An experimental study on CHF enhancement in ow boiling using Al

2
O
3
nano-uid
Tae Il Kim
*
, Yong Hoon Jeong, Soon Heung Chang
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1, Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 4 April 2009
Received in revised form 1 October 2009
Accepted 1 October 2009
Available online 11 December 2009
Keywords:
Nano-uid
CHF
Flow boiling
Deposition
a b s t r a c t
The critical heat ux (CHF) is one of the most important thermal hydraulic parameters in heat transfer
system design and safety analyses. CHF enhancement allows higher limits of operation conditions such
that heat transfer equipment can be operated safely with greater margins and better economy. The appli-
cation of nano-uids is thought to have strong potential for enhancing the CHF. In this study, zeta poten-
tials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were measured and ow boiling CHF enhancement experiments using Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were conducted under atmospheric pressure. The CHFs of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were enhanced
up to 70% in ow boiling for all experimental conditions. Maximum CHF enhancement (70.24%) was
shown at 0.01 vol% concentration, 50 C inlet subcooling, and a mass ux of 100 kg/m
2
s. Inner surfaces
of the test section tube were observed by FESEM and the zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were mea-
sured before and after the CHF experiments.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The critical heat ux (CHF) is dened as the heat ux when the
boiling heat transfer coefcient between a heated surface and uid
is dramatically dropped as the phase of uid near the heated sur-
face changes from liquid to vapor due to a rise of heat ux or sur-
face temperature, or a change of ow rate, pressure, etc. [1]. When
CHF occurs in a heat ux control system, the heater surface tem-
perature is sharply increased as a result of a drop of the boiling
heat transfer coefcient, and this could lead to catastrophic failure
of the heated surface. CHF enhancement allows higher limits of
operation conditions such that heat transfer equipment can be
operated safely with greater margins and better economy. Accord-
ingly, many researchers have been developing methods to enhance
the CHF, including induction of a swirl ow by twisted tape or a
ribbed tube, increase of the heat transfer surface by the implemen-
tation of n structures, enlargement of turbulent ow, ow vibra-
tion, nano-uids, etc.
Nano-uids are a new type of engineered uids that contain
nano-sized particles less than 100 nm. These nano-sized particles
can improve thermal hydraulic properties of a uid such as ther-
mal conductivity, heat transfer coefcient, wettability, etc. [2].
Modern nano-technology provides many opportunities to utilize
nano-sized particles in this size range and thus nano-uids have
enormous potential for practical application.
While numerous studies on CHF enhancement using nano-u-
ids in pool boiling have been reported, there is little data about
CHF in ow boiling using nano-uid. The main objective of the
present study is to conduct CHF experiments at low ow and low
pressure using a nano-uid and conrm CHF enhancement. Possi-
ble mechanisms underlying CHF enhancement via application of a
of Al
2
O
3
nano-uid are also explored.
2. Previous works
Most CHF experiments using nano-uids were conducted in
pool boiling conditions, and CHF was enhanced by up to 200%.
The mechanism underlying this enhancement has yet to be clari-
ed and is still under discussion. Meanwhile, relatively few CHF
experiments using nano-uids in ow boiling condition have been
conducted, primarily due to stability and cleaning problems.
Kim et al. conducted an experimental study on the CHF charac-
teristics of nano-uids in pool boiling. Their results showed that
the CHFs of nano-uids containing TiO
2
or Al
2
O
3
were enhanced
up to 100% over that of pure water. Also, SEM observations subse-
quent to the CHF experiment revealed that nano-particles were
deposited on the wire surface. They concluded that the CHF
enhancement could be attributable to enhanced wettability via
the deposition of nano-particles [3].
Bang et al. also investigated CHF characteristics of nano-uids in
pool boiling. They found that CHFs of nano-uids containing alu-
mina, zirconia, and silica nano-particles dispersed inwater were en-
hanced. They concluded that nano-particles are deposited on the
heater surface, forming a porous layer during nucleate boiling. This
porous layer improves the wettability of the surface considerably,
