Publication

Abstract : The necessity of an effective thermal management system plays a prominent role in the design and development of heat transfer equipment. The utilization of two-phase system, i.e., packed beds, is an inexpensive technique used to achieve better thermal characteristics. Nanofluids, being an innovative class of heat transfer fluids, possess tremendous potential benefits and applications in various engineering fields. Numerous analytical and experimental studies are available to demonstrate the thermal characteristics of two-phase materials and nanofluids separately, but none have attempted to integrate them and analyze their combined benefits. The present study investigates their combined thermal benefits with a system that is comprised of a packed bed dispersed in a continuous nanofluid phase. Experimental examination was conducted using two different specimens that possess higher and lower conductivity ratios with the inclusion of Al₂O₃–H₂O nanofluids. The results were analyzed for various parameters such as the porosity of the packed bed, the volume concentration of nanoparticles, and the diameter of the solid material and the results were validated with standard models.