LAUSR

Agitation is one of the widely used engineering operations in all of the chemical industries, which involves both material transport and heat transfer in the system. In order to conserve energy spent in heat transfer systems, enhancements to heating and cooling in industrial processes can be achieved by dispersing small-sized particles having high thermal conductivity in a base fluid. This article reports an experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of graphite–water microfluid in a coiled agitated vessel equipped with propeller and six bladed disc turbine impellers. The heat transfer coefficient for the graphite–water microfluid is found to be higher than that for the base fluid (water) and increased with higher volume concentrations of graphite and higher impeller speed. Comparison of the graphite–water microfluid and water is found to demonstrate a significant enhancement in the convective heat transfer coefficient. Empirical correlations for the calculation of Nusselt numbers are performed, and the calculated Nusselt number is found to be in good agreement with experimental values within ±10% deviation.