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E!12375 New coolants for high-performance engines

Alternativ tittel: Nye kjølemedier for høy-ytelses motorer

Tildelt: kr 1,7 mill.

Kjølemedier er en essensiell del av de fleste motorer. Nyere akademisk forskning har fokusert på utviklingen av såkalte nanofluider, som her forstås som nano-partikler i væsker - også kjent som suspensjoner. En teknisk utfordring med slike suspensjoner er å gjøre dem stabile slik at partiklene ikke separerer ut. Slike suspensjoner har til nå blitt relativt lite benyttet til industrielle formål og prosjektet G-COOL tar sikte på å utvikle nye nanofluider for bruk som kjølevæsker i motorer. Prosjektet er et samarbeid mellom 3 spanske (Avanzare, IQR, SAG) og en norsk partner (IFE) og vil i første omgang utvikle nanofluider for kjøling av racing-motorer i Moto-GP og drag-racing anvendelser.

For the automotive industry, a more efficient thermally conductive nanofluid will enable a reduction of the size and weight of the cooling system; leading the way to enhanced performance, increased fuel economy and higher dynamic response. For industrial systems, the use of the new nanofluids will lead to a shortening of the heat-exchange working time due to the increased thermal conductivity of the nanofluid compared to the base fluid (water or oil, depending on application). The market potential for the fluid to be developed might be even greater outside the automotive sector. Since heat exchange is a general challenge in systems with rotating parts the findings from the projects might benefit industry related to automatic transmission fluids, brake fluids and gear lubrication. The project has finalized 3 prototypes of working cooling nano-fluids and have initiated dialogue with industry partners with the aim of testing the fluids in subsea applications for oil and gas.

The consortium wants to improve the heat exchange capacity in cooling systems for combustion engines by using nanofluids. G-COOL will take advantage of nanofluids based on colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles and surfactants, to re-design and improve existing cooling systems, aiming to develop more efficient and smaller motors. Moreover, these new nanofluids will have great potential for other applications; e.g., heat exchangers and radiators. Nanofluids have been much studied from an academic point of view, but their use in the industry is still limited, despite their better thermodynamic properties, which will lead to a reduction of power consumption. The use of nanofluids will allow the creation of new designs for heat exchangers, with more efficient cooling properties. The overall aim is to reduce the environmental, energetic and economic costs of the final products.

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