Experimental Studies on CHF Characteristics of Nanofluids at Pool Boiling

The use of nanofluids to increase the safety margin of high heat flux thermal systems in nuclear power plants through the enhancement of the critical heat flux (CHF) has been considered recently by researchers. To investigate the CHF characteristics of nanofluids, pool boiling experiments of nanofluids with various concentrations of TiO2, Al2O3 and SiO2 nanoparticles were carried out using a 0.2 mm diameter cylindrical Ni–Cr wire under the atmospheric pressure. The results showed that the CHF of SiO2 nanofluid is significantly enhanced by 56% compared with that of pure water by increasing the nanoparticle concentration to 0.05 wt%. Microscopic images, subsequent to the CHF experiment of SiO2 nanofluid, revealed that nanoparticles are deposited on the wire surface during the pool boiling of the nanofluid. The CHF of pure water was measured on a nanoparticle-coated wire which was produced during the pool boiling experiments of SiO2 nanofluids. The results of these experiments showed clearly that the main reason for the CHF enhancement of the nanofluid is the modification of the heating surface by the SiO2 nanoparticle deposition during the pool boiling.