Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Thermophysical Properties of Cobalt Oxide (Co3O4) in Distilled Water (DW), Ethylene Glycol (EG), and DW–EG Mixture Nanofluids

Solid particles scattered in a base fluid for a standard no larger than 100 nm, constituting a nanofluid, can be used to improve thermophysical characteristics compared to the base fluid. In this study, theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out to estimate the density, viscosity, and effective thermal conductivity of Co3O4 in distilled water (DW), ethylene glycol (EG), and DW–EG mixture nanofluids. Co3O4 nanoparticles with diameters of 50 nm were dispersed in different base fluids (i.e., EG, DW, 60EG:40DW, 40EG:60DW, 20EG:80DW) with varying concentrations of 0.025–0.4 vol.%. Thermal conductivity was estimated by the hot-wire technique, and viscosity was determined using a viscometer apparatus. According to the measurements, the viscosity of Co3O4 nanofluids decreased with increasing temperature, and increased with increasing volume fraction. The results revealed that the thermal conductivity of Co3O4 nanofluids increased with increasing temperature and volume concentrations. Moreover, the measurements found that the maximum thermal conductivity of 10.8% and the maximum viscosity of 10.3% prevailed at 60 °C in the volume fraction of 0.4%. The obtained viscosity and thermal conductivity results of the present experiments on Co3O4 nanofluids were compared with previous results. The results showed good agreement with theoretically proposed models to predict nanofluids’ viscosity and thermal conductivity. Thus, the thermal conductivity results of Co3O4 nanofluids are promising with respect to the use of nanofluids in solar thermal applications.