Effects of physical parameters on natural convection in a solar collector filled with nanofluid

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the best sources of renewable energy with minimal environmental impact. A numerical study has been conducted to investigate the natural convection inside a solar collector having a flat-plate cover and a sine-wave absorber. The water-alumina nanofluid is used as the working fluid inside the solar collector. The governing differential equations with boundary conditions are solved by the penalty finite element method using Galerkin's weighted residual scheme. The effects of physical parameters on the natural convection heat transfer are simulated. These parameters include the number of wave λ and non-dimensional amplitude A of the sinusoidal corrugated absorber. Comprehensive average Nusselt number, average temperature, and mean velocity field for both nanofluid and base fluid within the collector are presented as functions of the parameters mentioned above. Comparison with previously published work is made and found to be in excellent agreement. The numerical results show that the highest heat transfer rate is observed for both the largest λ and A. In addition, the design for enhancing the performance of the collector is determined by examining the above-mentioned results.

Experimental investigation on the thermal efficiency and performance characteristics of a flat plate solar collector using SiO2/EG–water nanofluids

“…In the past decade, many researchers have evaluated the role of Nasrin et al [8] numerically solved the buoyancy driven of Al 2 O 3 / 55 water nanofluids in the free space between the glass cover and sine-56 wave absorber of a flat plate collector. It was found that the heat 57 transfer enhancement could be achieved by increases in the number 58 of waves on the absorber.…”

Effect of high irradiation on photovoltaic power and energy

“…Table 1 expresses the irradiation against solar cell temperature, which is calculated using Equation 7. Table 1 expresses the irradiation against solar cell temperature, which is calculated using Equation 7.…”

“…Renewable energies are taken into account and being paid attention to fulfill the energy demand and environmental concerns. 4,5 Numerical and experimental researches 6,7 have been conducted with various designs of PVT. However, in operation, electrical power about 15 to 20% and thermal energy about 75 to 80% may be generated from incident solar radiation.…”

Heat Transfer and Collector Efficiency through a Direct Absorption Solar Collector with Radiative Heat Flux Effect

“…Heat transfer enhancement in solar devices is a key issues in the development of energy-saving and compact designs. The problems of heat loss and collector efficiency in various solar collectors [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] filled with traditional and different nanofluids have attracted significant attention in recent years.…”