Stability of nanofluids is one of the critical assessments for the efficient systems that the solid content of nanofluid should be stable and well dispersed for longer time. Production of a homogenous dispersion is real technical challenge due to strong van der Waals attraction among the nanoparticles, which preferring the formation of aggregates. Stable nanofluids can be achieved via recommended physical and chemical treatments such as addition of additives and surfactants, surface-active agents to disperse hydrophobic materials, adjusting the pH value to provide electrochemical stability.Detailed investigations were carried out to identify the stability parameters, dispersion methods, application requirements, experimental investigation to determine the stability of nanofluids. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2) and cerium oxide (CeO2) were selected for these studies. Custom designed stability measurement setup was used to record the sedimentation rate. Aging test was performed in the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) setup to determine the erosion and corrosion properties. Thermal cycling was performed up to 80 oC with maximum heating cycles of 500 times. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) used to estimate the aggregate size before and after the thermal cycling and aging test. Results from the time depended DLS measurements, sedimentation rate and aging effects presents that Al2O3 nanofluids have better performance.
QC 20150601