Thermal performance and entropy generation analysis of a high concentration ratio parabolic trough solar collector with Cu-Therminol®VP-1 nanofluid

dc.contributor.authorMwesigye, Aggrey
dc.contributor.authorHuan, Zhongjie
dc.contributor.authorMeyer, Josua P.
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-14T09:04:47Z
dc.date.issued2016-07
dc.description.abstractThis paper presents results of a numerical study on the thermal and thermodynamic performance of a high concentration ratio parabolic trough solar collector using Cu-Therminol VP-1 nanofluid as the heat transfer fluid. A parabolic trough system with a concentration ratio of 113 and a rim angle of 80 has been used in this study. The thermal physical properties of both the base fluid and the copper nanoparticles have been considered temperature dependent. Inlet temperatures in the range 350–650 K and flow rates in the range 1.22–135 m3 h 1 have been used. The numerical analysis consisted of combined Monte-Carlo ray tracing and computational fluid dynamics procedures. The Monte-Carlo ray tracing procedure is used to obtain the actual heat flux profile on the receiver’s absorber tube, which is later coupled to a finite volume based computational fluid dynamics tool to evaluate the thermal and thermodynamic performance of the receiver. Results show that the thermal performance of the receiver improves as the nanoparticle volume fraction increases. The thermal efficiency of the system increases by about 12.5% as the nanoparticle volume fraction in the base fluid increase from 0% to 6%. The entropy generation rates in the receiver reduce as the nanoparticle volume fraction increases for some range of Reynolds numbers. Above a certain Reynolds number, further increase in the Reynolds numbers makes the entropy generation higher than that of a receiver with only the base fluid.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentMechanical and Aeronautical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2017-07-30
dc.description.librarianhb2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Research Foundation (NRF), the Translational Engineering Skills Programme (TESP), Stellenbosch University, the South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI)/South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) at the University of Pretoria, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Energy-efficiency and Demand-side Management (EEDSM) Hub and NAC.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/enconmanen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMwesigye, A, Huan, Z, Meyer, JP 2016, 'Thermal performance and entropy generation analysis of a high concentration ratio parabolic trough solar collector with Cu-Therminol®VP-1 nanofluid', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 120, no. 7, pp. 449-465.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0196-8904 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1879-2227 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.enconman.2016.04.106
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/53116
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 Elsevier. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Energy Conversion and Management. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 120, no. 7, pp. 449-465, 2016. doi : 10.1016/j.enconman.2016.04.106.en_ZA
dc.subjectConcentration ratioen_ZA
dc.subjectEntropy generationen_ZA
dc.subjectNanofluiden_ZA
dc.subjectParabolic trough receiveren_ZA
dc.subjectThermal efficiencyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-07
dc.subject.otherSDG-07: Affordable and clean energy
dc.subject.otherEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-09
dc.subject.otherSDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
dc.subject.otherEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-13
dc.subject.otherSDG-13: Climate action
dc.titleThermal performance and entropy generation analysis of a high concentration ratio parabolic trough solar collector with Cu-Therminol®VP-1 nanofluiden_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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