The addition of nanoparticles to liquid media can improve thermomechanical properties of dispersants. This ability gives rise to the development of multiple applications of nanofluids (NF) in branches so different as electronic and photonic devices or cosmetic industry. Logically, these applications require a good control of heat transfer and flow properties. Moreover, if we consider the necessity to optimize industrial processes in which NF take part, it is necessary to obtain possible relationships between both physical mechanisms. Specifically, in this work, a study about thermal conductivity and rheological behavior of fumed silica suspensions in polypropylene glycol (PPG400) and polyethylene glycol (PEG200) was performed. The study of these two suspensions is interesting because the flow behaviors are very dissimilar (while the fumed silica in PEG200 suspension is viscoplastic, the fumed silica in PPG400 suspension shows shear-thickening behavior between two shear-thinning regions), despite the addition of fumed silica producing similar enhancement of the relative thermal conductivity in both liquid phases. The more outstanding contribution of this work lies in the combination of rheological and conductivity measurements to deepen in the understanding of the heat transfer phenomenon in NF. The combination of rheological together with thermal conductivity measurements have permitted establishing the mechanisms of liquid layering and aggregate formation as the more relevant in the heat transfer of these silica fumed suspensions.

The number of students enrolled in engineering studies in Spain is in decline, mainly due to the difficulty in passing the subjects, whose factors may be linked to the science-related content of the subject, a very demanding evaluation system or a lack of active participation of students. The main objective of this study is to provide the student with a 360-degree feedback tool and a survey, from which lecturers can extract the degree of satisfaction of students in its application in a standardized way in scientific-technological activities of BSc/MSc in industrial engineering to quantify learning and motivation. The involvement of students in the assessment process was carried out in three phases: peer-assessment (among students), self-assessment (student himself) and hetero-assessment (teaching staff). After that, a survey was designed, which was validated through confirmatory factor analysis. Ninety-nine percent of the students valued this evaluation experience very positively with respect to the objectivity of the criteria used in the methodology and the material provided by the teaching staff. The fact that only 37.5% of the students considered this experience very favorable for their learning and self-training shows the importance of the teaching staff in their learning process and suggests a need to find complementary improvements to this evaluation system in industrial engineering degrees.

La iniciativa y la proactividad del alumnado de Ingeniería durante el desarrollo de las clases teóricas es normalmente muy limitada, al contrario que en las prácticas de laboratorio donde muestra más interés. Se constata un aumento del abandono en las carreras de ingeniería y una disminución de matriculados y este estudio tiene como finalidad analizar cuantitativamente el impacto de una herramienta de evaluación 360 grados encuestada en la evaluación de prácticas en estudiantes de ingeniería industrial. Se pretenden lograr varios objetivos: por un lado, implicar al estudiante en el proceso de evaluación y, por otro, conocer su grado de satisfacción con este tipo de evaluación, así como su opinión sobre la ponderación justa. Se Sigue una metodología basada en la aplicación de la evaluación 360 grados y un diseño de encuesta con 23 preguntas. Las etapas del proceso de evaluación 360 grados fueron tres: co- (entre estudiantes), auto- (por el propio estudiante) y hetero-evaluación (por el docente). Se diseñó un cuestionario, validado mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio, y se procedió al análisis de las respuestas en base a 4 agrupaciones seleccionadas: dos asignaturas de primeros y últimos cursos, modalidad de evaluación, sexo (hombre o mujer) y ciclo (Grado o Máster). También se ha analizado la mejor ponderación en la calificación final para cada evaluador, proponiéndose como óptimos los valores 50%-30%-20% para la hetero-, co- y autoevaluación, respectivamente. Los resultados muestran un elevado grado de satisfacción por parte de los grupos analizados a través de la encuesta y adecuada maduración del estudiante.