Fuel 293 (2021) 120432

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Fuel
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Full Length Article

Analyses of thermal performance and pressure drop in a plate heat

exchanger filled with ferrofluids under a magnetic field
Dan Zheng a, Jiawang Yang a, Jin Wang a, *, Stephan Kabelac b, Bengt Sundén c
a
School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
b
Institute for Thermodynamics, Leibniz University Hannover, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
c
Department of Energy Sciences, Division of Heat Transfer, Lund University, Lund SE-22100, Sweden

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper experimentally investigates the effect of various magnetic fields on the performance of a plate heat
Ferrofluid exchanger filled with ferrofluids. Spherical nanoparticles Fe3O4 with an average diameter of 20 nm are dispersed
Plate heat exchanger into DI-water to synthesize the ferrofluid. Thermal performance and flow characteristics of the ferrofluid with
Magnetic field
0.1% particle concentration are investigated based on various arrangements of magnets outside the plate heat
Heat transfer enhancement
exchanger. Effects of magnetic field strength and distribution are thoroughly studied concerning the performance
Pressure drop
of the heat exchanger with various ferrofluid flow rates. Results indicate that with a vertical arrangement of two
magnets side by side outside the sidewalls, 21.8% increase in average Nusselt number and 10.0% reduction in
average pressure drop are achieved compared to the cases without a magnetic field. Novel configurations of
magnets are first discussed in a plate heat exchanger. Ferrofluid flow control is achieved under a measurable
magnetic field strength and different flow rates. It is well known that enhancement of thermal performance in the
plate heat exchanger is accompanied with a reduction of resistance loss. Deposition of magnetic particles and
blockage in the channel of the plate heat exchanger will also be weakened based on results from this research.

indicated that at a Reynolds number of 3 × 103, an enhancement of the

1. Introduction
Exploitation and utilization of renewable energy are crucial issues
for industrial development and environmental protection [1].
Commonly, the utilization of energy produced by a fuel mainly depends
on the heat-exchange equipment in the system. Heat exchangers are
mostly considered as the energy conversion units, and thermal perfor­
mance optimization plays an important role for improvement of system
efficiency [2]. Normally, there are two important methods to improve
the thermal performance of heat exchangers, i.e., structure optimization
of heat exchange unit, and improvement of the thermophysical prop­
erties of the working media.
In the past 30 years, many studies have been carried out on structure
optimizations to improve the thermal performance. Shen et al. [3]
restructured wedge-shaped channels using Kagome lattice structures.
They found that the best thermal performance was obtained using a
model with three arrays of Kagome lattices. The enhancement of heat
transfer resulted in a significant increase in pressure drop. Tokgoz et al.
[4] numerically investigated thermal performance of corrugated duct
geometries with different aspect ratios (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3). Results
thermal efficiency of 30% was obtained for the case with the aspect ratio
0.3. The highest friction factor was obtained under 0.3 aspect ratio.
Natarajan et al. [5] studied thermal performance of SiC/water nanofluid
in a modified circular tube. At laminar conditions, the maximum ther­
mal enhancement of 18.64% and 24.62% were obtained by experi­
mental tests and CFD simulations, respectively. Dheenamma et al. [6]
developed ANN models to predict exchanger output parameters for two
non-Newtonian fluids. They found that a wider test range was needed to
improve the applicability of the developed models. It is proved from
many experimental and simulation studies that various structure opti­
mizations will be effective methods to improve the thermal performance
of heat-exchange equipment. However, thermal performance improve­
ment is often accompanied by an increase in resistance losses.
In addition, physical properties of working media can be improved
by mixing nanoparticles. Due to the addition of metallic particles,
nanofluid showed more prominent thermal characteristics compared to
conventional working fluids [7]. Chen et al. [8] revealed that heating
efficiency was significantly improved when mixture of Cu-water/EG
(ethylene glycol) mixture was used in indoor electric heaters. By
applying a magnetic field, the thermal performance of ferrofluids was

