Aggregation structure and thermal conductivity of nanofluids

Abstract Nanofluids are obtained by suspending metallic nanoparticles in conventional base liquids. Such a new class of heat‐transfer fluid is superior to the base liquids in energy‐transport performance, which depends on the distribution, volume fraction and thermal properties of the suspended nanoparticles. The theory of Brownian motion and the diffusion‐limited aggregation model are applied to simulate random motion and the aggregation process of the nanoparticles. A theoretical model is developed to predict the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Comparison between the theoretical and experimental results shows the validity and accuracy of the theoretical model.