Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

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Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification

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Assessment of heat transfer characteristics and system physiognomies using T

hybrid nanofluids in an automotive radiator
Senthil Ramalingam, Ratchagaraja Dhairiyasamy*, Mohan Govindasamy
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College of Engineering- Villupuram, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, 605103, India

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Innovative heat elimination technologies from the radiator are needed for weight reduction in an automotive
Hybrid nanofluids vehicle to increase the overall performance. The fluids used nowadays are based on a combination of distilled
Radiator water (DW) and ethylene glycol (EG), and also using nanofluids for improving heat transfer performance has
System characteristics been increased within the last couple of years. The use of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) doped with unmilled silicon
Feed temperature
carbide (SiCUM) nanoparticles and milled Silicon carbide (SiCM) nanoparticles dispersed in DW and EG at 50:50
Heat loss
volumetric proportions experimented in this work. The focus for the important characterization of the nf which
includes thermophysical properties is elaborated in this paper. The outcomes showed an optimum improvement
regarding the overall thermal performance of 28.34 % making use of Al2O3 doped with milled Silicon carbide
(SiCM) at a volume concentration of 0.8 %. This might be due to the size reduction of SiC nanoparticles by the
milling process involved in this experiment.

1. Introduction nanofluids is because of superior thermal conductivity, the visc-

Nanofluids are used to enhance the heat transfer in the engine ra-
diator due to the thermophysical properties of the nanoparticles dis-
persed in the base fluid. By using nanofluids as a coolant in the auto-
motive system, the size of the radiator can be reduced resulting in
increased overall efficiency. Many researchers suggested different types
of nanofluids to enhance the heat transfer in the automotive radiators
like Al2O3, TiO2, SiC, CuO and Ag. Some others used hybrid nanofluids
by adding two types of nanoparticles together to improve the cooling
rates. A new design was to be developed to increase the heat transfer
and also by reducing the radiator size.
Nowadays nanofluids are used in heat transfer applications due
to increased thermal conductivity and coefficient of heat transfer.
The main reason for the practical implementation of the use of
nanofluids is the problem of stabilisation caused by the addition of
nanoparticles to the base fluid. In addition, the added nano-
particle can cause wear and corrosion on heat exchanger materials
which can be rediuced by using hybrid nanofluids than mono
nanolfuids. Several researchers have applied many mono nano-
particles such as metallic, oxide and ceramic while some have
used nanotubes in various experiments such as heat pipe, double
pipe, shell and type of tube, and radiators to classify suitable na-
nofluids for a particular reason. The explanation for using hybrid
osity, density, and specific heat of nanofluids can be achieved than
the mono nanofluid. To date, nanofluid application has been
performed by researchers using single nanofluid or hybrid nano-
fluid at various concentration volumes and testing to enhance the
properties of heat transfer. The usage of hybrid nanofluids will
enhance the thermophysical properties to a great extent when
compared to mono nanofluid. The agglomeration of nanoparticles
is less in hybrid nanofluids than the mono nanofluids as the hybrid
nanoparticles are different particles that cause good stability of
nanofluids for a long time. Researchers are analyzing the para-
meters such as temperature, flow rate, number of Reynolds,
number of Nusselt, heat transfer coefficient for different rates to
suggest an acceptable combination that could improve heat
transfer using mono nanofluids. These thermophysical properties
can be enhanced by using hybrid nanofluid at low concentrations
which can produce the same enhancement by using mono nano-
fluids.
Raju Jadar et. al [1] experimentally contrasted Multi-walled carbon
nanotubes(FMWCNT)-water nanofluid with Deionized (DI) liquid given
that coolants in a vehicle radiator by varying circulation rate at 0.5 LPM
to 2.5 LPM ensuing rise in the performance of temperature transfer by
enhancing the circulation rate. The FMWCNT nanofluid exhibited
greater temperature transfer performance that DI liquid during the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ratchagaraja@gmail.com (R. Dhairiyasamy).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2020.107886
Received 12 December 2019; Received in revised form 27 January 2020; Accepted 2 March 2020
Available online 04 March 2020
0255-2701/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S. Ramalingam, et al.
Nomenclature
nf nanofluid
bf base fluid
TC thermal conductivity
SiCUM Unmilled silicon carbide
SiCM Milled silicon carbide
A Pipe cross-sectional area (mm2)
Cp Specific heat capacity (kJ/kgK)
d Pipe diameter (mm)
dI Pipe internal diameter, measuring section I, 16 (mm)
II Pipe internal diameter, measuring section II, 26 (mm)
dp1 to dp7 Differential pressures (mbar)
Ƞ Efficiency (%)
h Hysteresis (K)
selection of 45 % due to the greater thermal conductivity. Ghadikolaei
et. al [2] carried out analysis of induced magnetic influence on stag-
nation flow of a TiO2-Cu/water hybrid nanofluid on a stretching sheet
and investigated the consequences of improvement in parameters of
stretching ratio parameter(A∗), nanoparticles volumetric concentra-
tions (∅), magnetic parameter (β) and reciprocal magnetic Prandtl
number in the functions including velocity, induced magnetic field and
heat for both Cu-water nanofluid and TiO2-Cu/water hybrid nanofluid.
Sezgi et. al [3] examined experimentally and theoretically using
TiO2 doped with Ag nf in a radiator. A rise in heat transfer of 5.615 %
and 11.094 % for levels of 1% and 2% and an increase in thermal
conductivity of 0.3 % Ag-doped nf was reported for experimentation. A
rise in the heat transfer coefficient of 26.15 % and 27.72 % for 0.3 %
Ag-doped TiO2nf with levels of 1% and 2% by theoretical evaluation.
Aditya Kumar et.al [4] summarized the use of nf in the automotive
as coolants in automobile radiators and summarized the devel-
opment by using nf which play a role in higher heat transfer.
Ashraf et. al [5] experimentally performed the overall performance
traits regarding the automobile radiator beneath the hot weather using
two types of nanoparticles (Al2O3) and cobalt oxide (CO3O4) at levels of
0.02, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 %. The oxide-based cobalt coolant showed
higher thermal overall performance than alumina. Edwin et.al [6]
experimentally examined the overall thermal performance using
graphene and gold nanoparticles in automotive radiators and re-
vealed that using graphene nf increases in pumping energy of 4.1
% at different flowrates and increases the heat transfer rate of 4.4
%.
Alhassan et.al [7] assessed the overall performance of the heat
transfer rate of water/anti-freezing based nf as a coolant for ve-
hicle radiator using Al2O3 and CuO nanoparticles of 0.05 %, 0.15 %,
and 0.3 % resulting that Al2O3 has a higher heat transfer rate than
CuO nf. Siraj et.al [8] investigated experimentally the improvement of
heat transfer rate by using TiO2-water nf at different volume con-
centrations in a radiator. TiO2-water nanofluid with 0.2 % can increase
the overall heat transfer performance by 47 % when compared with 0.1
and 0.3 %.
Gurpreet et.al [9] used copper oxide nf on heat transfer enhance-
ment in a radiator and showed that Nusselt number increased with nf
volume concentration. The utmost enhancement noticed had been 20 %
with 0.5 % v/v of copper oxide nanoparticles. Dattatraya et.al [10]
examined experimentally, heat transfer enhancement using Al2O3/
Water-Mono Ethylene Glycol nf in an automobile radiator. The overall
heat transfer performance of the radiator is improved using nf in
comparison to the base fluid. Nanofluid with 0.2 % volume con-
centration increases the heat transfer rate of 30 % than base fluid.
Habibian et.al [11] investigated the heat transfer and pressure re-
duction in a radiator with three forms of fins like louvered, triangular
and vortex generator. The louvered fin had a high heat transfer rate of
2
Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886
kv Flow coefficient (any valve setting) (m³/h)
kvs Flow coefficient at 100 % opening (m³/h)
Kp Proportional gain (%/K)
L Pipe length (m)
M Mass flow rate(kg/s)
pD Steam pressure bar
pH Pressure of water level bar
Δp Differential pressure (pressure loss) mbar
Qin Heater thermal output power (W)
Qout Radiator thermal output power (W)
Qloss Heat loss (W)
T1 to T4 Temperature (°C)
Tg Compensating time (s)
Tk Oscillation time (s)
V volumetric flow (m3/h)
24.6 % when compared with a simple fin. Ningbo et.al [12] summarizes
data-driven modeling of nf thermophysical properties according to
synthetic neural and the possible future scopes of nf in automotive ra-
diators.
Atiyeh et.al [13] investigated the heat transfer performance of na-
nofluids using diesel oil as base fluid and multi-walled carbon nano-
tubes (MWCNT) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) as nanoparticles
with different concentrations and flow rates and revealed that heat
transfer properties of nanofluids improved compared to the base oil.
Guilherme et.al [14] assessed the overall thermal performance using
multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) dispersed in DI in an auto-
motive radiator. A slight-decrease ina heat transfer rate of 5%, had been
noticed and increasing the nanoparticle volume concentration causes
the reduction in heat transfer rate. Selvamet.al [15] reported the en-
hancement in the heat transfer coefficient of a vehicle radiator using
graphene-based nanofluid. The enhancement of 104 % at 35 °C and 81
% at 45 °C for 0.5 vol%, was recorded and this is due to the increase in
the volume percentage of nanoparticles in the base fluid. Hatami et.al
[16] modeled a-flat pipe radiator for enhancing the heat transfer and
showed that EG-TiO2 with platelet shape and have higher performance
than the other modeled radiators.
Goudarzi et.al [17] used Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) in Ethylene
Glycol (EG) in a radiator along with two-wire coil inserts with various
geometry and nf with different volume concentrations of 0.08 %, 0.5 %,
and 1% and proved that the use of coil inserts improves the heat
transfer rate of 9%. Aparna et.al [18] experimentally investigated the
heat transfer characteristics of aqueous Al2O3/Ag hybrid nanofluids and
showed that Al2O3/Ag hybrid nanofluids exhibit higher thermal con-
ductivity enhancement compared to Al2O3 nanofluids alone. Hussein
et.al [19] experimentally investigated the convective heat transfer by
using γ-Al2O3/water nanofluid and showed that the heat transfer
coefficient has a 78.67 % rise for 1% volume concentration.
Selvam et.al [20] reported the pressure drop and heat transfer
coefficient using graphene nanoplatelets in water-ethylene glycol
combination in a radiator. The improvement of the convective heat
transfer coefficient was 20 % and 51 % for 35 °C and 45 °C. Adnan et.al
[21] numerically determined the rubbing element and increase in the
heat transfer by using TiO2nf in a radiator. The rubbing aspect reduces
with an increase in Reynolds's number and volume concentration. The
TiO2 nanofluid increases the heat transfer rate of 20 % compared to the
base fluid. Sandhya et.al [22] experimentally determined the overall
performance of ethylene glycol-based TiO2 nf and proved that the in-
crease in flow rate can enhance the heat transfer of 37 % compared to
the base fluid. Azwadi et.al [23] reviewed the use of nf in the auto-
mobile radiators and reported the heat transfer enhancement is higher
by using nf compared to traditional coolants.
Xiaoke et.al [24] conducted experiments for the thermal con-
ductivity and viscosity by using silicon carbide (SiC) nf in a radiator and
S. Ramalingam, et al.
Fig. 1. Zeta potential with respect to time.
reported higher thermal conductivity of 53.81 % for 0.5 vol.% nano-
fluid at 50 °C. Masoud et.al [25] evaluated the heat transfer and
thermo-physical properties of bf by experimental and theoretically. A
wide range of design recommendations for balancing thermal con-
ductivity and viscosity improvement in nf was reported. Elsebay et.al
[26] examined numerically using (Al2O3/water and CuO/water) in a
radiator to resize it by enhancing heat transfer performance. The re-
duced size of the radiator is accomplished as a result of overall heat
transfer performance. Hafiz et.al [27] used ZnO nf in a radiator as the
coolant and showed 46 % of heat transfer increase for 0.2 % volumetric
concentration. An increase in volumetric concentration to 0.3 % has
revealed a reduction in heat transfer improvement in comparison to 0.2
%. Senthil et.al [28] milled SiC nanoparticle and proves the heat
transfer enhancement due to the milling process in a heat exchanger.
Mokhtari et.al [29] examined the turbulent flow of two different kinds
of nanofluids, Ag-water and SiO2-water and showed that using nano-
particles in coiled tubes can be more effective in improving the heat
transfer rate than the straight tube.
A few analysts centered on utilizing nanofluids within the heat
transfer improvement of heat exchangers. Most of the thinks about with
distinctive volume concentrations, distinctive nanoparticles, and others
embedded high thermal conductivity coils in their exploratory setup.
After a profound investigation in this field of nanofluids, it is seen that
no investigation had been done with the execution of the milling pro-
cess for the research of nanofluids. This exploratory work is carried out
by processing the SiC and the heat transfer characteristics of typical and
processed SiC nanoparticles besides Al2O3 are assessed. In the present
research work, the effect of using nf on heat transfer performance
within a radiator is examined. Four types of nanofluids are used; (i)
Al2O3 doped with SiCUM at 0.4 % volume concentration, (ii) Al2O3
doped with SiCUM at 0.8 % volume concentration (iii) Al2O3 doped with
SiCM at 0.4 % volume concentration (iv) Al2O3 doped with SiCM at 0.8
%volume concentration. These nanoparticles had been milled in ball
mill and added into the base fluid (50:50 ethylene glycol – water
mixture) and the experiments are conducted for various flow rates
in an experimental setup as the results obtained by several re-
searchers proved the heat transfer enhancement using hybrid
nanofluids. The usage of hybrid nf as a coolant in a radiator is
analyzed by investigating the forced convection heat transfer
coefficients for the DI Water and EG at 50:50 combination along
with Al2O3/SiCUM and Al2O3/SiCM nanoparticles. The effects of the
system characteristics and operating conditions in the heat transfer
performance using nf are analyzed.
2. Materials and preparation of nanofluids
Three types of nanoparticles, Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), Silicon car-
bide (SiCUM) and Silicon carbide (SiCM)are dispersed in the base fluid to
3
Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886
prepare the nf. The Al2O3/SiCUM and Al2O3/SiCMnf were prepared by a
two-step technique by dispersing different volume concentrations of 0.4
% and 0.8 % into the mixture of DI Water and EG at different weights
(60:40, 50:50, 60:40, 50:50) which is stirred for 60 min using a
magnetic stirrer followed by sonication for 4 h. This offers the uniform
homogenous nanosuspension and improves the stability regarding the
nf. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDS is utilized to find
