Solar Energy Harvesting Using Nanofluids-Based Concentrating Solar Collector

Dispersing trace amounts of nanoparticles into the base-fluid has significant impact on the optical as well as thermo-physical properties of the base-fluid. This characteristic can be utilized in effectively capturing as well as transporting the solar radiant energy. Enhancement of the solar irradiance absorption capacity of the base fluid scales up the heat transfer rate resulting in higher & more efficient heat transfer. This paper attempts to introduce the idea of harvesting the solar radiant energy through usage of nanofluid-based concentrating parabolic solar collectors. In order to theoretically analyze the nanofluid-based concentrating parabolic solar collector (NCPSC) it has been mathematically modeled, and the governing equations have been numerically solved using finite difference technique. The results of the model were compared with the experimental results of conventional concentrating parabolic solar collectors under similar conditions. It was observed that while maintaining the same external conditions (such as ambient/inlet temperatures, wind speed, solar insolation, flow rate, concentration ratio etc.) the NCPSC has about 5–10% higher efficiency as compared to the conventional parabolic solar collector. Furthermore, some parametric studies were carried out which reflected the effect of various parameters such as solar insolation, incident angle, convective heat transfer coefficient etc. on the performance indicators such as thermal efficiency etc.