Dependence of Nanofluid Viscosity on Particle Size and pH Value

We investigate the viscosity of silicon dioxide nanofluid at different particle sizes and pH values considering nanoparticle aggregation. The experimental and simulation results indicate that nanoparticle size is of crucial importance to the viscosity of the nanofluid due to aggregation. As the nanoparticle size decreases, the viscosity becomes much more dependent on the volume fraction. Moreover, when the nanoparticle diameter is smaller than 20 nm, the viscosity is closely related to the pH of the nanofluid, and fluctuates with pH values from 5 and 7.