out the morphology of the nanoparticles. Fig. 2 (A-1) appears SiCUM has
a precise shape and within the frame of huge agglomerates. Fig. 2 (B-1)
appears SiCM have a sub precise shape and nearly looks like chips and
Fig. 1 (C-1) shows the shapes of Al2O3. Correspondingly the EDS images
of the nanoparticles are shown in Fig. 2(A-2, B-2, C-2). A planetary ball
milling process is utilized to diminish the molecule estimate from
110 nm (micron level) to 24 nm (nano-level) for 48 h. Tungsten carbide
of 10 mm θwith zirconia balls of 3 mmθ is utilized within the processing
preparation in a stainless-steel chamber. The ball to powder weight
proportion (BPR) of the ball mill is 10:1 and the planet carrier contains
a rotational speed of 200 rpm. The milling of SiCUM turn out to be
higher more shapeless comes about within the decrease of crystallinity
of 25 % and there's an increment in cross-section strain concerning time
[28].
To evaluate the effect of particle size on the thermophysical
properties of the nanofluid the obtained SiC is milled and the
particle size is reduced. A decrease in nanoparticle size enhances
more thermal conductivity than the large particle sized nanofluid
because of the large interaction between the nanoparticles. Low
particle-sized nanofluid exhibits higher thermal conductivity at a
higher temperature than the large particle sized nanofluid at low
temperatures. Apart from the concentration of nanoparticles,
particle size has an impact on the viscosity of the nanofluid. A
decrease in nanoparticle size increases the viscosity than the
large-sized nanofluid due to the variation in particle aggregation
size. Large-sized nanoparticles increase the surface tension due to
less surface area than the small-sized nanoparticles. Small-sized
nanoparticles increase the specific heat capacity than the large-
sized nanoparticles.
2.1. Nanofluids stability
Nanofluid stability is a significant factor to consider since the
sedimentation of nanoparticles would considerably decrease
nanofluids thermal conductivity. To evaluate the stability of the
nanofluids, the prepared concentrations are analyzed based on
zeta potential analysis using Nanotrac Wave II (Microtrac MRB,
USA) with −200 mV bis +200 mV and repeatability +/- 1 mV in
Zeta potential. Fig. 1 reveals the zeta potential of the prepared
nanofluids concerning time in days showing that the zeta po-
tential of the prepared nanofluids is between 49 and 57 mv. This
indicates the good stability of prepared nanofluids following the
days as the good stability of zeta potential is above 30mv in
common. The nanofluid with low sized nanoparticles and higher
volume concentration exhibits good stability compared to the
high sized nanofluid. Even though the zeta potential gradually
decreases with an increase in days due to clusters formed by
particle agglomeration, the stability of the prepared nanofluids
is above 47mv which proves the stability of the prepared nano-
fluids.
2.2. Measurement of density, viscosity and thermal conductivity
The density of the prepared hybrid nanofluids is measured by
portable density meter DMA 35 (Anton Paar/China) of accuracy
0.001 g/cm³ at 0.2 °C with Repeatability of 0.0005 g/cm³ T 0.1 °C.
Ranging from 25 °C to 75 °C the readings are measured with an
interval of 10 °C and analysis was conducted with temperature.
The viscosity of the prepared hybrid nanofluids is measured by
S. Ramalingam, et al.
Fig. 2. A-1: SEM image of SiCUM, A-2: EDS image of SiCUM, B-1: SEM image of SiCM, B-2: EDS image of SiCM, C-1: SEM image of Al2O3, C-2: EDS image of Al2O3.
Brookfield viscometer/DV2TTM of ± 1.0 % range accuracy with
Repeatability ± 0.2 %. The viscosities of the prepared hybrid na-
nofluids are measured from 25 °C to 75 °C at 10 °C interval and the
measurements are analyzed by RheocalcT Software for compar-
ison of the obtained values. The thermal conductivity of the pre-
pared hybrid nanofluids is measured by using Decagon KD2 Pro/
USA (KS-1 sensor - 6 cm needle length/ 1.27 mm diameter needle)
of accuracy ± 5 to ± 10 % Thermal Conductivity/Resistivity with
the operating environment of sensors ranging from -50° to 150 °C.
The readings are measured ranging from 25 °C to 75 °C with an
interval of 10 °C and the measurement was repeated two times.
The average reading is considered to analyze the enhancement of
thermal conductivity concerning temperature.
4
Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886
2.3. Experimental setup and procedure
The schematic view of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 3 and
the main components of the setup are detailed in photographic view in
Fig. 4. The circulating pump is often operated at a flexible set speed
whose energy usage is either 123 W or 140 W concerning the set speed.
This circulating pump is an alleged efficiency pump with automated
volumetric flow control and its power usage is influenced by the set
speed at the range of 4–50 W. The heat is shielded by the safety group
which includes three elements: (i)a pressure relief device with outlet
range; (ii) an automatic air separator and (iii)a manometer. Circuit
regulator valves behave as hydraulic compensators which establish
equal pressure loss through the entire pipe network so that all points
S. Ramalingam, et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