as measured by a marked reduction of the static contact angle [4].
Jeong et al. investigated the wettability of heated surfaces in
pool boiling using surfactant solutions and nano-uids. Contact
0017-9310/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2009.11.011
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 350 3856; fax: +82 42 869 3810.
E-mail addresses: skyimgf@kaist.ac.kr (T.I. Kim), jeongyh@kaist.ac.kr (Y.H.
Jeong), shchang@kaist.ac.kr (S.H. Chang).
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ i j hmt
angle measurements showed that both surfactant solutions and
nano-uids exhibited enhanced wettability. In addition, the surfac-
tant solutions exhibited a greater decrease in contact angle, and
hence further increased wettability [5].
Kim et al. conducted ow boiling CHF experiments using nano-
uids incorporating alumina, zinc-oxide, diamond. Their results
showed that the CHF values of the nano-uids were enhanced by
up to 4050% with respect to pure water at 20002500 kg/m
2
s
mass ux whereas the CHF was not enhanced at 1500 kg/m
2
s mass
ux. They attributed the enhancement to nano-particle deposition,
and the enhancement appeared to be weakly dependent on nano-
particle concentration for the alumina nano-uids, whereas it in-
creased more pronouncedly with nano-particle concentration for
the zinc-oxide and diamond nano-uids [6].
Many researchers have investigated the effects of time, temper-
ature, concentration, particle type, dispersion medium and pH on
the stability of nano-uids. It has been found that pH is the most
important factor affecting the dispersion stability of nano-uids.
Wsche et al. showed that the zeta potentials of nano-uids
containing Al
2
O
3
, SiC, and Si
3
N
4
were changed by the pH of the
nano-uids. They also showed that the zeta potentials of the
nano-uids were slightly increased with increasing time [7].
Zhu et al. showed that the zeta potential and absorbency were
important bases for selecting conditions for dispersing particles.
They also found that pH has a critical effect on the stability of
the alumina suspension [8].
While there is abundant data on the effects of pH on the zeta
potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids, there is relatively little data regard-
ing the effects of time and concentration on the zeta potentials of
Al
2
O
3
nano-uids.
3. Dispersion stability of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids
3.1. Preparation and measurement of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids
Al
2
O
3
nano-particles were purchased from Nanostructured &
Amorphous Materials, Inc. Vender specied size and purity of the
nano-particles is 50 nm and 99.7% respectively. The Al
2
O
3
nano-
uids were subjected to 2 h of sonication in an ultrasonic bath.
The zeta potentials of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were measured using
an ELS-Z2 produced by Otsuka Electronics. The ELS-Z2 measures
electrophoretic mobility by electrophoretic light scattering and
the zeta potential is then calculated using the Smoluchowski Equa-
tion. Also, the pHs of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were measured to eval-
uate the reliability of the zeta potential results.
3.2. Zeta potential of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids
All of the zeta potentials of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were in a
range of 3060 mV. These results indicate that the Al
2
O
3
nano-u-
ids were stable as colloidal uids. The zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids slightly increased within the margin of error with an
increase of time within 1 day (Fig. 1). Wsche et al. also showed
that the zeta potential increased after 24 and 48 h of ageing time.
They concluded that the ageing time plays a role in the develop-
ment of an electrical double layer, either due to suspension effects
with regard to homogenization of powder particles or due to solu-
tion effects, which may lead to a change in the composition or
structure of the electrical double layer [7]. From the present re-
sults, it is veried that the dispersion stability of the Al
2
O
3
nano-
uids during CHF experiment will be adequate if the experiment
time is less than 1 day.
Also, the zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids slightly increased
with an increase of particle concentration from 0.001 vol% to
0.5 vol% (Fig. 2). Note, however, that Wsche et al. showed that
the zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids decreased with an increase
of particle concentration from 1 vol% to 10 vol%. This discrepancy
100 10 1 0.1
20
30
40
50
60
Z
e
t
a