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Jin.wang@hebut.edu.cn (J. Wang), kabelac@ift.uni-hannover.de (S. Kabelac), bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se (B. Sundén).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2021.120432
Received 1 November 2020; Received in revised form 22 January 2021; Accepted 6 February 2021
Available online 21 February 2021
0016-2361/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D. Zheng et al.
Nomenclature
A total heat transfer area, m2
Cp specific heat, J kg− 1K− 1
h convective heat transfer coefficient, W m− 2 K− 1 ave
L length, mm
Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number
ΔP pressure drop, Pa
Q heat transfer flux, W
Re Reynolds number
U overall heat transfer coefficient, Wm− 2K− 1
V volume flow rate, L min− 1
Greek symbols
φ volume concentration, vol.%
λ thermal conductivity, W m− 1 K− 1
significantly superior to the Cu-water/EG nanofluid. For a validation of
catalytic ability of the nanoparticles, Yue et al. [9] carried out cracking
reactions of decalin-based and kerosene-based nanofluids at various
operation conditions. They found that the heat sink is effectively
enhanced especially for nanofluids with palladium nanoparticles
modified by octadecylamine. Dai et al. [10] added cerium oxide parti­
cles into a diesel fuel to improve the combustion performance. They
found that time of fluctuating evaporation of the diesel/cerium oxide
fuel (nanofluid) was shorter than that of diesel at high temperature. In
addition, damage and wear of the equipment due to addition of particles
were also analyzed in recent studies. Gómez-Villarejo et al. [11] re­
ported that 8.6 vol% boron nitride nanotubes-based nanofluids showed
33% enhancement of the thermal conductivity compared to typical heat
transfer fluids used in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Sangeetha
et al. [12] improved the electrical efficiency of a photovolatic thermal
solar system using nanofluids as coolants. Compared with DI-water as
coolant, the application of MWCNT nanofluid obtained a 61% increase
in the system efficiency. Niwalkar et al. [13] experimentally investi­
gated the performance of a shell and helically coiled tube heat
exchanger filled with SiO2/water nanofluids. It was concluded that the
Nusselt number for 0.25 vol% SiO2/water nanofluid showed 17.60%
increase compared to water. Bahiraei et al. [14] summarized fascinating
aspects of nanofluids used in heat exchangers, and they pointed out that
synthesis price and stability of nanofluids were considered as the two
main limiting factors for applications of nanofluids in heat exchangers.
For the chevron-type plate heat exchanger, Zhu and Haglind [15] found
that the flow friction increased with an increase of the inclination angle.
The effect of the addition of particles on the fluid viscosity is weakened
by the irregular motion of particles. Ardalan et al. [16] numerically
investigated effects of the geometric parameters of grooves on thermal
efficiency of a plate heat exchanger filled with Al2O3-water nanofluid.
They found that for the case with the 2% Al2O3-water nanofluid, the
optimal performance of the plate heat exchanger was achieved with 60
mm horizontal distance and 60–60 chevron angle. Gürbüz et al. [17]
studied effects of plate numbers (8, 12 and 16 plates) on thermal effi­
ciency of a plate heat exchanger with Al2O3-CuO/water hybrid nano­
fluid, and it was found that 20% enhancement in thermal efficiency was
achieved for the case with 16 plates. Bahiraei and Monavari [18]
analyzed thermohydraulic performance of a microchannel plate heat
exchanger filled with boehmite alumina nanofluid with various particle
shapes, i.e., platelet, brick, cylinder, blade, and oblate spheroid. The
maximum performance index of the plate heat exchanger was achieved
by using a nanofluid with oblate spherically shaped particles. Bhattad
and Sarkar [19] improved the hydrothermal performance of a corru­
gated plate heat exchanger using graphene-Al2O3 hybrid nanofluid with
2
Fuel 293 (2021) 120432
μ dynamic viscosity, Pa s
ρ density, kg m− 3
Subscripts
average
d dispersant
in inlet
m magnet
nf nanofluid
out outlet
pa particle
pl plate
w water
Abbreviation
LMTD logarithmic mean temperature difference, K
a nanoparticle ratio of 4:1, and they found that the heat transfer coef­
ficient increased by 25.36% when the hybrid nanofluid was used as the
working fluid. Overall, the heat transfer performance is improved due to
an increase of thermal conductivity.
Many researchers have focused on flow behavior and thermal per­
formance of various ferrofluids under a magnetic field. Ishaq et al. [20]
analyzed effects of magnetic field on stability of magneto-hydrodynamic
flow. They developed correlation expressions for skin friction and
magnetic flux on the surface by considering various magnetic field pa­
rameters. Adil et al. [21] improved the oil recovery using interfacial
disturbances created by dielectric nanofluids with an electromagnetic
field. They found that the major contributor to the disturbances was
rotational polarization of the nanoparticles caused by oil droplet
deformation. This indicated that electromagnetic field has an effect on
the flow control. Shi et al. [22] regulated magnetic fields to control
magnetic nanofluids for better thermal performance in a straight tube.
The heat transfer efficiency increased by 12.2% on average when a
magnetic field was applied. Wang et al. [23] investigated thermal per­
formance of magnetic fluids in a horizontal straight pipe under magnetic
fields. A heat transfer increase of 261% was found at Re = 805 by
applying five adjacent magnetic cannulas. Due to the simple structure of
the flow channels in previous experimental studies, the flow resistance
loss is rarely mentioned. Bezaatpour and Goharkhah [24] numerically
investigated hydrodynamics a Fe3O4-water nanofluid in a porous fin
heat sink. They found that at B = 1600 G, φ = 3% and Re = 260, the heat
transfer efficiency increased by 35% for the porous fin heat sink. Sho­
jaeizadeh et al. [25] experimentally investigated thermal efficiency of
Mn-Zn Fe2O4-water nanofluid in a solar collector under a non-uniform
magnetic field. For the nanofluid with a volume fraction of 0.5%, the
thermal efficiency was enhanced up to 47.0% at an input heat flux of
350 W/m2. Effects of magnetic fields on thermal performance of Fe3O4
nanofluids in a finned tube exchanger was numerically analyzed by
Bezaatpour and Rostamzadeh [26]. The heat transfer enhancement
increased up to 52.4% for 0.2 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid under a
magnetic field.
Raki et al. [27] investigated boiling heat transfer on a copper surface
under magnetic fields using DI-water with cobalt (Co3O4) nanoparticles.
A maximum increment of 58% in boiling heat transfer coefficient was
achieved for the 0.01 vol% Co3O4/DI-water under a magnetic field of
300 G. Bezaatpour et al. [28] conducted investigations of swirling flow