radiator to dissipate the heat accordingly.

When water expands during heating, and practically cannot be
compressed, to provide compensation in closed water heating systems
expansion vessels with a gas space are installed. The gas space is filled
with nitrogen and is separated from the waterside by a membrane. The
admission pressure of the gas space with hot water corresponds to the
water level above the expansion vessel.

3. Data reduction

In Table 1, thermo-physical properties of hybrid nanofluid are ex-

pressed in terms of properties associated with base fluid, Al2O3, SiCUM
nanoparticles, and SiCM nanoparticles being a solid small concentration
in base fluid suggested by Ghadikolaei et al. [2] and the values are
expressed.
Nusselt number, “Nu”, is computed by the eq.1

Nu = hd k (1)
Fig. 3. Schematic layout of the experimental setup. Where ‘h' is the convective coefficient,‘d’ is the hydraulic diameter of
the pipe, and ‘k' is the thermal conductivity of the substance. The
within the network also have adequate heating water-flowing. Radia- friction factor, “fnf” for laminar flow is calculated using eq.2 which was
tors tend to be fitted with thermostat valves at their particular infeed correlated by Darcy-Weisbach.
points which instantly limit the heated water circulation if temperature
for the atmosphere exceeds the pre-set value. The thermostat device is a fnf = 64 Re (2)
technical temperature controller featuring a marker band numbered
Heating controllers are primarily P and I controllers, or even a
from 0 to 5 which is adjustable. Radiators comprising horizontal pipes
mixture of the two. In the case of the P control system, a specific value
that tends to be encircled by material panels to be able to expand the
is assigned to the control variable. A disadvantage of the controller is
heating surfaces which are made of galvanized metallic, copper or
the fact that a reference deviation not compensated in every case. In the
aluminum. The flow meter works with a paddle switch in which a slim,
case of the I controller, each control deviation is assigned a specific
spring-action paddle made of stainless metallic covers over the entire
actuating speed. This behavior is disadvantageous that I controller is
flow cross-section. The electric heater has a capacity of 3000 W with a
hardly ever used in heating engineering. Each control deviation is as-
temperature range of 0−80 °C. The heat input is supplied by an
signed with a specific actuating rate in the case of I controller. The
electric screw-in heater with an integrated programmable ther-
wider the essential difference between the guide and controlled vari-
mostat. At their inlet points, radiators are fitted with thermostat
able, the faster the adjustment is created. The most commonly used
valves which automatically restrict the flow of hot water if the air
controller is a combination of these two and called it as PI controller.
temperature exceeds the pre-set value. The data acquisition soft-
It combines the benefits of the P controller -proportional actuator
ware allows the control of the feed temperature by two points and
modification - and associated with the I-controller-conformance to-
PID power. The heater can also be directly controlled by inputting
wards the reference adjustable. The parameters Kp, Tn and Tv are
a control variable in the range of 0–100 % manually. Automatic
programmable which can create P, PI and PID behavior in the case of
bleeding of the heating circuit will be provided by the safety group
the PID controller utilized in this experiment shown in Fig. 5.
by limiting the pressure. An axial fan is fitted along with the
The Ziegler and Nichols oscillation method for fast managed

Fig. 4. Photographic view of the experimental

setup.
1-Heater with thermostat A1, 2- Expansion
vessel, 3- Aeration for draining, 4- Temperature
sensor T4, 5- Temperature sensor T3, 6-
Radiator with axial fan, 7- Pressure measuring
point, 8- Automatic air separator, 9-
Thermostat valve, 10 - Circuit regulator valve,
11- Safety group, 12- Flowmeter, 13-
Circulating pump with P control, 14-
Circulating pump with 3 speeds, 15-
Temperature sensor T2, 16- Temperature
sensor T1.

5
S. Ramalingam, et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

Table 1
Thermophysical properties of hybrid nf at 40 °C.
Properties Hybrid Nanofluid DI/EG NF1(60:40) NF2(50:50) NF3(60:40) NF4(50:50)
Concentration ( ) of particles (Al2O3/ (Al2O3/ (Al2O3/ (Al2O3/
SiCUM)0.4% SiCUM)0.8% SiCM)0.4% SiCM)0.8%

Density(ρ)kg. m3 1065.34 1256.45 1398.58 1245.28 1354.85

hnf = f (1 1) (1 1) + 1 ( ) s
f
+ 2 s2

Viscosity ( µ) Pa.s µhnf = µf

(1 2.5
1) (1 2)
2.5 0.00235 0.00234 0.00256 0.00227 0.00238
Heat Capacity (Cp) (J/kg. K) 3356.09 2856.45 2667.39 2835.28 2598.47
( Cp )hnf = ( Cp )f (1 2) (1 1) + + 2( Cp )s2
1 ( Cp )s1 ( Cp )
f

Thermal conductivity khnf khnf ks 2 + ( s 1) kbf (S 1) 2 (kbf k s 2) 1.000 1.006 1.008 1.005 1.007
kbf = , where
kbf ks 2 + ( S 1) kbf + 2 (kbf k s 2)
kbf ks1 + (s 1) kf (S 1) 1 (kf ks1)
=
kf ks1 + (S 1) kf + 1 (kf ks1)

systems was applied to optimize the controller. This technique is xap-

plied because the functional system is relatively small and fast-re-
sponding. It would nonetheless additionally be possible to use the
Chien, Hrones, Reswick step response way of slower systems being
controlled. The Ziegler and Nichols oscillation method can fairly be
applied to fast controlled systems by obtaining parameters of P, PI and
PID controllers. The technique involves purposely making the control
cycle unstable. The controller is switched to a P structure and a rela-
tively high xp is set, which will not end in unstable behavior as eq.3.

