Accepted Manuscript

Intensified convective heat transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with
helical coiled geometry at constant wall temperature

R.N. Radkar, B.A. Bhanvase, D.P. Barai, S.H. Sonawane

PII: S2589-2991(18)30167-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mset.2019.01.007
Reference: MSET 59

To appear in: Materials Science for Energy Technologies

Received Date: 19 December 2018

Revised Date: 22 January 2019
Accepted Date: 25 January 2019

Please cite this article as: R.N. Radkar, B.A. Bhanvase, D.P. Barai, S.H. Sonawane, Intensified convective heat
transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with helical coiled geometry at constant wall temperature, Materials
Science for Energy Technologies (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mset.2019.01.007

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Intensified convective heat transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with

helical coiled geometry at constant wall temperature

R. N. Radkar1, B. A. Bhanvase1,*, D. P. Barai1, S. H. Sonawane2

1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji

Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur 440033, MS, India

2
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, 506004 Telangna

State, India

Corresponding author

*
B. A. Bhanvase:

E-mail address: bharatbhanvase@gmail.com, Tel: +91-712-2531659, Fax: +91-712-2561107

1
Abstract

The present work deals with the experimental determination of enhancement in the heat transfer using

ZnO nanofluid in helical copper tube heat exchanger at constant wall temperature. ZnO nanoparticles

were prepared with aid of ultrasonic irradiations using zinc nitrate and KOH as raw materials. The

effect of Reynolds number and ZnO nanoparticle addition to the base fluid on heat transfer coefficient

and Nusselt number was examined. Around 62.80 % and 136% enhancement in thermal conductivity

ratio at 40oC and 50oC, respectively, was observed for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles in

nanofluids. 18.6% enhancement in the Nusselt number was observed for 0.25 volume% of ZnO

nanoparticles in nanofluid at the exit of the test section. This is attributed to the combination of helical

coil with ZnO nanofluid which gives significant effect on heat transfer enhancement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KEYWORDS: ZnO Nanofluid; Ultrasound; Thermal conductivity; Heat transfer coefficient; Nusselt

number

2
1. Introduction

Intensification of heat transfer has always been very essential in process industries due to the ever

increasing need of energy conservation. Different types of heat exchangers are being used in industries

for diverse kinds of processes and purposes. These heat exchangers utilize conventional type of heat

transfer fluids such as water, ethylene glycol (EG) etc. so as to carry the heat and these fluids have less

capability of heat transfer. The time changed when it was realized that solids dispersed in liquids show

high thermal conductivity than the liquids alone [1]. Since then, many researchers tried to make use of

fluids containing solid particles as heat transfer fluids. But, due to large size of these solid particles,

many drawbacks like clogging, settling and erosion were observed [2]. That is when Choi [3] came up

with fluids containing solids particles that are nano-sized, called as nanofluids which have fully

changed the situation. Thus, nanofluids were prepared by many researchers to study the thermal

conductivity enhancement that they provide [4-6]. Metal oxides based nanofluids like those of TiO2

[7], CuO [8], Fe3O4 [9], Al2O3 and SiO2 [10] have also been widely studied and found to be

augmenting the thermal conductivity.

The wide range of applications of such nanofluids includes uses in automobiles [11-13], solar energy

systems [14,15], electronics [16] etc. ZnO based nanofluids have also found to be having role as car

radiator coolant [17], antibacterial agent [18,19], coolant in electronics [20] etc. Similarly, ZnO based

nanofluids also find applications in thermal conductivity enhancement [21]. Yu et al. [22] synthesized

EG/ZnO nanofluid and reported 26.5% enhancement in thermal conductivity of nanofluid at

concentration of 5 vol.%. The reported thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids remained independent

of the setting time in the range 20 min to 360 min at temperature of 30℃. Pool boiling tests were

conducted by Mourgues et al. [23] using 0.01 vol.% concentration of ZnO nanofluid. Further, 54%

increase in critical heat flux caused by the wettability, porosity or capillary wicking of the heating

