4E Study of Experimental Thermal Performance Enhancement of Flat Plate Solar Collectors using MWCNT, Al2O3, and Hybrid MWCNT/ Al2O3 Nanofluids

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 12-2022

Abstract

Nanofluid is a cutting-edge heat transfer fluid with the potential to significantly improve the heat transfer performance of conventional fluids. The most valued aspects to increase the overall solar collector's effectiveness are to improve design factors and the convection heat transfer coefficient between the absorber tubes and fluid. Water nanofluids including MWCNTs, Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2, and CuO are the most often utilized nanofluids in solar collectors. In this paper, the Flat Plate Solar collector thermal efficiency was experimentally investigated for MWCNT, Al2O3, and hybrid MWCNT/Al2O3 50:50% as a working fluid, under controlled circumstances. The effects of several parameters, including solar radiation intensity, volume proportion of nanoparticles, and volumetric flow rate on the efficiency, are investigated. Four volume concentration percentages were studied for each type of nanofluid (0.5%, 0.025%, 0.01% and 0.005%) with three different mass flow rates for each concentration. The results show that using hybrid MWCNT/Al2O3 (50:50%) offers an increase in efficiency by 26%, 29%, and 18% for 1.5 L/m, 2.5 L/m, and 3.3 L/m, respectively, recommending the replacement of 50% of the MWCNTs by the more economic and environmentally friendly Al2O3.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS