Nanofluids as Quenchants in Industrial Heat Treatment

Nanofluids offer a completely different behavior of wetting kinetics and heat-removal characteristics, which are exploited in industrial heat treatment for quenching. This article provides information on the important thermophysical properties of nanofluids, namely, thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific heat, density, and surface tension. It reviews wetting and boiling heat-transfer characteristics of nanofluids as quenchants and highlights the importance of using nanofluids as effective quench media for the hardening process during heat treatment. The article describes the effect of nanoparticle addition on the microstructure, mechanical properties of components, wetting kinetics, and kinematics.