Abstract:
Metal oxide nanoparticles have a significant impact on the properties of
nanofluids and among all metal oxides Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted
research attention due to its remarkable properties. Where the TiO2-added
nanofluids enhance the thermal properties of engine oil thereby enhancing the
engine performance. In this experimental work, pure base engine oil 10W30 was
improved with TiO2 nanoparticles with different concentrations. Then thermal
properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and flash point
values were measured at the temperature range of 30-120 ℃. The Scanning
Electron Microscope (SEM) images proved that the particle size of the TiO2
nanoparticle size ranged from 30 to 60 nm and, the nanomaterials were anatase
type. The thermal conductivity was measured using a FLUCON Lambda thermal
conductivity meter while the flash point was measured using an Anton Paar 500
flash point tester. The two-step method was used to prepare the nanofluids with
two different volume fractions of TiO2 and samples were stirred and sonicated at
particular temperature values to obtain well-dispersed nanofluid. To prevent
aggregation and to gain better stability the CTAB was added at volume ratio
0.05% as a surfactant for the nanofluids. The thermal conductivity of both
nanofluids and base fluid decreased linearly when increasing the temperature, but
nanofluids thermal conductivity demonstrated a significant enhancement when
compared with base fluid. The Flash point of nanofluids illustrated that they are
also increased considerably when compared with engine oil and both thermal
properties are enhanced when increasing the volume ratio of nanoparticle.
