Viscosity, thermal diffusivity and Prandtl number of nanoparticle suspensions *

Abstract

Using our reported experimental data of effective thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and viscosity for CuO nanoparticle suspensions, the corresponding thermal diffusivity and Prandtl number are calculated. With the hard sphere model and considering effects of particle clustering and surface adsorption, the increase of viscosity for nanoparticle suspension observed is explained. It is shown that the effective thermal conductivity will be strongly affected by the formation and correlated spatial distribution of nanoparticle clusters when compared to viscosity in hosting liquid.