Abstract
Calculation of thermal conductivity and the characterization of the molecular-level mechanisms of ethylene-glycol-based copper nanofluid are conducted using the molecular dynamics (MD) Simulation when the nanoparticle size ranges from 6 to 14 Å. Layer-Maxwell model is developed for the calculation of effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluid with nanoparticle size up to 2000 Å by the application of distinct thermal conductivity in the nanolayers around nanoparticle obtained from MD simulations. The comparison between computational and experimental results reveals the roles of interfacial layer and nanoparticle size in the thermal conductivity enhancement. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.