Cupric oxide nanofluid influenced parabolic trough solar collector: thermal performance evaluation
K.R. Padmavathi, S. Prabagaran, R. Venkatesh, Subramanian Mohankumar
Abstract
The availability of solar radiation has potential for energy applications, and recently, the parabolic trough collector (PTC) plays a crucial role in heat exchanger applications. The conventional system lacked thermal performance, reducing heat transfer coefficient and thermal efficiency. With this, the main goal of the research is to attempt to enrich the overall thermal capacity of the PTC system by introducing triangular copper fins and CuO nanoparticles (10–20 nm). During the experimental evaluation, the different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%) of CuO blended with water (nanofluid) are permitted to circulate the receiver boundary configured with PTC setup 3.5 m2 at the flow rate of 0.12 kg/s. Effects of CuO nanofluid concentrations on heat gain, heat transfer coefficient, and thermal and exergy efficiency of the system are measured and spot the optimum heat gain of 689.9Wm enriched heat transfer coefficient of 172.3 W/m2K, maximum thermal and exergy efficiency of 70.9% and 37.2% respectively.