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A review of concentrating solar thermal collectors with and without nanofluids

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Abstract

Solar concentrating solar thermal collectors are promising technologies for various applications which demand medium- and high-temperature levels. The objective of this work is to review the recent trends in the solar concentrating collectors and to give the emphasis on the performance enhancement methods which applied to the concentrating technologies. Optical and thermal enhancements methods are investigated for the following collector types: compound parabolic concentrator, parabolic trough collector, linear Fresnel reflector and solar dish concentrator. The emphasis is given to the utilization of nanofluids as working fluids because a lot of research has been focused on them in the last years. Moreover, the use of internal fins and inserts in the flow, the use of modified absorbers, as well as various optical design optimizations are included in this review. The final conclusions of this work clearly indicate the most effective enhancement methods in the concentrating solar collectors, as well as the future fields that have to be investigated.

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Abbreviations

A 1 :

Coefficient of Eq. 5 (Pa s)

A 2 :

Coefficient of Eq. 5 (Pa s)

C :

Concentration ratio of the collector (–)

c k :

Coefficient of Eq. 4 (W m−1 K−1)

c p :

Specific heat capacity (J kg−1 K−1)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

η :

Efficiency (–)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

φ :

Volumetric concentration of nanoparticles (–)

bf:

Base fluid

ex:

Exergy

nf:

Nanofluid

np:

Nanoparticle

th:

Thermal

CNT:

Carbon nanotube

CPC:

Compound parabolic concentrator

EG:

Ethylene glycol

EXP:

Experimental study

LFR:

Linear Fresnel reflector

MWCNT:

Multi-wall carbon nanotube

ORC:

Organic Rankine cycle

PEC:

Performance evaluation criterion

PTC:

Parabolic trough concentrator

SDC:

Solar dish concentrator

SWCNT:

Single-wall carbon nanotube

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Evangelos Bellos would like to thank “Bodossaki Foundation” for its financial support.

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  1. Thermal Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780, Athens, Greece

    Evangelos Bellos & Christos Tzivanidis

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  1. Evangelos Bellos
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Correspondence to Evangelos Bellos.

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Bellos, E., Tzivanidis, C. A review of concentrating solar thermal collectors with and without nanofluids. J Therm Anal Calorim 135, 763–786 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7183-1

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