and vortices using a rotary tube and a magnetic field to improve the heat
transfer rate of a compact heat exchanger filled with nanofluids. Results
indicated that the heat transfer rate increased by 63.15% for the 2 vol%
ferrofluid under a low-intensity magnetic field of 250 G. Mehrez and
Cafsi [29] found that the thermal boundary layer was destroyed in a
D. Zheng et al.
recirculation region generated by the magnetic source, and the heat
transfer rate increased by 86% for the ferrofluid with nanoparticle vol­
ume fraction of 5.0% at a Reynolds number of 500 and a magnetic
number of 100. Bahiraei and Hangi [30] investigated numerically hy­
drothermal characteristics of a magnetic fluid flowing between two
parallel plates under magnetic fields. They found that destruction of the
boundary layer by a magnetic field resulted in 17.9% increase in local
heat transfer coefficient on the lower one of two parallel plates at a
Reynolds number of 500. Bao et al. [31] improved the thermal perfor­
mance of a compact heat exchanger with liquid oxygen employing
alternating magnetic fields. They found that the maximum increase in
overall Nusselt number of a single channel was 86.1% at a Reynolds
number of 500 and a magnetic flux density of 0.5 T.
For most of studies about enhanced heat transfer with a magnetic
field, the flow passages are of a simple structure. Plate heat exchangers
with high efficiency and compact structures have been widely used as
energy conversion units in most energy systems. In previous studies, the
thermal performance of heat exchangers was mostly improved based on
structure optimizations, which resulted in an increase of the flow
resistance loss. Generally, an enhancement of heat transfer performance
and a reduction of resistance losses are hardly achieved simultaneously
during thermal dissipation. It is found that few findings in the published
literature showed how to solve this conflict. In a plate heat exchanger,
novel configurations of magnets are first discussed in detail. A measur­
able magnetic field strength and different flow rates are used to control
the ferrofluid flow. An extraordinary increase in Nusselt number with a
reduction of resistance loss is rarely reported in the previous research
especially at a low particle concentration. The corresponding compari­
son between Nusselt number and pressure drop is also conducted based
on experimental results. A new finding is that a resistance loss and a heat
transfer enhancement can be achieved simultaneously for a vertical
magnetic field direction, which is considered as an effective and po­
tential method for reduction of resistance losses. The novel findings
show the potential to weaken the problems like nanoparticle deposition
and channel blockage when the ferrofluid is used in the heat exchanger.
This research will offer an engineering method for improvement of heat
transfer efficiency in many industrial applications.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. Preparation of nanofluid
In this paper, Fe3O4 particles are used to prepare the magnetic fluid
(ferrofluid). The particles with a purity of 99.9% are encapsulated in
anhydrous ethanol to avoid oxidization. Fig. 1 shows a transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) image of the nanoparticles. It is observed
that the particle diameter mostly varies in 15 nm− 25 nm. The average
particle diameter of the nanoparticles is 20 nm in this research.
Fig. 1. TEM image of Fe3O4 particles.
3
Fuel 293 (2021) 120432
The ferrofluid is prepared by a two-step method. Fe3O4 particles are
added into DI-water and then dispersed by ultrasonic vibration. Sodium
citrate is used as dispersant to improve stability of the ferrofluid. An
electronic scale with precision of 1 mg is used to weight the particles and
dispersant. For the ferrofluid, the measured Zeta potential is –33 mV,
which indicates a good stability for the prepared ferrofluid. Physical
properties of DI-water and Fe3O4 nanoparticle are given in Table 1, and
some data in the present investigation is taken from Ref. [23].
The physical properties of the Fe3O4-water nanofluid can be calcu­
lated by formulas available in Refs. [32–33]:
ρnf = (1 − ϕ)ρw + ϕρp (1)
(ρCp)nf = (1 − ϕ)(ρCp)w + ϕ(ρCp)p (2)
μnf = μw (1 + 2.5ϕ) (3)
( )
knf kp + 2kw + 2ϕ kw − kp
= ( ) (4)
kw kp + 2kw − ϕ kw − kp
where ρnf, μnf and knf represent density, viscosity, and thermal conduc­
tivity of the nanofluid, respectively. ρw, μw, and kw represent density,
viscosity, and thermal conductivity of water, respectively. φ and kp are
volume fraction and thermal conductivity of nanoparticles, respectively.
Cp represents specific heat of materials.
To improve the calculation accuracy of the physical properties,
thermal conductivity and viscosity of the Fe3O4-water nanofluid were
measured by various experimental apparatus. Thermal conductivity was
measured by DRE-2B thermal property analyzer (Xiangtan Instrument &
Meter Ltd., China) with an accuracy of ± 3.0%, and viscosity was
measured by a Brookfield DV2T viscosimeter (Brookfield Engineering
Laboratories Company, USA) with an accuracy of ± 1.0%. Comparisons
of calculated values and measured values are conducted as shown in the
Table 2. The maximum deviation for the thermal conductivity and the
viscosity are 1.50% and 2.23%, respectively.
2.2. Experimental setup
Fig. 2 demonstrates the experimental setup in this work. The whole
experimental device consists of two closed-loop systems, an external
magnetic field, and a data collection system. The closed-loop system
includes thermostat tanks, valves, circulating pumps, a corrugated plate
heat exchanger. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are used to generate
45–110 mT magnetic field. Heat exchange between hot water and cold
ferrofluid is achieved in the corrugated plate heat exchanger. Thermo­
stat tanks are used to provide constant inlet temperatures (50 ◦ C for hot
water, 23 ◦ C for ferrofluid). All the data measured by T-type thermo­
couples are read by a data collection system and then recorded by a
computer. The tube and the heat exchanger are covered by an insulating
layer (10 mm rubber insulating material) to reduce the heat loss.
Geometrical structure of a corrugated plate is exhibited in Fig. 3. The
corrugated plates are made of stainless steel 304. The length, the width,
and the height of this heat exchanger are 210 mm, 70 mm, and 70 mm,
respectively. Diameter (Dp) for all the inlet and outlet is 22 mm. The
distance (Lv) between the circle centers of the ipsilateral inlet and outlet
is 180 mm, and the distance (Lh) between the heteromeral inlet and
outlet is 40 mm. 28 corrugated plates are assembled by the brazing to
Table 1
Physical properties of DI-water and Fe3O4 particle.
Material Density ρ(kg/ Specific heat Cp (J/ Thermal conductivity k
m3) kg.K) (W/m.K)
DI-water 4180 997 0.613
Fe3O4 5180 670 80
particle
D. Zheng et al. Fuel 293 (2021) 120432

