy efficiency, which are dependent on nanoparticle
mate change, which reduces air quality. Stalin et al. [228] type, thermal device, flow regime and concentration,
observed ­CeO2/water nanofluid-based solar water heater are essential to evaluate thermodynamic performance.
provided 175 kg less ­CO2 emissions in average when com- Increasing thermal efficiency means decreasing pres-
pared to a usual solar water heater. Sharafeldin et al. [229] sure and reducing system energy consumption, reducing
revealed that using copper nanoparticles with a concentra- exergy destruction. Exergy loss is directly related to total
tion of 0.03% could annually reduce 312.533 kg of C ­ O2 entropy production. Minimum entropy generation is an
emission. Sundar et al. [295] found that by using 1.0 vol% important parameter to increase the energy efficiency of
of water-based nanodiamond nanofluid in flat-plate solar col- a system. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the entropy
lector reduce the ­CO2 emission by 249.98 kg. generated in the system and entropy generation analysis
must be performed in order to determine the useful mod-
els of thermal systems.
Conclusions and recommendations • The use of nanofluids instead of conventional working
fluids provides certain advantages in terms of heat trans-
This research represents general and recent advances on fer performance. However, the increased pressure drop,
preparation, stability, thermal properties and performance pumping power and energy consumption bring some
in thermal systems of nanofluids. Considering the reviewed extra costs. There are scarcity studies in the literature
literature, following major conclusions were drawn regard- on the thermo-economic performance of nanofluids.
ing the recent developments of nanofluids. Therefore, more research should be done to analyze the
thermo-economic performance of nanofluids. A cost per-
• It has been reported by the researchers that adding nan- formance analysis and optimization of nanofluid concen-
oparticles to the base fluids improves thermal proper- tration and temperature should be conducted to get the
ties such as heat transfer coefficient, thermal conduc- higher thermo-economic performance of nanofluids for
tivity, viscosity, density and affects many parameters the thermal applications.
such as friction factor, Reynolds number, Nu number • The increase in thermal conductivity and the decrease in
and pump efficiency. Nanofluids find different usage viscosity make the nanofluid technology very promising
areas according to their properties. There is optimum for high-temperature applications. Nanofluids will also
temperature, concentration and particle size of nano- provide thermal systems to shrink by expanding the heat
particles for enhanced thermal performance. The use transfer area. By using nanofluids with superior thermo-
of nanofluids with higher heat capacity than the base physical properties in automobiles, radiator dimensions
fluid improves the efficiency of thermal systems. There- and the mass of the car can be reduced and fuel saving
fore, in order to enhance heat transfer, nanoparticles can be achieved. It is considered that nanofluids can also
that increase the heat capacity as well as increase the find a wide range of uses in the space, aircraft and defense
thermal conductivity of the base fluid should be used. industries.
Stability is very important parameter for nanofluid. The

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7656 D. Yılmaz Aydın, M. Gürü

Funding  No funding was received for conducting this study. 16. Moravej M, Mehdi Vahabzadeh B, Yu G, Larry KBL,
Mohammad Hossein D, Kun H, Qingang X. Enhancing the
efficiency of a symmetric flat-plate solar collector via the
Declarations  use of rutile TiO2-water nanofluids. Sustain Energy Technol.
2020;40:100783.
Conflict of interest  The authors declare no conflict of interest. 17. Bozorg MV, Mohammad Hossein D, Kun H, Qingang X. CFD
study of heat transfer and fluid flow in a parabolic trough solar
receiver with internal annular porous structure and synthetic
oil–Al2O3 nanofluid. Renew Energy. 2020;145:2598–614.
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