p
o
t
e
n
t
i
a
l
(
m
V
)
Time(hours)
0.001vol%
0.01vol%
0.05vol%
0.1vol%
0.5vol%
Fig. 1. Zeta measurements according to increasing time; KAIST experimental data.
1E-3 0.01 0.1 1
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
A
v
g
.

z
e
t
a

p
o
t
e
n
t
i
a
l
(
m
V
)

Concentration of Nano fluid(vol%)
Fig. 2. Average zeta potentials (124 h) with different concentrations.
Fig. 3. Relation between pHs and zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids from Isobe
data [9].
1016 T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022
may be due to the difference in the concentration range. Further
investigation should be conducted to elucidate the effect of con-
centration on the zeta potential. Nonetheless, from the present re-
sults, it is veried that the dispersion stability of the Al
2
O
3
nano-
uids during the CHF experiment will be sufciently high if the
concentration of the nano-uid is in a range of 0.001 vol%0.5 vol%.
The pH values of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids having a concentration of
0.05 vol% were also measured and the results showed little change
with increasing time within a period of 3 days. The relation be-
tween pH and zeta potential corresponds well with Isobes data
(Fig. 3) [9]. Thus, it is found that the zeta potentials of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids are reliable.
4. CHF experiments with Al
2
O
3
nano-uids
4.1. Experimental apparatus and procedure
4.1.1. Experimental apparatus
Flow boiling CHF experiments using Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were
conducted in KAISTs low pressure water loop, which is shown in
Fig. 4. This experimental loop consists of an electromagnetic ow
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of experimental loop.
Table 1
Test matrix of CHF experiment
Test matrix
Uniformly heated cylindrical tube
Outer diameter 12.78 mm
Inner diameter 10.98 mm
L/D ratio 45.53
Heated length 500 mm
Vertically upward ow
Pressure 101.3 kPa
Mass ux 100300 kg/m
2
s
Inlet subcooling 25, 50 C
Working uid
Total uid 53 l
DI water
Nano uid/Al
2
O
3
0.0010.1 vol%
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of test section.
T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022 1017
meter, two pre-heaters to control the inlet temperature of the
working uid, a condenser for cooling of the working uid, a surge
tank with an overhead water reservoir, a CRN2-40 centrifugal
pump, a needle valve to provide throttling, and a test section tube.
A test section tube was directly heated by an electrical DC power
supply unit with 32 V rated output voltage and 2000 A rated out-
put current. The working uids were circulated by a centrifugal
pump with a variable speed driver.
The working uid ows vertically upward in the test section
tube. The dimensions of the test section tube and ow parameters
are listed in Table 1. The test section is a SS-316 circular tube of
12.78 mm outer diameter, 0.90 mm thickness, and 500 mm length.
The L/D ratio of the test section tube is 45.53, which exceeds the L
e
/
D ratio of 20, the minimum value for a fully developed ow under
the test conditions. Five Type-K thermocouples with 1.5 mm outer
diameter were attached on the outer surface of the test section
tube to measure outer surface temperatures and detect the onset
of CHF. The current and voltage between both electrodes were
measured. The temperatures of the working uid at the inlet and
outlet of the test section tube were measured by in-stream T-type
sheathed thermocouples. A schematic diagram of the test section is
shown in Fig. 5.
4.1.2. Experimental procedure
The experimental procedure is as follows. The working uid is
circulated by a centrifugal pump and heated by pre-heaters to re-
move non-condensable gas. Degassing is performed for an hour
under atmospheric pressure. After the degassing process, a sample
of the working uid is extracted for measuring the zeta potential
and pH in order to conrm the dispersion stability of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uid. The heating power in the test section is increased grad-
ually by slowly increasing the voltage of the test section. The volt-
age of the test section is increased stepwise with thermal
equilibrium of the working uid in the loop. At least two consecu-
tive runs were conducted for each condition. The increment of heat
ux used near the CHF is 20 kW/m
2
. The CHF condition is dened
as a sudden increase in the temperature of the test section tube
surface. Heat ux in the test section is calculated as
q
00

VI
pD
i
L
where V and I are the measured voltage and current, and D
i
and L
are the test section inner diameter and length, respectively. After
CHF experiments, a sample of working uid is extracted for measur-
ing the zeta potential and pH to conrm the dispersion stability of
the Al
2
O
3
nano-uid. After each CHF experiment, the test section
tube is replaced with a new tube.
To conrm the dispersion stability of Al
2
O
3
nano-uid in the
loop during the CHF experiments, zeta potentials of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uid sample extracted from in the loop were measured by
an ELS-Z2 before and after the CHF experiments. Also, the pH val-
ues of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uid sample are measured to evaluate the
reliability of the zeta potential results.
Uncertainty analyses were carriedout by the methodreportedby
Moffat [10]. Mass ux uncertainty was estimated as 3% at 100 kg/
m
2
s, 2.5%at 200 kg/m
2
s and1.7%at 300 kg/m
2
s. Temperaturemea-
surement uncertainties were primarily estimated considering the
thermocouple calibrationandtemperaturecorrectionfromthether-
mocouple reading to the reference surface. The maximumvariation
of the ve measuredwall temperatures (K-type thermocouples) was
0.5 C. The uncertaintyintheinlet andoutlet workinguidtemper-
atures (T-type thermocouples) was estimated to be less than 1 C.
The maximum error in controlling the inlet temperature was
0.5 C. Uncertainty in heat ux was estimated by taking into ac-
count the voltage and current. Heat losses to surroundings were less
than 1.5% for heat ux conditions of 1002000 kW/m
2
, assuming a
uniformtemperaturedistributionwithaheater surfacetemperature
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
DI water: 50'C inlet subcooling
DI water: 25'C inlet subcooling
Groeneveld: 50'C inlet subcooling
Groeneveld: 25'C inlet subcooling
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
Fig. 6. CHF with pure water compared with 1995 CHF look up table of Groeneveld
[11].
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
0.1
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
300 kg/m
2
s
200 kg/m
2
s
100 kg/m
2
s
Bubbly
Bubbles sulgs
Slugs
Churn
Wispy-annular
DI water : 50 'C inlet temp.
DI water : 75 'C inlet temp.
0.01% Al
2
O
3
Nano-fulid : 50 'C inlet temp.
0.01% Al
2
O
3
Nano-fulid : 75 'C inlet temp.
M
o
m
e
n
t
u
m

