title: Mean-field versus microconvection effects in nanofluid thermal conduction.
abstract: Transient hot-wire data on thermal conductivity of suspensions of silica and perfluorinated particles show agreement with the mean-field theory of Maxwell but not with the recently postulated microconvection mechanism. The influence of interfacial thermal resistance, convective effects at microscales, and the possibility of thermal conductivity enhancements beyond the Maxwell limit are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. eapen@lanl.gov
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eapen
authors.forename: Wesley C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Jacopo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buongiorno
authors.forename: Lin-Wen
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Sidney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rusconi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piazza