Table 2 as shown in Fig. 5.

Thermophysical properties of ferrofluid. Fig. 6 shows six configurations around the plate heat exchanger.
Temperature / ◦ C 20 25 30 With a ring shape, the magnets in cases I- III are horizontally arranged
− 1 − 1 around the heat exchanger.
Calculated thermal conductivity / Wm K 0.6008 0.6108 0.6198
Measured thermal conductivity / Wm− 1K− 1 0.6098 0.6154 0.6175 The case II with two magnets on each side has the same arrangement
Calculated viscosity / cP 1.0085 0.9028 0.8070 as case I. Therefore, the average magnetic strength for case II is higher
Measured viscosity / cP 0.986 0.900 0.795 than that of case I due to presence of double magnets in case II.
Compared with case I, case III has two-ring arrangement of the magnets.
For cases IV-VI, the magnets are vertically arranged around the heat
form the plate heat exchanger. Corrugation angle (θ), corrugation pitch
exchanger. Only one magnet is placed on each side of the plate heat
(Pc), plate depth (2b) and plate thickness (δ) for the corrugated plate are
exchanger in case IV, whereas two magnets are overlaid on each side in
60◦ , 15 mm, 4.8 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. The total heat trans­
case V. In case VI, the two magnets are arranged side by side.
fer area (A) is 0.378 m2.