F
l
u
x
(
v
a
p
o
u
r
)

(
k
g
/
s
2
m
)
Momentum Flux(liquid) (kg/s
2
m)
Annular
Fig. 7. Flow regimes of CHF experiments using Hewitt and Roberts map [12].
Vapor region
Normal LFD
Local dryout due to
unstability of annular flow mechanism
Liquid region
Vapor region
Liquid region Dryout
dryout
Local
Fig. 8. Normal CHF mechanisms in an annular ow and local dryout in an annular ow.
1018 T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022
of 180 C. The heated surface area also contributed to the uncer-
tainty. Considering all these factors, the overall uncertainty in the
heat ux was 4%; taking into account the uncertainties of heat ux
and power, the uncertainty in the CHF was around 5%.
4.2. Results and discussion
All experiments were conducted in ow boiling under atmo-
spheric pressure at xed inlet conditions of temperature and mass
ux. The CHF results of DI water agreed well with the results pro-
vided in the 1995 CHF look up table prepared by Groeneveld
(Fig. 6) [11].
The CHFs of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were enhanced, by as much
as 70%, for all experiment conditions. Maximum CHF enhancement
(70.24%) was shown at 0.01 vol% concentration, 50 C inlet subco-
oling, and a mass ux of 100 kg/m
2
s.
Using the plot of Hewitt and Roberts [12] for a vertical upward
ow, ow patterns were explored at different mass ux levels and
inlet temperatures. The ow regimes of all conditions were annular
ow (Fig. 7). In the annular ow regime, the mechanism of CHF is
liquid lm dryout [1]. If CHF occurs by the normal liquid lm dry-
out mechanism, nano-particle deposition cannot account for the
CHF enhancement. The test section of the CHF experiment has a
L/D ratio of 45. This number is higher than the minimum value
for a fully developed ow, but lower than other normal values
(>100). Because of this, the annular ow may be not stable, and
thus some local dryout can occur [13] (Fig. 8). When local dryout
occurs, rewetting would take place easily owing to the effects of
nano-particle deposition, ultimately leading to enhanced CHF.
The deposition of nano-particles enhances the wettability of the
liquid lm to the heated surface, and hence promotes the CHF.
FESEM observation showed deposition of Al
2
O
3
nano-particles
on the inner surface of test section tube (Fig. 9). Many researchers
also concluded that the deposition of nano-particles on the heated
surface is the main reason for CHF enhancement in pool boiling
because wettability of a uid onto a heated surface is enhanced
when nano-particles are deposited on the heated surface [710].
Sarwar et al. showed that CHF was enhanced by up to about 30%
in ow boiling using a micro-porous coating. They also attributed
the CHF enhancement to enhanced wettability [14].
The effect of deposition can be claried by conducting experi-
ments using a nano-particle deposited tube with DI water as a
working uid.
The CHFs of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were increased with increasing
mass ux at inlet subcooling of 50 C and 25 C (Fig. 10). However,
the CHF enhancement ratios of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids did not show a
trend toward increased mass ux at inlet subcooling of 50 C and
25 C (Fig. 11). The effects of ow characteristics may duplicate
the effect of enhanced wettability by the deposition of nano-parti-
cles with increased mass ux. Consequently, the maximum CHF
enhancement can be obtained at the lowest mass ux. Jeong
et al. also showed that CHF enhancement was more pronounced
at very low mass ux (100 kg/m
2
s) and concluded that it is due
to an increasing wettability of the heater surface and promoting li-
quid supply under bubbly or churn ow regime [15]. However the
mass ux condition in this experiment is very low (100300 kg/
Fig. 9. FESEM observations of test section tube inner surfaces after CHF experiments (a) as-received, and after CHF experiment with (b) 0.001 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid,
(c) 0.01 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid and (d) 0.1 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid.
T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022 1019
m
2
s), and thus further investigation under high mass ux is neces-
sary in order to understand the effect of the ow and deposition on
CHF.
While FESEMobservations showed that the deposition of nano-
particles increased with increasing concentration, the CHFs of the
Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were virtually unchangedwithinthe marginof er-
ror with an increase of Al
2
O
3
nano-particle concentration from
0.001 vol% to 0.1 vol% at inlet subcooling of 50 C and 25 C
(Fig. 12). The effect of deposition may already be saturated at a con-
centration of 0.001 vol%. Kimet al also showed that the CHF of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids in pool boiling is increased at very low concentrations
(610
4
vol%) and is nearly unchanged above 10
3
vol% [6]. This
hypothesis canbeconrmedbyresults of theverylowconcentration
(610
4
vol%) CHF experiment.
The zeta potentials and pHs of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were almost
unchanged before and after the CHF experiments within the mar-
gin of error (Table 2). Also, particle sizes of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids
were nearly unchanged before and after CHF experiments. Fig. 13
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
DI water : 50'C inlet subcooling
DI water : 25'C inlet subcooling
0.001vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 50'C inlet subcooling
0.001vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 25'C inlet subcooling
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Mass flux (kg/m
2
s)
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
DI water : 50'C inlet subcooling
DI water : 25'C inlet subcooling
0.01vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 50'C inlet subcooling
0.01vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 25'C inlet subcooling
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
DI water : 50'C inlet subcooling
DI water : 25'C inlet subcooling
0.1vol% Al
2
O
3
: 50'C inlet subcooling
0.1vol% Al
2
O
3
: 25'C inlet subcooling
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
Fig. 10. CHFs with different mass ux levels of (a) 0.001 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid,
(b) 0.01 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid and (c) 0.1 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid.
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
E
n
h
a
n
c
e
m
e
n
t

