Microstructural and Thermal Characterization of Diamond Nanofluids

Conventional heat transfer fluids such as water, ethylene glycol, and mineral oil, that are used widely in industry suffer from low thermal conductivity. On the other hand, diamond has shown exceptional thermal properties with a thermal conductivity higher than five times of copper and about zero electrical conductivity. To investigate the effectiveness of nanodiamond particles in traditional heat transfer fluids, we study deaggregated ultra-dispersed diamonds (UDD) using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, nanodiamond nanofluids were prepared at different concentrations in deionized (DI) water as the base fluid. Particle size distribution was investigated using TEM and the average particle size have been reported around 6 nm. The thermal conductivity of nanofluids was measured at different concentrations and temperatures. The results indicate up to 15% enhancement in thermal conductivity compared with the base fluid and thermal conductivity increases with temperature and particle loading. The viscosity raise in the samples have been negligible.