Effect of Al2O3 Nanolubricant on a Passively Enhanced R134a Pool Boiling Surface with Extensive Measurement and Analysis Details (NIST TN 1677)

Published

September 29, 2010

Author(s)

Mark A. Kedzierski

Abstract

This paper quantifies the influence of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the pool boiling performance of R134a/polyolester mixtures on a Turbo-BII-HP boiling surface. Nanofluids are liquids that contain dispersed nano-size particles. A lubricant based nanofluid (nanolubricant) was made by suspending nominally, 10 nm diameter Al₂O₃ particles in a synthetic ester to roughly a 1.6 % volume fraction. The nanoparticles caused, on average, a 12 % degradation in the boiling heat transfer relative to that for R134a/polyolester mixtures without nanoparticles for the three lubricant mass fractions that were tested. The degradation was nearly constant for heat fluxes between 20 kW/m2 and 120 kW/m2. It was speculated that the boiling heat transfer degradation was primarily due to a combination of film boiling in the reentrant cavity rendering the nucleate boiling enhancement mechanism of the nanoparticles ineffective and a reduction in bubble frequency due to the increased surface wetting as caused by the nanoparticles.

Citation

Technical Note (NIST TN) - 1677

Report Number

1677

NIST Pub Series

Technical Note (NIST TN)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

additives, boiling, Al2O3, enhanced heat transfer, nanotechnology, refrigerants, refrigerant/lubricant mixtures, structured surface

Citation

Kedzierski, M. (2010), Effect of Al₂O₃ Nanolubricant on a Passively Enhanced R134a Pool Boiling Surface with Extensive Measurement and Analysis Details (NIST TN 1677), Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=906724 (Accessed October 11, 2025)