2.3. Arrangements of various magnetic fields

The magnetic field around the heat exchanger is provided by several

strip-type neodymium iron boron magnets. Geometrical dimensions of
the magnets are shown in Fig. 4. The specific magnetic properties are
shown in Table 3.
The distribution of the magnetic field is adjusted by changing the
arrangement and quantity of the magnets. The magnetic strength near
the magnet surface is measured by a magnetometer. It is observed that
the maximum magnetic strength of 110 mT is near the poles of each
magnet, and the minimum of 45 mT is found in the middle of each
magnet. The distance between the magnet and the heat exchanger is 10
mm. Configurations of the magnets are divided into two arrangement
forms, i.e., horizontal and vertical arrangements. In the horizontal
arrangement, long sides of the magnets are perpendicular to the main
flow direction of the fluids in the heat exchanger. In the vertical
Fig. 4. Real photo of magnets with dimensions (units: cm).
arrangement, long sides of the magnets are parallel to the flow direction

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the experimental system.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of a corrugated plate.

4
D. Zheng et al. Fuel 293 (2021) 120432

Table 3
Magnetic properties of strip-type neodymium iron boron magnet.
Qnf = mnf Cp,nf (Tnf ,out − Tnf ,in ) (5)

Magnet Remanence Coercive Intrinsic Working Qave = (Qh + Qnf )/2 (6)
brand (Br) force (Hcb) coercive field temperature
(Hcj) (TW) The overall heat transfer coefficient (U) can be calculated by:
1
N35 1.17–1.21 T 876–899 ≥ 955 KAm− ≤ 80 ◦ C
Qave
KAm− 1 U= (7)
A⋅LMTD