kp = 1 x p
(3) Fig. 6. Reference variable (w) and controlled variable (x) in the oscillation
method.
Fig. 6 (1) shows the managed adjustable stabilizes during the final
value following an oscillation. The controlled variable is below the
guide adjustable because it is a P controller. The Xp is reduced and the passes at a specific speed, ratios are obtained as the coefficient of op-
managed variable increases and takes longer to reach a steady-state as position 'ζ' (zeta) which is calculated by eq. 4
in Fig. 6(2). The proportional range under some circumstances is re- p
peatedly reduced before the controlled adjustable oscillates periodi- =
2 × w2 (4)
cally. The resultant curve is shown in Fig. 6(3) in which the critical xp
must be defined as precisely as possible. Within the oscillation re- To evaluate the pressure loss eq. 5 is given as
garding the controlled adjustable, the characteristic value for the
method is the critical duration (Tk) the time associated with managed p= × Ld × 2 ×w
2
(5)
adjustable oscillation which is set between two minimal values as
shown in Fig. 7. Where ‘λ’ is the Pipe coefficient of friction, linked to the pipeline flow.
These values are placed with the XPK (final controller environment) The value is a function associated with the flow state and depends on
and the formulas for tuning are given in Table 2 the roughness for the pipe.
Referring the pressure difference to the pressure difference of a Eq.6 applies for the pipe coefficient of friction and eq. (7) is used for
specific reference cross-section such as a valve through which flow Reynolds number.

Fig. 5. Analog controllers.

6
S. Ramalingam, et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

Eq. 8 is used to evaluate the flow velocity.

w= V A = V ×4 × d2 (8)

where ‘A' is the flow cross-section and ‘Ṽ' is the volumetric flow. It could
be seen that the pressure loss changes with the 5th power of pipe dia-
meter by eq. 9
2
p= ×L× ×8 2 × m × d5 (9)

The volumetric flow can easily be applied to derive the flow speed
w. This is done using the eq. 10, derived from the continuity equation.

w= VA (10)

Fig. 7. Critical period. Where A = 4 × d2

Wherein A -is the cross-sectional area of pipe in m2, d is the internal
diameter of the pipe in m, V is the volumetric flow in m3/h, w is the
Table 2 flow speed in m/s.
Formulas for tuning by the oscillation method.
Eq. 11 is used to determine the flow speed directly in m/s. For this,
Controller Control parameters the displayed volumetric flow in m3/h and the cross-sectional area in
structure mm2 are entered.
P Xp = Xpk
w = 2,77,77 × V A
0.5
PI (11)
Xp = Xpk 0.45
Tn = 0.83 × Tk Where 2, 77, 77 is the conversion factor for m /h - m /s and mm - m2
3 3 2
PID Xp = Xpk 0.6
Tn = 0.5 × Tk
TV = 0.125 × Tk
4. Results and discussions

4.1. System characteristics

= f (Re, d k ) (6)
The system characteristic curve, pressure losses of components,
pump characteristics curves are evaluated using DI water to test the
w×d
Re =
(7) performance of the system to carry out experiments by using nano-
fluids.
Where ‘ν’ is the kinematic viscosity, ‘w’ is the flow velocity, ‘d’ is in- The total pressure losses (system characteristics curve) and the
ternal diameter regarding the pipe and ‘k’ is pipe roughness. pressure losses of the individual components of the measuring section

Fig. 8. Pressure losses in the pipe section.