R
a
t
i
o
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
0.001vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 50'C inlet subcooling
0.001vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 25'C inlet subcooling
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
E
n
h
a
n
c
e
m
e
n
t

R
a
t
i
o
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
0.01vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 50'C inlet subcooling
0.01vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 25'C inlet subcooling
100 150 200 250 300
100 150 200 250 300
100 150 200 250 300
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
C
H
F

e
n
h
a
n
c
e
m
e
n
t

R
a
t
i
o
Mass flux(kg/m
2
s)
0.1vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 50'C inlet subcooling
0.1vol% Al
2
O
3
N.F. : 25'C inlet subcooling
a
b
c
Fig. 11. CHF enhancements with different mass ux levels of (a) 0.001 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid, (b) 0.01 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid and (c) 0.1 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid.
1020 T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022
shows the 0.001 vol% Al
2
O
3
nano-uid particle sizes before and
after the CHF experiment at an inlet subcooling of 50 C and a mass
ux of 200 kg/m
2
s. These results verify that the Al
2
O
3
nano-uid in
the experimental loop was stable during the CHF experiments.
Experiments were conducted using Al
2
O
3
nano-uids as work-
ing uids under atmospheric pressure in ow boiling in order to
evaluate possibility of enhancing critical heat ux (CHF). The sig-
nicant ndings can be summarized as follows:
The zeta potentials of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were slightly increased
within the margin of error with increasing time within a period
of 1 day. Also, the zeta potentials of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were
slightly increased with an increase of particle concentration
from 0.001 vol% to 0.5 vol%. From these results, it was veried
that the dispersion stability of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids during the
CHF experiment was sufcient when the concentration of the
nano-uid was in a range of 0.001 vol%0.5 vol%.
The CHFs of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were enhanced, up to about 70%,
in ow boiling for all experiment conditions. This is attributed to
enhanced wettability of the liquid lm onto the heater surface
due to the deposition of Al
2
O
3
nano-particles on the inner sur-
face of the test section tube. FESEM observations showed the
deposition of Al
2
O
3
nano-particles on the inner surface of the
test section tube.
The CHFs of the Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were increased with increas-
ing mass ux at inlet subcooling of 50 C and 25 C. However,
the CHF enhancement ratios of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids did not show
a trend toward increased mass ux at inlet subcooling of 50 C
and 25 C. Further investigation under high mass ux is neces-
sary in order to understand the effects of ow and deposition
on the CHF.
The CHFs of Al
2
O
3
nano-uids were almost unchanged within
the margin of error with an increase of Al
2
O
3
nano-particle con-
centration from 0.001 vol% to 0.1 vol% at inlet subcooling of
50 C and 25 C. The effect of deposition may already be satu-
rated at a concentration of 0.001 vol%, and this hypothesis can
