Computational investigation of thermal behaviors of the automotive radiator operated with water/anti-freezing agent nanofluid based coolant

Ibrahim Ademola Fetuga; Olabode Thomas  Olakoyejo; Daniel Ejike Ewim; Joshua Kolawole Gbegudu; Adekunle Omolade Adelaja; Olayinka Omowunmi Adewumi

doi:10.18540/jcecvl8iss2pp13977-01e

Authors

Ibrahim Ademola Fetuga Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1943-4234
Olabode Thomas Olakoyejo Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9942-1339
Daniel Ejike Ewim Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7229-8980
Joshua Kolawole Gbegudu Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2417-2520
Adekunle Omolade Adelaja Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos
Olayinka Omowunmi Adewumi Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3545-6679

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18540/jcecvl8iss2pp13977-01e

Keywords:

Simulation. Nanofluid. Ethylene glycol. Automotive Radiator. Heat enhancement.

Abstract

In this study, a 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study was conducted in ANSYS (FLUENT) to examine the thermal performance of an automotive radiator using conventional and hybrid coolant with a Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (NPs) . A hybrid mixture of pure water H₂Oand ethylene glycol (EG) in the volumetric proportion of , was coupled with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles with volume fraction of 1% - 4% at different inlet temperatures. The Reynolds number was varied from 4 000 to 8 000. From the numerical results obtained, it was found that an increase in nanoparticle volume fraction led to an increase in heat transfer rate and pressure drop in the automotive radiator. Also, it was found that at a Reynolds number of 8 000, using the hybrid mixture as a base fluid increased the Nusselt number by 55.6% in contrast to pure water. However, further suspension of 4% Vol. Al₂O₃ nanoparticles into existing hybrid mixture increased the Nusselt number by 70%. Furthermore, it was found that an increase in the inlet temperature of the radiator caused more enhancement in the heat transfer rate. For Re=8 000 4% vol. Al₂O₃-water nanofluid, the heat transfer rate was enhanced by 54.57% when increasing the inlet temperature from 60^oC to 90^oC. Therefore, it is recommended that automobile radiators be operated at a high inlet temperature with nanofluid containing a very high concentration of suitable nanoparticles and an anti-freezing agent in an adequate volumetric proportion to achieve better thermal performance.