3
surface occurring has been reported which is because of the deposition of the nanoparticles either

coming from the nanofluid or present initially as a deposition on the surface. Jeong et al. [24] noticed

the significant impact of shape of ZnO nanoparticles on the resultant thermal conductivity of

nanofluid. The reported thermal conductivity enhancement was 12% for spherical-shaped ZnO

nanoaparticles and 18% for rectangular shaped ZnO nanoparticles for 5 vol.% ZnO/water nanofluid

concentration. Suganthi et al. [25] prepared EG/ZnO and water-EG/ZnO nanofluids to study their heat

transfer performance. The report shows 33.4% boost in the thermal conductivity for 4 vol.% ZnO

nanofluid prepared using EG and 17.26% was reported for 2 vol.% ZnO nanofluid using water-EG

mixture as base fluid. Also, it has been reported that both the nanofluids have heat transfer

characteristics of higher quality than their respective base fluids showing proportionate enhancement

in heat transfer with thermal conductivity. Suganthi and Rajan [26] have studied the heat transfer

characteristics under the condition of constant heat flux using ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluids. It has

been reported that the nanofluids show linearly increasing relationship of heat removal with loading of

ZnO nanoparticles in the base fluid for given condition of constant heat flux. Also, increase in the heat

transfer rate was reported to be 4.24% for 2 vol.% of ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluid.

In a heat exchanger, there are many factors that affect the efficiency of the heat transport. Numerous

efforts are devoted by the researchers to intensify the rate of heat transfer in the heat exchangers which

include suction or injection of fluids, vibration of the heating surfaces and electrical and magnetic field

application [27]. Also, different geometries may affect the performance of the heat exchanger.

Helically coiled heat exchanger geometry has been used by some researchers for heat transfer study

using nanofluids [28-31]. Heat exchangers with helical coil geometry are found to be in limelight in

the field of heat transfer due to their capability of letting secondary flow inside the tubes thus

intensifying the heat transfer [32]. Khairul et al. [33] has presented a thermodynamic second law

4
analysis using ZnO/water nanofluids and other two metal oxide based nanofluids in a heat exchanger

with helical coiled geometry.

Acoustic cavitation during the synthesis of nanoparticles may have positive effects on the size of the

nanoparticles. This is due to the hotspots generated which assists in formation of particles having size

in the nano-range. Lee et al. [21] used the pulsed wire evaporation technique for synthesizing ZnO

nanoparticles which produced nanoparticles of sizes between 90-100 nm. It means that a little increase

in the size of ZnO nanoparticles produced by pulsed wire evaporation method shall disapprove their

existence as nanoparticles. And their behavior may shift towards that of the micro-sized particles.

Jeong et al. [24] studied the thermal conductivity of nanofluid containing spherical shaped ZnO

nanoparticles of size between 87-150 nm and found that 3 vol.% of the ZnO nanofluid concentration

possesses a thermal conductivity ratio of 1.075 which is comparable to thermal conductivity ratio of

1.094 found by Suganthi et al. [25] for 1 vol.% ZnO nanofluid containing spherical ZnO nanoparticles

synthesized by chemical precipitation method having size between 25-40 nm at nearly same

temperature. So, it can be claimed that there is nearly 3 times lesser requirement of the ZnO

nanoparticles if size reduces from 80-150 nm to 25-40 nm. Thus, smaller-sized ZnO nanoparticles

possess superior thermal properties and thus there is a lesser requirement of the nanoparticle

concentration in the nanofluid. This shows that the size of ZnO nanoparticles have a big impact on its

thermal properties which depends on its synthesis process.

In literature, very few studies have been reported on enrichment in the heat transfer performance in

helical coiled heat exchangers utilizing metal oxide based nanofluids. Also, there is no past record of

studies on heat exchanger having helical coiled geometry employing ZnO nanofluids prepared by

means of hydrodynamic cavitation containing ultrasonically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. The

present study reports the investigation of convective heat transfer performance with the use of ZnO

5
nanofluid in heat exchanger having helical coiled geometry. For this purpose, the ZnO nanoparticles

were prepared using ultrasonication assistance. During ultrasonication, cavities gets formed and

collapsed which causes diffusional currents promoting efficient contact of the reactants leading to

synthesis of particles. Ultrasonication involves generation of hotspots having very high temperature

and pressure conditions which favors the reaction and leads to formation of very tiny particles.