7
S. Ramalingam, et al.
as a function of the volumetric flow are measures and the graph is
shown in Fig. 8. Since the pressure losses of the overall system are
composed of the pressure losses of the individual components eq. 12 is
applied to find the pressure losses of the remaining system components.
dp1 = dp3 + dp4 + dp5 + dpx (12)
Wheredp1 is the total pressure loss, dp3 is the pressure loss on the
circuit regulator valve, dp4 is the pressure loss on the thermostat valve,
dp5 is the pressure loss on the radiator and dpx is the pressure loss of
the remaining system components including flow meters, pipe bends,
pipes. Thus, for the maximum flow rate of 0.62 m³/h, a pressure loss
dpx produced in the remaining system as per eq. 13 was 75.7 bar. This
ensures that the radiator is a critical component in calculating the
pressure loss and the experiment is done using nanofluids considering
these losses. Similarly, the pump characteristic curves are analyzed by
using DI water and found that there is no volumetric flow-dependent
pressure difference control, the differential pressure rises and the power
only falls because the pump is unable to perform hydraulic work
without a sufficient volumetric flow.
4.1.1. Reference variable step with a two-point controller and PID controller
Record an adjustable guide action a change of reference at point T2
with a two-point controller the experiment is compared by PI or PID
and to choose the other controller type and to check and enter the
parameters for the controller into the try out a PID controller and the
control parameters are determined. From Fig. 9, PID controller para-
meters are observed after the guide value measured at T2 (here 35 °C) is
surpassed by ± half the hysteresis (here h = 2 K), the heater is started
up or off as appropriate. A heating curve in Fig. 5 produced at T2 which
fluctuates by ± 1 K round the reference value at 35 °C. The switching on
and down is seen by the recording associated with variable control y.
Real good control is seen in Fig. 10, with no sustained control de-
viation and small overshoot obtained from the experimental setup for
pure DI water at the initial stage.
T1: Temperature upstream of the heater, T2: Temperature down-
stream of the heater, T3: Temperature upstream of the radiator, T4:
Fig. 9. Time plot of a two-point control (data acquisition).
8
Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886
Temperature downstream of the radiator, w: Reference variable.
Kpkrit = 12 measured according to Eq.4 and Table 2
kp = 12 × 0.6 = 7.2and Tk = 49 s
According to Table 2, Tn = Tk × 0.5 = 49 s × 0.5 = 24.5 s ,
TV = Tk × 0.125 = 49 s × 0.125 = 6.125 s .
4.2. Viscosity, density and thermal conductivities of nf
Viscosities of Al2O3/SiCUM and Al2O3/SiCM nf had been measured
within the temperature range of 0 °C – 65 °C in Fig. 11 which appears
that the viscosity reduces with the increment in temperature. Higher
viscosity values were detected for the nf in contrast with bf by the
addition of nanoparticles resulting Al2O3 with SiCM nf has a greater
viscosity than Al2O3 with SiCUM nf due to variation in the size of the
milled nf. The dynamic viscosity decreases with an increase in
temperature because of the reduction in density and an increase in
kinetic energy. Since NF1 and NF2 contain large-sized nano-
particles compared to NF3 and NF4 the viscosity values depend on
the variation in thickness of the fluid layers. The Van Der Waals
forces are weak in the case for large-sized nanoparticles which
cause more resistance compared to small-sized nanoparticles
during the fluid flow. It is clear from the figure that viscosity in-
creases with an increase in the concentration of the nanoparticles
added.
The density is increased by the nanoparticles associated with the bf
because the solid has a higher concentration compared to liquid and the
concentration of the nanoparticles in the fluid impacts the Nu number,
friction factor, and Re number. Fig. 12 presents the exploratory data of
concentration for Al2O3 with SiCUM nf and Al2O3 with SiCM nf between
15 °C – 75 °C for the selected nanofluids and base fluid. The con-
centration decreases aided by the enhance of heat and in all cases, nf
provided greater density compared to the base fluid due to the size
reduction of nanoparticles done by milling process resulting Al2O3 with
SiCUM nf has a greater concentration than Al2O3 with SiCM nf.
It is clear from Fig. 13 that an increase in temperature causes an
S. Ramalingam, et al.
Fig. 10. Time plot of a PID control (data acquisition).
Fig. 11. Viscosity vs Temperature.
Fig. 12. Density vs temperature.
increase in thermal conductivity because of the Brownian motion
of the nanoparticles added to the base fluid. The decrease in dy-
namic viscosity of the nanofluids causes more collision of the
small-sized nanoparticles than the large-sized nanoparticles re-
sulting in high energy transfer. The enhancement of thermal
conductivity increases by the micro convection with an increase in
temperature due to the Brownian motion and the enhancement is
9
Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886
Fig. 13. Temperature vs thermal conductivity.
more for Al2O3 with SiCM at 0.8 % compared to other concentra-
tions and the base fluid. The higher thermal conductivity was ob-
served at 60 °C and 65 °C for the 0.8 % volume concentration in fig.13
together with values of 0.498 and 0.523 Wm−1 K−1. The thermal
conductivity of Al2O3with SiCM nf increased with a higher volume
concentration of 0.4 % to 0.8 % while the higher value of thermal
conductivity was found around 0.489 Wm−1 K−1 at 70 °C for 0.8 %.
Comparing the total outcomes of TC of Al2O3/SiCUM nf with Al2O3
/SiCM nf, the thermal conductivity of Al2O3 /SiCM nf at 0.8 % con-
centration possessed a better enhancement than Al2O3/SiCUM nf which
is the effect of size reduction by the milling process.
4.3. Pressure loss results
All volumetric flows are converted using eq. 11 into flow rates
which allows the coefficients of resistance associated with the mea-
suring sections to be determined. It's clear from Fig. 14 that the pressure
loss in measuring the part with all the radiators is the foremost, al-
though it is very lower in calculating part aided by the large pipe. The
pressure loss is a measure of the flow opposition into the measuring
area. The high-pressure loss of the radiator is brought on by the nu-
merous windings, which hugely raise the flow opposition. Larger the
diameter has reduced its flow resistance. It is a significant outcome in
heating design that the heat exchangers require high flow and turbulent
to attain a higher coefficient of heat transfer (k).
S. Ramalingam, et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

Fig. 21 shows the variation of heat loss with feed temperature for
the five types of coolants. The heat losses increase with feed tempera-
ture and heat loss for NF2 has a greater of 989 W for 100 % control
adjustable at the temperature of 60 °C. The values of DI, NF1, NF3, and
NF4 for 100 % control variable t 60 °C are 930 W, 936 W, 947.6 W, and
957.9 W respectively in which the value of NF4 is near toNF2 which
shows that NF2 could also be used as best alternator for NF2 in terms of
heat transfer improvement.

