Design and Fabrication of a Simple and Inexpensive Measurement Probe for the Evaluation of Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids

Commercial thermal conductivity meters can be expensive and difficult to customize for research on heat-transfer fluids. This paper introduces a simple, portable transient hotwire probe that’s inexpensive to build and easy to maintain, while allowing variation in sample dimensions. The probe’s accuracy is verified using standard liquids (e.g., water, glycerol, kerosene), and then applied to measure thermal conductivity of synthesized Iron(II,III) oxide ferrofluids and Titanium dioxide nanofluids. The design decouples instrumentation and automation from the probe body to minimize complexity, and achieves reliable, repeatable measurements well-suited for laboratory studies and rapid screening of nanofluid formulations.

Key Findings

• The designed transient hotwire probe offers a low-cost and simple method for thermal conductivity measurements.
• Measurements on reference liquids closely match literature values, validating probe accuracy.
• Application to Fe₃O₄ ferrofluids and TiO₂ nanofluids demonstrates reliable performance.
• The probe provides a practical alternative to expensive commercial conductivity meters for nanofluid research.

Recommended citation: Tamhane D, Anantharaman M.R. Design and Fabrication of a Simple and Inexpensive Measurement Probe for the Evaluation of Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids. Journal of Nanofluids. 2017;6:390–394.
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