Further, the investigation of the thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids at various concentration of

ZnO nanoparticles in basefluid was studied as a function of temperature. For the purpose of convective

heat transfer studies, trends in heat transfer coefficient and also in Nusselt number were investigated

along axial length of helical coil for various volume % of ZnO nanoparticles and Reynolds number of

the prepared ZnO nanofluid.

2. Experimental

2.1 Materials

Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (99%) of analytical reagent grade (AR) and glacial acetic acid (100%) were

obtained from Meru Chem Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai. Analytical grade potassium hydroxide (99%) was

obtained from S. D. Fine-chem Ltd, Mumbai, India. Distilled water was used for the preparation of

nanofluids and also during all the experimentation.

2.2 Ultrasound assisted synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles

In this work, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized as per the method given by Ghorbani et al. [34] but

in the presence of horn type sonicator (Make: Dakshin Ultrasonics, India) having a fixed frequency of

22 KHz and power set at 240 W. In a typical experiment for the preparation of zinc oxide

nanoparticles, 30 mL KOH solution (0.4 M) was gradually added to 30 mL zinc nitrate aqueous

solution (0.2 M) at room temperature. This was carried out in 5 min under ultrasonic irradiations,

6
which give rise to formation of a white suspension. This reaction was continued for 1 h in the presence

of ultrasonication. The obtained white product was separated with the use of centrifugation operated at

5000 rpm for 20 min. Further, the obtained product was washed three times with distilled water and

once with absolute alcohol. The obtained product after washing stage was calcined at 500°C for 3 h

which led to the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Fig. 1 depicts the flow diagram for the ZnO

nanoparticles synthesis. The reaction mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanoparticles is reported in

equation (1).

Zn  NO3 2  2KOH  
 Zn(OH)2 + 2KNO3   ZnO  H2O (1)

2.3 Characterization of ZnO nanoparticles

In the present work, the structural analysis of ZnO nanoparticles was done with X-ray powder

diffractometer (XRD) (Rigaku Mini-Flex X-ray diffractometer). UV/Vis spectrum of ZnO

nanoparticles synthesized using ultrasound assisted method was obtained on UV/VIS

Spectrophotometer (LABINDIA UV3200 model). The morphology of ZnO nanoparticles was studied

using EVO 18 SEM Research scanning microscope (CARL ZESSI, Germany) at magnification of

10000X and 23000X. The TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles was captured using Transmission

Electron Microscopy (Make: Hitachi, Japan, Model: H-7500, 40 - 120 kV, magnification 300000X).

The estimation of thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids was performed with the use of KD2 Pro

Thermal Properties Analyzer (KD2 Pro, Decagon Devices Inc., USA).

2.4 Preparation of ZnO nanofluids using hydrodynamic cavitation

In this work, for the preparation of stable ZnO nanofluid hydrodynamic cavitation was used. For the

preparation of various volume % of ZnO nanofluid, different loading of ZnO nanoparticles was

accomplished in distilled water. The amount of ZnO nanoparticles required for the various volume %

of ZnO nanofluids was estimated with the use of equation (2).

7
 wZnO / ZnO
Volume % of nanofluid  100 (2)
Total Volume of Nanofluid Solution

Where, wZnO = amount of ZnO nanoparticles required in g.

 ZnO = density of ZnO nanoparticles in g/cm3

The line diagram of hydrodynamic cavitation setup used for the preparation of ZnO nanofluid is

depicted in Fig. 2. In this process, cavities were generated by passing the liquid through constriction

i.e. orifice plate. A centrifugal pump having power of 1 HP was used for circulating the liquid through

the hydrodynamic cavitation system. The kinetic energy of the circulating liquid increased as it is

passed through an orifice at the cost of local pressure. The generation of cavities takes place at throat

or vena contracta when pressure of liquid decreases below vapour pressure and its collapse takes place

when the pressure at downstream recovers which generates remarkable energy (temperature 10000 K

and pressure 1000 atm) that leads to high turbulence and shearing action in the liquid medium [35-37].

