Computational single‐phase comparative study of a Williamson nanofluid in a parabolic trough solar collector via the Keller box method

Abstract

Summary A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight and converting this incoming radiation into useful thermal energy. The parabolic trough solar sollector (PTSC) is widely installed in concentrated solar power technology with a temperature range of 325‐700 K. The thermodynamic efficiency of the PTSC can be intensified by using nanofluids owing to their enhanced thermophysical properties. In this paper, the two‐dimensional flow over a stretched sheet in PTSC under Williamson nanofluid effects is explored. With the help of useful transformations, the partial differential equations arising from boundary layer equations of the Williamson nanofluid model are changed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The Keller box numerical scheme is then used to find the solution of the resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Two nanofluids, copper‐engine oil (Cu‐EO) and alumina‐engine oil (Al2O3‐EO) are considered to address the performance analysis of PTSC in this study. It is observed that the parameters of the porous media reduced the heat transfer rate but increased the velocity gradient. In order to examine the effect on various performance parameters of the device, the nanoparticle concentration is also varied. With the increase in the Reynolds and Brinkman numbers, the entropy is found to increase. The thermodynamic performance of the Cu‐EO nanofluid is remarkably better than that of the Al2O3‐EO nanofluid under the same conditions. The thermal efficiency of Cu‐EO over Al2O3‐EO is seen with a minimum of 1.5% and a maximum of 9.1%. The theoretical simulations documented here may be effective in improving solar thermal energy systems.

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