Nanofluids are being considered for heat transfer applications; therefore it is important to know their thermophysical properties\r\naccurately. In this paper we focused on nanofluid specific heat capacity. Currently, there exist two models to predict a nanofluid\r\nspecific heat capacity as a function of nanoparticle concentration and material. Model I is a straight volume-weighted average;\r\nModel II is based on the assumption of thermal equilibrium between the particles and the surrounding fluid. These two models\r\ngive significantly different predictions for a given system. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a robust experimental\r\nmethodology for measuring the heat capacity of fluids, the specific heat capacities of water-based silica, alumina, and copper oxide\r\nnanofluids were measured. Nanoparticle concentrations were varied between 5wt% and 50wt%. Test results were found to be in\r\nexcellent agreement with Model II, while the predictions of Model I deviated very significantly from the data. Therefore, Model II\r\nis recommended for nanofluids
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