Turbulence and shearing action generated due to cavity collapse is responsible for the desired

properties of ZnO nanofluid and the obtained nanofluid was with uniformly dispersed ZnO

nanoparticles in water generating stable and long lasting suspension with minimum agglomeration of

ZnO nanoparticles in obtained nanofluid. In the present work, ZnO nanofluids (5 liter) were prepared

by changing concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids without addition of any surfactant

in hydrodynamic cavitation. The mixture was passed through the hydrodynamic cavitation system for

10 minutes in order to prepare the stable ZnO nanofluid. This time was sufficient to achieve the

desired degree of stability of the ZnO nanofluid. The flowrate through the hydrodynamic cavitation

system was maintained by adjusting using the valve located on bypass line. In the present study, 0.05,

0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 volume percentage ZnO nanofluids were prepared at different concentration

8
of ZnO nanoparticles in order to examine the influence of volume % on thermal conductivity and

convective heat transfer coefficient.

2.5 Thermal conductivity measurement of ZnO based nanofluid

Thermal Properties Analyzer (KD2 Pro, Decagon Devices Inc., USA) instrument was used to

investigate the thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids. This instrument works on the fundamentals of

the transient hot-wire source approach for measurement of thermal conductivity. The estimation of the

thermal conductivity was accomplished with the use of thermal probe (1.27-mm diameter, 60-mm

length) which was inserted in ZnO nanofluid vertically. This instrument takes 2 min for displaying

results and thus the thermal conductivity readings were recorded. The thermal conductivity of ZnO

nanofluid for various volume percentages of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids was obtained and

reported in the manuscript.

2.6 Heat transfer equipment setup, procedure and measurements

The investigation on the convective heat transfer was accomplished in copper tube heat exchanger

having helical coiled geometry with the use of ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluids and the schematics

of the experimental setup is depicted Fig. 3. A similar experimental method reported in our previous

study [30,31] was used for this study with some modifications. As depicted in Fig. 3, this experimental

setup comprised of nanofluid tank, pump, rotameter, test section which is a helical coil with internal

and outside diameter of 13 mm and 15 mm respectively, a temperature indicator and cooler. The

length of the tube used in the test section was 10 m with helical coil diameter 290 mm and pitch 35

mm. The J-type thermocouples were located on the helical coil at different locations in order to

measure the metal tube inner surface temperature and fluid temperature at same location. In order to

investigate the convective heat transfer, the Reynolds numbers were selected in the range of 1083 to

2167 which were in laminar region. Also, the range of volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in ZnO
9
nanofluid selected was 0.05 to 0.25. Details of the parameters varied are depicted in Table 1. The test

section consisting of helical coil and thermocouples was maintained at constant wall temperature. The

physical properties of ZnO nanoparticles based nanofluids such as density, heat capacity, viscosity,

thermal conductivity etc. were estimated using correlations depicted by Bhanvase et al. [30] and Fule

et al. [31]. Following were the correlations used for measurement of heat flux, heat transfer

coefficient, and Nusselt number at distance ‘x’ from inlet in a straight tube, helical coil:


mCPnf (Tb,o  Tb,i )
qS ( x)  (3)
Ax

qS ( x)
h( x )  (4)
TS ( x)  Tb ( x)

 D
hi ( coil )  hi ( straight )  1  3.5  (5)
 Dc 

hi ( coil ) D
Nu ( coil )  (6)
k

3. Results and discussion

3.1 XRD, UV-Visible, SEM and TEM analysis of ultrasonically prepared ZnO nanoparticles

Fig. 4 shows the XRD pattern of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticle. A highly crystalline

structure of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles was observed as evident from the XRD pattern in which

sharp peaks of high intensity extend over the 2θ scale. The characteristic peaks observed at 2θ equal to

31.60, 34.20, 36.04, 47.40, 56.40, 62.70 and 67.80° correspond to the lattice planes (1 0 0), (0 0 2), (1

0 1), (1 0 2), (1 1 0), (1 0 3) and (1 1 2), respectively, indicative of wurtzite hexagonal structure of

ZnO nanoparticles [38]. All the peaks were as per the standard JCPDS card no. 36-1451. Further, the

10
crystallite size corresponding to the (1 0 1) plane (36.04o) estimated using Scherer’s formula (equation

7) [39] was 5.564 nm.

k
d (7)
 cos 

where d is crystallite size, β is full-width at half-maximum height (FWHM), k = 0.9, and θ = glancing

•
angle, λ = 1.5405 A .