2.4. Data analysis where A is heat transfer area, which is 0.378 m2 in the present work.
LMTD is the logarithmic mean temperature difference which is obtained
Reynolds number (Re), overall heat transfer coefficient (U), and by:
Nusselt number (Nu) are calculated by parameters of the corrugated (Tw,out − Tnf ,in ) − (Tw,in − Tnf ,out )
plate heat exchanger, properties of the ferrofluid (φ,μnf, knf, Cp), and LMTD = (T − Tnf ,in )
(8)
ln(Tw,out
flow conditions. The average value (Qave) of the amount of heat trans­ w,in − Tnf ,out )

ferred between the ferrofluid and hot water is calculated as: The heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid (hnf) can
Qh = mw Cp,h (Tw,in − Tw,out ) (4) be calculated by

Fig. 5. Schematic diagrams of horizontal and vertical arrangements.

Fig. 6. Six arrangements of the magnets (units: cm).

5
D. Zheng et al. Fuel 293 (2021) 120432

1 1 δ 1
= + + (9)
U hnf λ hw

where δ is the corrugated plate thickness, and λ is plate thermal con­

ductivity, hw represents the convective heat transfer coefficient of the
hot water side, which can be obtained by the equation (10) [34] and
equation (11). :

Nuw = 1.615[(fRe/64)RePrD/L ]1/3 (10)

h w Dh
Nuw = (11)
kw

where Nu, Re, and Pr are Nusselt number, Reynolds number and
Prandtl number, respectively. f is related to the flow characteristics and
structure of the corrugated plate. D is defined as 2b/Φ, where 2b is the
plate depth and Φ is ratio of the developed surface area to the projected
area [35].
The Nusselt number of the ferrofluid can be calculated as follows:
hnf Dh
Nunf = (12)
knf Fig. 7. Comparison of Nusselt numbers of various fluids with and without a
magnetic field.

2.5. Analysis of uncertainty

intensifies motion of magnetic particles, which significantly improves
the performance of the heat exchanger with ferrofluid.
Deviations of experimental results are caused from measuring ac­
The pressure difference between the inlet and outlet is used to reveal
curacies of instrument and disturbances by external circumstances.
the flow loss of the heat exchanger. Fig. 8 shows pressure drops of
Temperature variation at inlets is within 1 ◦ C. The accuracies for vernier
various fluids (DI-water, Fe3O4-water nanofluid) under different flow
caliper (measured for diameter), T-type thermocouple (measured for
rates with and without a magnetic field. Compared with DI-water in the
temperatures) and electronic scale (measured for particle weight) are ±
whole flow range, the average pressure drop of the Fe3O4-water nano­
0.05 mm, ± 0.1 K and ± 0.001 g, respectively. Uncertainties for volume
fluid is increased by 4.23% under no magnetic field. When adding an
flow and pressure drop are ± 2.5% and ± 2%.
external magnetic field, the average pressure drop increases up to 9.3%
Uncertainties of heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number become
compared to DI-water. The addition of the nanoparticles leads to an
2.93% and 3.11%, respectively. These results were calculated based
increase of the viscosity, which indicates an increasing flow resistance.
on the uncertainty theory described by Moffat [36], and the following
For the 1.0 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid under a magnetic field, the
equations are used in this paper:
pressure drop at flow rates of 4–5 L⋅min− 1 is similar to that of the base
⃒ ⃒ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( )2 ( )2 fluid without Fe3O4 nanoparticles. This indicates that the flow resistance
⃒ΔU ⃒ ΔQave ΔLMTD
⃒ ⃒=
⃒U ⃒ + (13) due to adding Fe3O4 nanoparticles is counterbalanced by applying a
Qave LMTD
magnetic field at 4–5 L⋅min− 1.
⃒ ⃒ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( )2 ( )2 ( )2
⃒ΔNu⃒ Δh ΔDh Δk
⃒ ⃒ (14) 3.2. Effect of horizontal magnetic fields
⃒ Nu ⃒ = h
+
Dh
+
k
To further find out effective methods for heat transfer enhancement,
3. Results and discussion effects of horizontal magnet arrangement and magnetic field strength
are investigated in Fig. 9. For the 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid,
In this part, variations of the Nusselt number and pressure drop were
discussed for 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid under magnetic fields,
respectively.

