Abstract
Application of nanofluids in thermal energy devices such as solar collectors is developing day by day. This paper reports the results of experiments on a flat plate solar collector where the working fluid is SiO2/ethylene glycol (EG)-water nanofluid with volume fractions up to 1%. The thermal efficiency and performance characteristics of solar collector are obtained for mass flow rates between 0.018 and 0.045kg/s. The curve characteristics of solar collector indicate that the effects of particle loading on the thermal efficiency enhancement are more pronounced at higher values of heat loss parameter. The results of this work elucidate the potential of SiO2 nanoparticles to improve the efficiency of solar collectors despite its low thermal conductivity compared to other usual nanoparticles.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-75 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer |
| Volume | 65 |
| Early online date | 14 Mar 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The fourth author would like to thank Professor Somchai Wongwises for the support during his sabbatical leave at KMUTT. The fifth author would like to thank the “Research Chair Grant” National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) , the Thailand Research Fund ( IRG5780005 ) and the National Research University Project for the support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.