UV–vis absorption spectrum of sonochemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles at room temperature is

depicted in Fig. 5. The characteristic peak at 375 nm reveals the successful formation of ZnO

nanoparticles by ultrasound assisted method and this can be allocated to the transition of electrons

from valence band to the conduction band (O2p → Zn3d) which leads to the intrinsic band-gap

absorption of ZnO [38].

Fig. 6 shows the SEM images of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticles at diverse magnification.

A uniform size and shape of finely dispersed ZnO nanoparticles has been observed without any

agglomeration of the similar sized nanoparticles. This is attributed to the physical effects of

ultrasound. Further substantial decrease in the particles size and agglomeration of ultrasonically

synthesized ZnO nanoparticles is witnessed. One of the possible reasons is the cavitational effects

caused due to ultrasound. The reduced particle size of ZnO nanoparticles is due to rapid nucleation i.e.

lesser induction period and more nucleation events which has better control on the ZnO crystal growth

rate during the chemical precipitation accompanied by ultrasonic irradiations [40].

Fig. 7 depicts the morphological analysis i.e. TEM image of sonochemically prepared ZnO

nanoparticles. The particle size of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticles observed from TEM

image is around 15 nm which is substantially smaller in the presence of ultrasound. Also TEM of ZnO

11
nanoparticle shows monodispersed morphology which is again attributed to cavitational events due to

ultrasound. The possible reasons are reported earlier. In the SEM images, the material appears as

nanotubes, but the TEM image clearly shows nanoparticles of ZnO attached to each other. The reason

for the appearance of the ZnO particles as nanotubes in SEM is because of the formation of chain-like

structures of the particles due to their attachment to each other.

3.2 Effect of temperature and concentration of nanofluid on thermal conductivity ratio

Fig. 8 depicts the thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluid at different

temperature for various volume % of the nanofluid. The thermal conductivity ratio of different

concentration of ZnO nanofluid was found to be increasing with increase in temperature and loading

of ZnO nanoparticles. The thermal conductivity ratio was found to be 0.87 at 36oC for 0.5 volume %

concentration and it increased to 1.5 at 50oC. Further, Fig. 8 depicts linear nature of the thermal

conductivity with respect to temperature for different volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in base fluid i.e.

water which shows well dispersed nature of ZnO nanoparticles in water which is attributed to

cavitation effect [25,26]. The % enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio was around 62.80 % at

40oC for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluids. Further, % enhancement in

thermal conductivity ratio increased to 136% at 50oC for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles

in nanofluids. This is accomplished due to the enhanced Brownian motion of sonochemically prepared

ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluid at high temperature thereby increasing its thermal conductivity

ratio. Further, enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio with respect to increase in loading of

ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid is due to the presence of larger amount of ZnO nanoparticles in

nanofluid exhibiting larger effect of heat conduction in the nanofluid. The various reasons behind the

enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio are explained as follows. (a) The increased

concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids can bring ZnO nanoparticles closer to each other

12
allowing the exchange of electrons and protons which enhances the lattice vibration frequency which

in turn leads to the enhancement in the heat conduction in ZnO nanofluids known to be as the

percolation effect [41-43]. (b) Also, the enhanced dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles in water with

the use of hydrodynamic cavitation increases the Brownian motion of nanoparticles which increases

with temperature of ZnO nanofluids and leads to enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio of

nanofluids [44]. (c) The third reason is the formation of liquid molecules’ nano-layered structure on

the surface of ZnO nanoparticles which helps in the transporting heat from ZnO nanoparticles to the

liquid present near to particles leading to formation of homogeneous suspension and this phenomenon

plays a very essential role in the enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio [45].