3.1. Heat transfer and flow characteristics of nanofluids

Fig. 7 shows Nusselt numbers of DI-water and Fe3O4-water nanofluid

with and without a magnetic field. It is found that without a magnetic
field, the 0.1% Fe3O4-water nanofluid has similar trend of the Nusselt
numbers as DI-water, and the maximum difference between these two
fluids is 6.5% at 3 L⋅min− 1. Considering that the average increment of
Nusselt numbers of these two fluids is 0.22% within the test range, and
this tiny difference is negligible in this experimental research. Results
indicate that for the base fluid a significant enhancement of heat transfer
cannot be obtained by adding 0.1 vol% Fe3O4 nanoparticles.
However, an apparent increase of Nusselt number is observed, when
a magnetic field is arranged outside the plate heat transfer exchanger.
Compared with no magnetic field at V = 5 L⋅min− 1, the Nusselt number
for 0.1% Fe3O4-water nanofluid shows 28.2% increase under the mag­
netic field in case I, and the average growth rate of the Nusselt number
increases up to 21.9%. This indicates that presence of a magnetic field Fig. 8. Pressure drops of various fluids with and without a magnetic field.

6
D. Zheng et al. Fuel 293 (2021) 120432

effects of distribution and strength of the magnetic field on the Nus­

selt number is not obvious. The maximum and the minimum increases of
the Nusselt number are 28.7% and 7.2% for the case II at 6 L⋅min− 1 and
the case III at 3 L⋅min− 1, respectively. This result reveals that increasing
the number of magnets may weaken the heat transfer enhancement,
which depends on a reasonable arrangement of magnets. In addition, it
is found that compared to the case under no magnetic field, two magnets
with a superposition arrangement on each side show the highest average
Nusselt number of 23.8%. However, it is observed that two magnets with
a side-by-side arrangement have a lower average Nusselt number than
the case with only one magnet. It is then concluded that the super­
position arrangement can increase the heat transfer enhancement of the
0.1% ferrofluid, whereas a side-by-side arrangement will decrease the
enhancement compared to the single magnet arrangement in the plate
heat exchanger.
Different arrangements and strengths of the magnetic fields have
some effects on the pressure drop. Fig. 10 shows pressure drop values of
various fluids at different flow rates with horizontal magnetic field ar­
rangements. Compared with the 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid under
Fig. 10. Pressure drops for three horizontal magnetic field arrangements at
no magnetic field, the average increases of the pressure drop under a
various inlet flow rates.
magnetic field are 5.2%, 6.1%, and 9.7% for the cases I, II and III,
respectively. Results indicate that presence of a magnetic field increases
flow resistance. Compared with other cases, a side-by-side arrangement
of two magnets (case III) shows higher flow resistance. The case III
shows the maximum increase of 23.1% at 3 L⋅min− 1. It is found that less
than 10% increase of the pressure drop is found for all the cases under a
magnetic field, compared to the case without a magnetic field.

3.3. Effect of vertical magnetic fields

Effects of vertical magnet arrangement and magnetic field strength

on Nusselt number are investigated as shown in Fig. 11. It is found that
the heat transfer performance is significantly improved by adding a
magnetic field. The average increased value of the Nusselt number under
all the vertical arrangements is 21.1%. The maximum increase of the
Nusselt number is 27.7% for the case VI at 5 L min− 1, whereas the
minimum increase is 4.5% for the case IV at 3 L⋅ min− 1.
Fig. 12 shows pressure drop values of various fluids at different flow
rates with three vertical magnet arrangements.
Compared with the 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid without a
magnetic field, the average pressure drop increases by 7.0% under a
magnetic field in the cases IV. For the cases V and VI, pressure drops
Fig. 11. Nusselt numbers for three vertical magnetic field at various inlet
decrease by 1.8% and 10.0% respectively compared to the 0.1 vol%
flow rates.

