Nanofluids and Nanomaterials: Applications

In the last decade, the development of structural nanomaterials and nanofluids have attracted the interest of the industry. Nanofluids and nanomaterials are popular research fields that have attracted huge research interest in recent years. Nanomaterials additive synthesis and preparation of nanofluids are a new generation of nanomaterials with outstanding performances in industrial applications. This is mainly due to their great potential applications in many important fields, ranging from energy and electronics to biomedical. Nanofluids have been extensively used in a wide variety of engineering applications. For heat transfer processes, this has been primarily driven by the potential of developing fluids with significantly increased conductive and convective heat transfer properties. Specific emphasis on boiling phenomena and absorption and conversion of radiation are some examples of the possible utilization of nanofluids. Other non-heat transfer applications that have considered the use of nanofluids include emerging synthesis techniques, mass transport, optics, consumer goods, electronics, and surfaces and catalysts. On the other hand, nanocomposites have been at the forefront of research for the past decades as a result of their multifunctionality and the unique opportunities they offer for utilization in a number of applications. The latter ones include high-performance automotive and aerospace components, advanced energy storage, electronic devices, gas/liquid barriers, sensors, consumer goods, and others. It is well known that the current technological trend toward smaller and faster products raises many technical challenges. For instance, small and high-performance devices also generate very high power (heat) densities, and conventional cooling techniques are increasingly falling short of meeting these high and fast cooling needs. Here, nanofluids and nanocomposites can play a major role in overcoming such challenges (e.g., cooling) of high-tech small devices and systems. In addition to the huge potential markets, there are also numerous other technological challenges facing many other fields (such as drug delivery in the biomedical field) where either nanomaterial, nanofluids, or nanocomposites can be a game-changer in the future. The present Special Issue will focus on nanomaterials and nanofluids applications in various engineering systems.