3.3 Validation of experimental setup

The accuracy and consistency of the experimental setup used in this study was verified. For the same

experimental setup, determination of Nusselt number using distilled water as the working fluid was

done and this setup was used to examine the heat transfer characteristics using ZnO nanoparticles

based nanofluids. The experiments were carried out at Reynolds Numbers equal to 1354 and 1625.

The comparison between experimentally measured Nusselt number values obtained using the

theoretical solution given by Shah [46] under constant wall temperature was done. These equations are

reported in Fule et al. [31]. The experimental results show considerable agreement with the Shah’s

correlations, which is depicted in Fig. 9.

3.4 Effect of volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid

The reported literature depicts the addition of various nanoparticles in the basefluid shows

intensification in heat transfer coefficient and in turn in the Nusselt number [30,31,47-49]. Fig. 10

demonstrates the impact of volume % of ZnO nanoparticles (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 volume

%) on local heat transfer coefficients for ZnO nanofluids at Reynolds number of 1896. At the entry of
13
the test section, the heat transfer coefficient was found to be increasing from 587.5 to 965.20 W/m2 oC

for increase in the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles from 0 to 0.25 volume %. This significant

augmentation in heat transfer coefficient at the entry of the test section is due to entrance effect. The

entrance effect refers to the fact that at the entry of the test section, the flow does not experience any

kind of boundary layer formation as it is suddenly exposed to the flow boundaries. This causes

maximum transfer of heat leading to a higher values of heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number.

The obtained value of heat transfer coefficient is 310.95 W/m2 oC for distilled water at the exit of test

section (at x/Di = 769.2) and it increased to 368.3 W/m2oC for 0.25 volume % ZnO nanofluids. Hence,

heat transfer coefficient gets increased with increased loading (volume %) of ZnO nanoparticles in

nanofluids. This enhancement can be explained by following mechanisms which are in line with the

explanation depicted in previous section [47]: (1) an early shift to turbulent flow from laminar flow

takes place which is caused by the addition of ZnO nanoparticles and this is responsible for higher heat

transfer coefficient in presence of ZnO nanoparticles, (2) the addition of ZnO nanoparticles in the fluid

causes shear thinning phenomenon in nanofluids and has higher shear rate at the wall showing better

fluid flow performance resulting in intensification in heat transfer coefficient, (3) reduction in the drag

force and thereby the pressure drop in presence of ZnO nanoparticles shows improvement in the flow

behavior leading in intensification in heat transfer coefficient, (4) dispersion of ZnO nanoparticles

significantly influences the thermal conductivity and also changes the flow and thermal fields which

are responsible for enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient and hence, higher convective heat

transfer coefficient was observed for higher loading (volume %) of ZnO nanoparticles and (5) the

higher heat transfer coefficient for higher loading of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid is due to the

enhanced thermal conductivity of the ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluids. The heat transfer coefficient

is represented as k/ (k = thermal conductivity of the ZnO nanofluid and  = thickness of the thermal

boundary layer). Due to the presence of ZnO nanosized particles in the prepared nanofluid, there is an
14
intensification in thermal conductivity (k) and the decrement in the thickness of boundary layer ()

which ultimately results in the enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient of ZnO nanofluid. In the

presence of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluid lead to thinning effect of boundary layer which also

plays an important role in augmentation in the heat transfer coefficient. Further, the increased

concentration of ZnO nanosized particles in nanofluid improves the interaction of the added ZnO

nanoparticles due to higher collision in the base fluid and likewise the diffusion and higher relative

movement of ZnO nanosized particles close the surface lead to quicker heat transfer from the surface

to the ZnO nanofluid [47]. This increased concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid has

noteworthy influence on resulting physical properties of ZnO nanofluid like pressure drop, thermal

conductivity, viscosity etc. which consequently affects the heat transfer coefficient.

Further, the Nusselt number estimated with the use of local heat transfer coefficient is reported in Fig.

10 at different volume % of ZnO nanoparticles for Reynolds number equal to 1896. The estimated

Nusselt number for different volume % of ZnO nanosized particles are depicted in Fig. 11. The

Nusselt number estimated for distilled water at the entry of the test section was 12.7 and increased to

20.91 for 0.25 volume % of the ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid. This drastic enhancement in the

Nusselt number at the entry of the test section is due to entrance effect. This is similar to what has

been explained earlier. Further, at the exit of the test section, Nusselt number was found to be

increasing from 6.73 to 7.98 as volume % of the ZnO nanoparticles increased from 0 to 0.25 vol.%.

