Estimation of Convective Heat Transfer in Dilute Metal Oxide Nanofluids in a Natural Circulation Mini Loop With a VUV Surface Tuned Heater Section

ABSTRACT In natural circulation loops (NC loops), flow initiation is driven by the difference between the heat source and the heat sink density variations. Given that the flow rates within these loops are lower than those in forced convection channels, surface characteristics can significantly influence the flow. No heat transfer studies have been found that describe the effects of UV‐irradiated PDMS surface modifications in NC loops. The study focuses on evaluating the thermal performance of surface‐modified natural circulation mini‐loops with a hydraulic diameter of 3 mm. The impact of surface modifications at the mini‐loop heater section, under different power inputs (10, 15, and 20 W) and temperatures at the heat sink (20°C and 30°C), is investigated. The performance of 0.01 and 0.02 vol.% Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 nanofluids was measured and compared with that of D.I. water. The initial experiment involved a channel with untreated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating on the heater section (contact angle of 86.2 ± 2.7°). Subsequently, the experiment was repeated with a vacuum UV (VUV)‐treated PDMS coating (contact angle of 2.7 ± 2.1°). The heat transfer coefficient within the heater section was estimated using a nonintrusive interferometric technique. The thermal performance of a 3 mm hydraulic diameter mini‐loop with dilute metal oxide nanofluids was compared with deionized water (D.I. water), and the results were validated against Vijayan's correlation. Figure of Merit (FOM) analysis indicated that, for the designed mini‐loop, 0.02 vol.% alumina nanofluid exhibited the best performance. At 10 W and 283 K, the surface‐tuned heater section with 0.02 vol.% alumina nanofluid demonstrated a 12.42 ± 1.6% enhancement in the local heat transfer coefficient. However, the Nusselt number increment was only 5.39 ± 1.7%. The high wettability of the heater section hinders the slip flow. The rise in the thermal conductivity of the basefluid due to nanoparticle addition also reduces the Nusselt number. The surface effects being comparable with the buoyancy forces, the Reynolds number inside the loop is lower.