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Numerical simulations of a Cu–water nanofluid-based parabolic-trough solar collector

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Abstract

In this study, the thermal and flow characteristics of a parabolic-trough solar collector have been numerically investigated. The turbulent flow inside the receiver tube was modeled via the finite volume method, while a non-uniform concentrated heat flux was imposed on the absorber tube. A Cu–water nanofluid was specified as the heat transfer fluid. The results showed that increasing the Cu nanoparticle concentration led to an increase in the Nusselt number (Nu). Furthermore, the effect of Cu nanoparticle addition on the heat transfer enhancement became more significant as the Reynolds number decreased. This was because nanoparticle addition mainly improved the heat transfer via conduction. As the Reynolds number increased, the role of forced convection overcame that of conduction. Furthermore, it was shown that although Cu nanoparticle addition increased the thermal efficiency, it also increased the pressure drop slightly. The effect of direct normal irradiance changes on the performance of the solar collector was assessed. At Reynolds numbers of 104, 105 and 106, as direct normal irradiance increased from 900 to 1100 W m−2, Nu increased by up to 8.6%, 9.78% and 11.43%, respectively, leading to increases in thermal efficiency of 3.87%, 3.82% and 2.04%. This study provides new insight into the effect of Cu nanoparticle addition on the thermal and flow characteristics of parabolic-trough solar collectors.

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Abbreviations

\(C_{\text{d}}\) :

Inertial coefficient

C p :

Specific heat (J kg−1 K−1)

C R :

Concentration of the receiver tube

D :

Diameter of the base fluid molecule (m)

I :

Direct normal irradiance

d p :

Diameter of the nanoparticle (m)

d gi :

Inner diameter of receiver’s glass cover (m)

d ri :

Inner diameter of the absorber tube (m)

T 0 :

Bulk temperature (K)

T :

Temperature (K)

F :

Dimensionless friction factor

G :

Gravitational acceleration (m s−2)

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

H :

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

K :

Consistency index

K :

Permeability

\(\Delta P\) :

Pressure drop (Pa)

P :

Pressure (Pa)

\(\vec{v}\) :

Velocity field (m s−1)

PTC:

Parabolic-trough collector

Q :

Heat flux

Re:

Reynolds number

avg:

Average

eff:

Effective

w:

Wall

f:

Base fluid

fr:

Reference

h:

Hydrodynamic

in:

Inlet

m:

Mixture (nanofluid)

p:

Nanoparticle

tot:

Total

x, y, z :

Cartesian coordinates (m)

Α :

Thermal diffusivity (m2 s−1)

\(\alpha_{\text{t}}\) :

Turbulent thermal diffusivity (m2 s−1)

Β :

Thermal expansion coefficient (K−1)

\(\sigma_{\upvarepsilon}\) :

Prandtl number for turbulent dissipation rate

\(\sigma_{\text{k}}\) :

Prandtl number for turbulent kinetic energy

\(\vartheta\) :

Nanoparticle volume fraction

\(\eta\) :

Thermal efficiency

\(\lambda\) :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

Μ :

Dynamic viscosity (kg m−1 s−1)

Ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

\(\sigma\) :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (W m−2 K−4)

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province (17KJA530001) and Foundation of Huaian Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (HAA201734). Dr. Hong thanks the support of Six Talent Peaks Project of Jiangsu Province (2018-XNY-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Mineral Salt Deep Utilization, Key Laboratory for Palygorskite Science and Applied Technology of Jiangsu Province, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, 223003, China

    Kun Hong & Qingang Xiong

  2. Stanley Black and Decker, Inc., Townson, MD, 21286, USA

    Yang Yang

  3. Department of Energy, Faculty of New Science and Technologies, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

    Saman Rashidi

  4. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

    Yu Guan

  5. IT Innovation Center, General Motors, Warren, MI, 48092, USA

    Qingang Xiong

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  1. Kun Hong
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Correspondence to Qingang Xiong.

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Hong, K., Yang, Y., Rashidi, S. et al. Numerical simulations of a Cu–water nanofluid-based parabolic-trough solar collector. J Therm Anal Calorim 143, 4183–4195 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09386-4

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