VISCOSITY, DENSITY, AND THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ALUMINUM OXIDE AND ZINC OXIDE NANOLUBRICANTS

Published

January 3, 2017

Author(s)

Mark A. Kedzierski, Riccardo Brignoli, Kevin Quine, J S. Brown

Abstract

This paper presents liquid kinematic viscosity, density, and thermal conductivity measurements of eleven different synthetic polyolester-based nanoparticle dispersions (nanolubricants) at atmospheric pressure over the temperature range 288 K to 318 K. Both aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were investigated with nominal diameters of 127 nm and 135 nm, respectively. A good dispersion of the spherical and non-spherical nanoparticles in the lubricant was maintained with a surfactant. Viscosity, density, and thermal conductivity measurements were made for the neat lubricant along with eleven nanolubricants with differing nanoparticle and surfactant mass fractions. Existing models were used to predict kinematic viscosity, thermal conductivity, and specific volume of the nanolubricant as a function of temperature, nanoparticle mass fraction, surfactant mass fraction, and nanoparticle diameter. The measurements are important for the design of nanolubricants for heat transfer and flow applications.

Citation

International Journal of Refrigeration

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2016.10.003

Keywords

colloidal suspension, density, lubricant, thermal conductivity, viscosity, water chiller

Citation

Kedzierski, M. , Brignoli, R. , Quine, K. and Brown, J. (2017), VISCOSITY, DENSITY, AND THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ALUMINUM OXIDE AND ZINC OXIDE NANOLUBRICANTS, International Journal of Refrigeration, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2016.10.003 (Accessed October 13, 2025)