Experiments were carried out on the preparation and characterization of dispersions of sand in ethylene glycol-water (50-50%) mixture. The dispersions were prepared by stirred bead milling of 20-30 µm sand (in water) followed by dilution with water and ethylene glycol. The influence of temperature (31-45 ºC), particle concentration (< 2 vol %) and ultrasonication on the viscosity of sand-ethylene glycol-water dispersions was studied. The thermal conductivity of dispersions as a function of particle concentration and ultrasonication has also been investigated. Correlations were developed for the prediction of relative viscosity and thermal conductivity ratio of the dispersions. Our results indicate that the sand-ethylene glycol-water dispersions, prepared by stirred bead milling and ultrasonication, have potential as coolants.
Stirred bead milling; Sub-micron dispersions; Viscosity; Thermal conductivity; Aggregates; Brownian motion
