Review of the Thermo-Physical Properties and Performance Characteristics of a Refrigeration System Using Refrigerant-Based Nanofluids

Abstract

Nanofluids are considered a promising choice for several heat transfer applications. With the increasing awareness for energy saving and efficiency improvement in various thermal systems, including refrigeration systems, there is a growing interest in the refrigerant-based nanofluids owing to their superior thermo-physical properties. Nanorefrigerants are a class of nanofluid, which consist of suspended nanoparticles in a base refrigerant. In this paper, it is intended to include many articles on refrigeration systems that use nanorefrigerants, published in the period from 2005 to 2015. Although this is an extensive review, it could not include all the papers, and only some major research works were selected. It is believed that the dependency of thermal conductivity and other properties on temperature will make the thermal systems more efficient while operating at a high temperature. The literature reviews associated with the performance characteristics of nanorefrigerants in refrigeration systems for the last 10 years have been compiled and presented in this paper. Furthermore, recent studies related to thermo-physical properties of nanorefrigerants and nanolubricants have also been summarized and reviewed in this paper.

Experimental study on R1234yf heat pump at low ambient temperature and comparison with other refrigerants

“…Recently, R32 has also been considered as an important alternative for use in small to medium capacity air conditioners and heat pumps by many countries. Besides the influence of the environmental consideration (ozone depletion potential -ODP and global warming potential -GWP), Which fluid adopted in an air conditioner will depend on the operating conditions, for example, in a domestic air conditioner at low ambient temperature, the temperature of the environment (the heat sink) starts at -20 ℃ and ends at far above 35 ℃ [4]. Running under the previous condition, all of the working fluids have the same problems: the discharge temperature is too high, and the heating capacity decrease seriously.…”

The relationship between the surface tension and the saturated vapor pressure of model nanofluids

“…Recently, we can note increasing the interest in studying the prospects of nanofluids as working fluids of vapor compression refrigeration equipment (solution of refrigerant/compressor oil/nanoparticles) and as coolants (heat transfer fluids containing nanoparticles) [1][2][3][4][5]. Therefore, the problem of experimental investigation and predicting of nanofluids thermophysical properties promising for refrigeration is of current importance.…”

Heat Transfer and Flow of Nanofluids in a Y-Type Intersection Channel with Multiple Pulsations: A Numerical Study

“…One of the most interesting applications of such efforts is the addition of additives to liquids (base fluids) [6] to reduce drag or to enhance heat transfer. In recent years, nanofluids, which are suspensions composed of base fluids and different types of nanoparticles, have received much attention for their outstanding performance on enhancing heat transfer efficiency [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. In addition, nanofluids have the advantage of high mobility, better suspension stability, smaller pressure drop and less mechanical abrasion, etc.…”