The % improvement in the Nusselt number observed was 18.6% for 0.25 volume% of ZnO

nanoparticles in nanofluid at the exit of the test section. The possible reasons for this enhancement in

Nusselt number are reported in the previous paragraph.

3.5 Effect of Reynolds number on heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number

15
Fig. 12 shows different trends in local convective heat transfer coefficient with the axial position at

various values of Reynolds number and various loading of ZnO nanoparticles. The clear trend of

decrease in the heat transfer coefficient with axial distance is observed which is justified by the

entrance effect in the test section. For every selected value of volume % of the ZnO nanofluid, the heat

transfer coefficient intensifies with the rise in the Reynolds number of the nanofluid. The heat transfer

coefficient measured at the exit of the test section was observed to be increasing from 208.88 to

379.35 W/m2.OC with increase in Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167 for 0.05 volume % of ZnO

nanoparticles in the nanofluid. In the case of 0.25 volume %, heat transfer coefficient measured at the

exit of the test section was found to be increasing from 228.44 to 420.90 W/m2.OC for increase in the

Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167. Further, similar trends were observed for various other volume

% of ZnO nanosized particles in the nanofluid. This is caused by an increase in the turbulence at

higher Reynolds number that ultimately intensifies heat transfer coefficient. This is also caused by

decrement in the thickness of boundary layer due to formation of eddies at higher Reynolds number

which enhances the heat transfer coefficient. Higher Reynolds number intensifies the chaotic

movements of the ZnO nanosized particles throughout the nanofluid and this also contribute in

enhancing the heat transfer coefficient and at lesser value of Reynolds number, there may be

agglomeration of the ZnO nanosized particles which may lead to lowering of the heat transfer

enhancement of the nanofluid. Conversely, at higher value of Reynolds number, this agglomeration

effect of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid drastically decreases leading to intensification of mixing and

dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles, which results in substantial increase in the heat transfer

coefficient. Also, another possible reason for convective heat transfer coefficient enhancement is the

enhanced particle movement caused by the substantial increase in velocity due to increased Reynolds

number. This higher velocity is responsible for speedy movement and collision between the ZnO

nanoparticles resulting in increase in the heat transfer coefficient [48,50,51].

16
Fig. 13 shows the trends in the Nusselt number with axial position for different Reynolds number and

various volume % of ZnO nanosized particles. It has been observed that the Nusselt number for a

constant diameter flow region increases as the Reynolds number in increased for each volume % of

ZnO nanosized particles in the nanofluid. At 0.05 volume %, the Nusselt number was observed to be

enhanced from 4.52 to 8.22 for an increased Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167. Also it increases

from 4.95 to 9.12 in the case of 0.25 volume % of ZnO nanoparticles for an increased Reynolds

number from 1083 to 2167. It is again attributed to the possible agglomeration effect of ZnO

nanoparticles at lower Reynolds number which decreases the local Nusselt number of the ZnO

nanofluid. At higher value of Reynolds number, the agglomeration effect of ZnO nanoparticles in

nanofluid considerably decreases which intensifies the dispersion of the nanoparticles due to proper

mixing leading to drastic enhancement in the Nusselt number.

4. Conclusions

In the present work, experimental investigation of the convective heat transfer provided by the ZnO

nanofluid in helical copper tube heat exchanger at constant wall temperature was carried out.

Successful sonochemical preparation of ZnO nanoparticles was accomplished that leads to the

formation of particles of size 9 to 15 nm which is analysed from TEM analysis. XRD and UV/Vis

analysis confirms the formation of ZnO nanoparticles by ultrasound assisted process. The selected

volume % range of ZnO nanoparticles was from 0.05 to 0.25 with Reynolds number in the range of

1083 to 2167. Estimation of the thermal conductivity ratio was accomplished for various volume % of

ZnO nanosized particles and temperature of the nanofluid. The trends shows significant enhancement

in the thermal conductivity ratio values with the volume % of ZnO nanoparticle and temperature. The

significant enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient and then in Nusselt number values was

observed with increasing volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids and also Reynolds number.