5. Conclusions

The nanofluids are manufactured by dispersing Al2O3/SiCUM and

Al2O3/SiCM nanoparticles in DW and EG at 50:50 ratio and the results
are discussed based on system characteristics and thermophysical
properties. The utilization of nanoparticles in terms of heat transfer
Fig. 14. Pressure loss curves of measuring sections.
improvement utilizing the particles with and without milling is given
below.
4.4. Impact of nanoparticles in flow rate and friction factor

The experiment is repeated for different flow rates and Fig. 15

shows the Nu number vs. flow rate which ensures the use of nf pro-
gresses the performance at all flow rates and in all cases the flow rate is
afflicted with the presence of the nanoparticles in the base fluid. This is
due to the impact of nanoparticles which increase the volume con-
centration ensuring heat transfer enhancement. The Nu number for NF1
is 8.68 % higher than the bf, and 28.35 % higher NF2. The enhance-
ment of Nu for NF3 and NF4are observed as 6.213 % and 15.21 % for
the experimented flow rate.
Fig. 16 shows the result of the volume concentration regarding the
friction factor for the nf and bf. The higher the mass flow rate, the
higher the Re number results in a rise in pumping energy. The friction
factor at 65 °C is decreased by 1.75 %, for 0.4 % and 13.89 % for 0.8 %
of Al2O3/SiCUM nf at different flow rates. ForAl2O3/SiCM nf it is in-
creased by 2.34 % for 0.4 vol% and reduced by 9.97 %, for 0.8 % during
the same mass flow rates and shows that milling and reducing the size
of nanoparticles have a clear effect on friction factor. The viscosity and
temperature of the prepared hybrid nanofluids influence the fric-
tional forces between the different nanoparticles. The viscosity
decreases with an increase in temperature which reduces the
molecule's inter force. This reduction is more in small-sized na-
noparticles compared to large-sized nanoparticles and friction
factor is not less affected for small-sized nanoparticles. However,
this affection of friction factor is negligible compared to the base
fluid proving that nanofluids can be used in the heat transfer en-
hancement.
• Hybrid nanoparticles have a greater effect on temperature profile
than single type nanoparticles and reducing the size by milling
which increases the heat transfer in the automotive system.
• The density and viscosity results show that Al2O3/SiCMnf has greater
viscosity and concentration compared to Al2O3/ SiCUM Nf. This is
due to the higher thermal conductivity of Al2O3/ SiCM–DW/EG
nanoparticles at a high volume concentration of 0.8 %.
• The thermal conductivity is high for NF2 when compared to other
nanofluids. Minimum improvement of thermal conductivity was
found for NF1 and NF3. Higher Nu value was obtained at 0.8 %
concentration for all measured flow. Moreover, the thermal con-
ductivity and viscosity are analyzed and the results look pre-
dominant that low sized SiC nanofluids have higher values than
large-sized SiC nanofluids when added with Al2O3.
• The Nusselt number is higher for all nanoparticles and especially for
the Al2O3/ SiCM nanoparticle. The improvement is 8.98 % for 0.4 %
concentration and 23.46 % for 0.8 % of milled nanoparticles.
• The milled nanoparticles have shown significant heat loss due to the
change in the morphological structure of the obtained nanoparticles.
Therefore, this work indicates guidelines for the designers to produce
small size radiators by applying the milling process to the nanoparticles
and this work can be optimized further by reducing the errors to obtain the
best fit in the future using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).
Funding

4.5. Impact of feed heat on heat loss No funding has been provided for this experimental work.

The impact of the feed with the functional system is investigated for
four control variables and the tests are performed for all five coolants.
The heating should be run at different feed temperatures in a stationary
mode with this experiment. Only once the operating system is in fixed
mode if the measured values are recorded. The experiments are done in
different modes, and thus various control factors occur at the range of
(25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 %). The flow rate is seriously limited
therefore the graphs are obtained from data acquisition as shown in
Figs. 17–20 to have unambiguous results beyond the measurement
tolerance of the temperature sensors by using the bf which is DI water
and Ethylene glycol.
The procedure is repeated for the NF1, NF2, NF3, and NF4 and the
results are obtained from the data acquisition with an ambient tem-
perature of 20 °C and the recorded changes show that NF2 dominant
than DI, NF1, NF3, and NF4. This is due to the thermal conductivity of
Al2O3and the addition of milled SiC nanoparticles which enhances the
heat transfer rate. Fig. 15. Flow rate vs Nu number.

10
S. Ramalingam, et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification 150 (2020) 107886

Fig. 20. Influence of the feed temperature on the heat losses for DI water and
EG at 100 %.

Fig. 16. Effect of volume concentration and flow rates on the friction factor.

Fig. 17. Influence of the feed temperature on the heat losses for DI water and Fig. 21. Variation of heat loss with feed temperature.
EG at 25 %.
CRediT authorship contribution statement

Senthil Ramalingam: Conceptualization, Supervision, Resources,

Methodology. Ratchagaraja Dhairiyasamy: Investigation, Validation,
Writing - original draft. Mohan Govindasamy: Writing - review &
editing, Data curation.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial

interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Fig. 18. Influence of the feed temperature on the heat losses for DI water and Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the
EG at 50 %. online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2020.107886.

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