Application of Gamma-Alumina/Water Nanofluid in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger at Different Volume Fractions

In the present paper, the application of gamma-alumina/water nanofluid with volumetric concentrations up to7% has been numerically studied in a shell and tube heat exchanger under turbulent flow conditions. At first, the heat transfer relations between nanofluid as coolant (tubeside fluid) and water (shellside fluid) have been obtained to calculate the heat transfer coefficient, overall heat transfer coefficient and pumping power of nanofluid. Subsequently, the heat exchanger performance is evaluated considering nanofluid circulating through the tubes under turbulent flow conditions. Most published scientific research papers have pointed to the usefulness of using nanofluids in the heat exchangers but in this study, the results indicate that no abnormal heat transfer enhancement is occurred in turbulent flow. ϕ=0.026 is the optimum value of particle for maximum heat transfer rate about 4.5% over the base fluid.