be conrmed by the results of a very low concentration
(610
4
vol%) CHF experiment.
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
Inlet subcooling : 50'C
G=300kg/m
2
s
G=200kg/m
2
s
G=100kg/m
2
s
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Concentraion of Al 2 O3 nano-fluid (vol%)
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
Inlet subcooling : 25'C
G=300kg/m
2
s
G=200kg/m
2
s
G=100kg/m
2
s
C
H
F
(
k
W
/
m
2
)
Concentraion of Al
2
O
3
nano-fluid (vol%)
Fig. 12. CHFs of nano-uids with different conc. at inlet subcooling of (a) 50 C and
(b) 25 C.
Table 2
Zeta potentials and pHs before and after CHF experiments at 100 kg/m
2
s.
Zeta 0.001
vol%
Zeta 0.01
vol%
Zeta 0.1
vol%
pH 0.001
vol%
pH 0.01
vol%
pH 0.1
vol%
Before 37 2 48 2 45 4 6.07 5.01 5.23
After 35 1 53 2 49 1 6.15 4.97 5.07
Fig. 13. Size measurements (a) before and (b) after CHF experiments.
T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022 1021
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. T.H.
Chun of KAERI.
References
[1] S.H. Chang, W.P. Baek, rst ed., , Seoul, 1997, pp. 1116.
[2] S. Choi, Enhancing thermal conductivity of uids with nanoparticles, in:
D.A. Siginer, H.P. Siginer, H.P. Wang (Eds.), Developments and Applica-
tions of Non-Newtonian Flows, FED-Vol. 231/MD-Vol. 66, ASME, 1995, pp.
99105.
[3] M.H. Kim, J.B. Kim, H.D. Kim, Experimental studies on CHF characteristics
of nano-uids at pool boiling, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 33 (2007) 691
706.
[4] I.C. Bang, S.H. Chang, Boiling heat transfer performance and phenomena of Al
2
O
3
water nano-uids from a plain surface in a pool, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer
48 (2005) 24072419.
[5] Y.H. Jeong, W.J. Chang, S.H. Chang, Wettability of heated surfaces under pool
boiling using surfactant solutions and nano-uids, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 51
(2008) 30253031.
[6] S.J. Kim, T. McKrell, J. Buongiorno, L.W. Hu, Experimental study of ow critical
heat ux in aluminawater, zinc-oxidewater and diamond-water nanouids,
J. Heat Transfer 131 (4) (2009).
[7] R. Wsche, M. Naito, Experimental study on zeta potential and streaming
potential of advanced ceramic powders, Powder Technol. 123 (2002) 275281.
[8] D. Zhu, X. Li, N. Wang, X. Wang, J. Gao, H. Li, Dispersion behavior and thermal
conductivity characteristics of Al
2
O
3
H
2
O nanouids, Curr. Appl. Phys. 9 (1)
(2008) 131139.
[9] T. Isobe, Y. Hotta, K. Watari, Dispersion of nano- and submicron-sized Al
2
O
3
particles by wet-jet milling method, Mater. Sci. Eng. B 148 (2008) 192195.
[10] J. Robert, Moffat, Describing the uncertainties in experimental results, Exp.
Therm. Fluid 1 (1988) 317.
[11] D.C. Groeneveld et al., The 1995 look-up table for critical heat ux in tubes,
Nucl. Eng 163 (1996) 123.
[12] G.F. Hewitt, D.N. Roberts, Studies of two phase ow patterns by simultaneous
X-ray and ash photography, AERE-M2159, 1969.
[13] G.F. Hewitt, Burnout, in Handbook of Multiphase Systems, Hemisphere,
Washington, 1982. pp. 6.666.141.
[14] M.S. Sarwar, Y.H. Jeong, S.H. Chang, Subcooled ow boiling CHF enhancement
with porous surface coatings, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 50 (2007) 36493657.
[15] Y.H. Jeong, M.S. Sarwar, S.H. Chang, Flow boiling CHF enhancement with
surfactant solutions under atmospheric pressure, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 51
(2008) 19131919.
1022 T.I. Kim et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 10151022