Thermal and nanoscale relations of particles in mineral oil: An analysis of metallic and non-metallic particles

The mineral oil, a viscous liquid which is a derivative product from petroleum processing, having wide range of engineering applications, is studied in this paper. Thermal analysis of mineral oil in a microchannel incorporating nanoscale relations of metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles is investigated. The thermal effect on the nano layer is considered, which shows the relationship between the base fluid and nanoparticle. Also, the effect of nanoparticle size on the thermal layer is examined to understand the fluid performance under thermal load. The mechanics of the heat transfer and fluid transport are developed using coupled nonlinear system of higher partial differentials. They are analyzed using the Homotopy perturbation method upon transformation from partial to ordinary equations utilizing suitable similarity transforms. Results obtained from analysis show that optimum nanolayer thickness increases the surface layer of the nanoparticle, consequently increasing fluid temperature. Also, it is observed that the volume of the nanoparticle concentration from 1 to 8 % improves heat transfer and enhances shear stress at the wall boundary. The heat transfer rate using the graphite particles is higher compared to the copper particles, about 23 times more. Nanolayer thickness of 1nm and particle radius size within 5 to 20 nm studied shows good agreement with literature. Study may provide useful insight to tribologist and scientist interested in lubricant designs and process cooling.