On laminar-turbulent transition in nanofluid flows

Abstract

The paper presents experimental data on the laminar-turbulent transition in the nanofluid flow in the pipe. The transition in the flows of such fluids is shown to have lower Reynolds numbers than in the base fluid. The degree of the flow destabilization increases with an increase in concentration of nanoparticles and a decrease in their size. On the other hand, in the turbulent flow regime, the presence of particles in the flow leads to the suppression of smallscale turbulent fluctuations. The correlation of the measured viscosity coefficient of considered nanofluids is presented.