Fe3O4-water nanofluid without a magnetic field. The low pressure drop

is easily observed at a low flow rate. The magnetic field provides an
extra force for the particle movement, and the pressure drop is reduced
in these cases.

3.4. Comprehensive analysis

Fig. 9. Nusselt numbers for three horizontal magnetic field arrangements at
various inlet flow rates.
From the above analysis, it is found that compared with the base
fluid, the effect of adding nanoparticles into the base fluid is not sig­
nificant to enhance the heat transfer, but different arrangement of
magnets may result in positive and negative effects. However, applying
a magnetic field significantly enhances the heat transfer, which is mainly
because particle–particle and particle–wall collisions are intensified due
to the magnetic field forces. Pressure drop is significantly affected by the
magnetic field, such as magnet arrangement and magnetic field
strength. An appropriate magnetic field distribution leads to a signifi­
cant improvement thermal performance and a small pressure loss.
Due to the effects of magnetic fields, the changes of average Nusselt
numbers and pressure drops compared with 0.1 vol% ferrofluid (no
magnetic field) are summarized in Table 4.
It is found that for all these cases, the maximum difference of the

7
D. Zheng et al.
Fig. 12. Pressure drops for three vertical magnetic fields at various inlet
flow rates.
Nusselt number is 3.4%. The pressure drop is significantly reduced by
applying a side-by-side vertical magnetic field. Based on a balance be­
tween high heat transfer enhancement and low pressure loss, two ver­
tical magnets with a separate arrangement (case VI) are recommended
as the best arrangement for providing the heat exchanger with a good
performance.
4. Conclusions
In this study, effects of magnetic field on flow and thermal perfor­
mance of a plate heat exchanger with ferrofluids were experimentally
investigated at different inlet flow rates. The main conclusions are
summarized below:
Without a magnetic field, heat transfer performance is just slightly
increased (by 0.22%) by adding the 0.1% Fe3O4 nanoparticles into
DI-water. This indicates that heat transfer characteristics cannot be
effectively improved only using 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid to
replace DI-water in plate heat exchangers. Compared with DI-water,
the 0.1 vol% Fe3O4-water nanofluid shows a negligible difference
based on the experimental results.
Compared with the case under no magnetic field, the average Nusselt
number increases 23.8% by using two magnets with a superposition
arrangement on each side. However, a lower average Nusselt number
is obtained by using two magnets with a side-by-side arrangement
compared to the case with only one magnet. This indicates that the
arrangement of the magnets shows an important influence on the
heat transfer enhancement.
Compared with the case without a magnetic field, pressure drop
shows 10.0% reduction when two vertical magnets are arranged side
by side. This finding provides a new method to improve thermal
performance of heat exchange systems without an increase of pres­
sure drop.
Usually, good thermal performance can be obtained with an increase
of flow resistance in many industrial applications. However, in the
present research, it is found that for ferrofluids in a plate heat exchanger,
heat transfer performance is improved, and pressure drop is reduced at
an optimal magnetic field distribution. Such results are really difficult to
observe and obtain simultaneously. In the forthcoming research, some
visualization tests will be completed to highlight the mechanisms of this
finding.
8
Fuel 293 (2021) 120432
Table 4
Changes of Nusselt numbers and pressure drops for six magnetic field arrange­
ments compared with 0.1 vol% ferrofluid (no magnetic field).
Cases Increment of Nusselt number Increment of pressure drop
Case I 21.8% 5.2%
Case II 23.8% 6.1%
Case III 20.4% 9.7%
Case IV 20.4% 7.0%
Case V 21.2% − 1.8%
Case VI 21.8% − 10.0%
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Dan Zheng: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing - original
draft. Jiawang Yang: Data curation, Investigation. Jin Wang:
Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing - review & editing. Stephan
Kabelac: Visualization. Bengt Sundén: Methodology, Writing - review
& editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China [Grant number 51806057] and the Project of Innovation
Ability Training for Postgraduate Students of Education Department of
Hebei Province [Grant number CXZZSS202000X].
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