17
18.6 % increase in the Nusselt number was found at 0.5 volume % of ZnO nanosized particles in

nanofluid. Intensified values of heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number at higher Reynolds

number is caused due to the reduction in agglomeration of the ZnO nanoparticles and intensified

mixing which is due to the superior dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles at higher flow velocities.

Thus, enhancement in the heat transfer characteristics and compatibility of ZnO nanofluid accredits it

to become a feasible option in heat transfer equipments used in chemical industries.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India

[Start Up Research Grant (Young Scientists), Sanction order no. YSS/2014/000889, 2015].

18
Nomenclature

Ax = Inside surface area of the helical coil at distance x

CP nf = Heat Capacity of ZnO nanofluid

D = Inside diameter of helical coiled tube

Dc = Diameter of helix

hi ( coil ) = Heat Transfer coefficient estimated in helical coiled tube

hi ( straight ) = Heat Transfer coefficient estimated in straight tube


m = Mass flow rate of ZnO nanofluid (kg/s)

qs(x) = Heat flux

Tb(x) = Bulk fluid temperature at ‘x’

Ts(x) = Wall temperature at ‘x’

Tbi = Inlet temperature of bulk fluid

Tbo = Outlet temperature of bulk fluid

19
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26
List of Figures and Tables:

Fig. 1. Process flow sheet of ultrasound assisted preparation of ZnO nanoparticles.

Fig. 2. Hydrodynamic Cavitation setup line diagram using for the preparation of ZnO/water

nanofluids

Fig. 3. Schematic of experimental setup for study of convective heat transfer enhancement using

ZnO nanofluid

Fig. 4. XRD analysis for ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process

Fig. 5. UV/Vis. Spectrum of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process.

Fig. 6. SEM image of ZnO nanoparticles at 10000X and 23000X prepared by ultrasound

assisted process

Fig. 7. TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process at 300000X .

Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO based nanofluids with water as the base fluid with

respect to temperature at different vol.%.

Fig. 9. Validity of experimental heat transfer setup using distilled water

Fig. 10. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO

in nanofluid (Re=1896)

Fig. 11. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different values of

Reynolds Number and volume percentage of ZnO in nanofluids.

Fig. 12. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in

nanofluid (Re=1896)

Fig. 13. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds

Number and volume percentage of ZnO in nanofluids.

27
Table 1. Details of parameters varied during convective heat transfer study in the helical coiled heat

exchanger

28
Fig. 1. Process flow sheet of ultrasound assisted preparation of ZnO nanoparticles.

29
Fig. 2. Hydrodynamic Cavitation setup line diagram using for the preparation of ZnO/water nanofluids

30
Fig. 3. Schematic of experimental setup for study of convective heat transfer enhancement using ZnO

nanofluid

31
Fig. 4. XRD analysis for ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process

32
Fig. 5. UV/Vis. Spectrum of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process.

33
Fig. 6. SEM image of ZnO nanoparticles at 10000X and 23000X prepared by ultrasound assisted

process

34
Fig. 7. TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process at 300000X .

35
Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO based nanofluids with water as the base fluid with respect to

temperature at different vol.%.

36
Fig. 9. Validity of experimental heat transfer setup using distilled water

37
Fig. 10. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in

nanofluid (Re=1896)

38
Fig. 11. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in

nanofluid (Re=1896)

39
Fig. 12. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds

Number and volume percentage of ZnO in nanofluids.

40
Fig. 13. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds Number

and volume percentage of ZnO in nanofluids.

41
Table 1. Details of parameters varied during convective heat transfer study in the helical coiled heat

exchanger

Sr. No. Concentration of nanofluid (vol. %) Flow rate (m3/s) Reynolds number

1 0.05 1.11×10-5 1083

2 0.10 1.39×10-5 1354

3 0.15 1.67×10-5 1625

4 0.20 1.94×10-5 1896

5 0.25 2.22×10-5 2167

42
43