Impact of the Thermophysical Properties of a Cuo-H₂O-Based Nanofluid on the Performance of a Cylindrical Solar Concentrator

Abstract

Sustainability in energy production, energy security, and global warming are major concerns facing the globe today. Cylindrical Solar Concentrator is extensively utilized for technologically advanced processes, heat, and power plant applications by utilizing daylight sunshine at no running cost. Numerous inputs and characteristics impact the concentrator's performance, with the type of heat transfer fluid and its mass flow rate being two of the most important. This paper gives a numerical investigation of the influence of thermo-physical attribute of CuO water-based nanofluids on the effectiveness of the Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator in Ogbomosho weather condition (lat. 8o011, long. 4o111).The governing equations of nanofluids with laminar flow and steady state, using iterative relaxation techniques, as well as the efficiency of the concentrator, were solved. A C++ simulation program was developed to investigate the impacts of thermo physical parameters on concentrator efficiency, with nanoparticle sizes ranging from 1 to 10 percent and mass flow rates of 0.1 kg/s, 0.15 kg/s, and 0.2 kg/s, at a constant incident solar insolation flux of 186 W/m2. The results demonstrated that increasing the mass flow rate of the nanofluids improves the heat transmission properties. The thermo physical properties of CuO-based nanofluids and its effects on the performance of the solar parabolic trough collector are being examined. The impact of thermophysical attributes on thermal effectiveness results in improved thermal efficacy, heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids, and factors influencing its features in solar collectors, which determines its usability. The Parabolic Trough Collector system based on nanofluids is a promising technology with applications in green surroundings.