IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i13p10637-d1187767.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance Evaluation of an Absorber Tube of a Parabolic Trough Collector Fitted with Helical Screw Tape Inserts Using CuO/Industrial-Oil Nanofluid: A Computational Study

Author

Listed:
  • Reza Roohi

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Fasa University, Fasa 74616-86131, Iran)

  • Amir Arya

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84334, Iran)

  • Masoud Akbari

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Fasa University, Fasa 74616-86131, Iran)

  • Mohammad Javad Amiri

    (Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Fasa University, Fasa 74616-86131, Iran)

Abstract

Improvement of the performance of renewable energy harvesters is a crucial and complicated task. Among currently utilized renewable energy harvesters, parabolic solar collectors are some of the most promising and widely used apparatuses. However, researchers are still facing some issues regarding the optimization of PTC performance, including the enhancement of heat flux absorption by the absorber tubes. Among the proposed methods to overcome this drawback, the implementation of helical screw tape (HST) and nanofluids has proven to be most effective. In the present study, the CFD simulation of an absorber tube with HST is conducted. CuO/oil nanofluid with a nanoparticle volume fraction of 1 to 3% was chosen as the working fluid. The simulation is based on the realistic operational condition of a PTC absorber tube with corresponding nonuniform solar heat flux based on the local concentration ratio. The effects of the mass flow rate (Re), HST width and nanofluid volume fraction on pumping power and heat transfer are studied. Moreover, to combine the effect of both parameters, the performance evaluation criterion (PEC), a dimensionless variable, is calculated for all of the studied cases. Enhancement of the PEC parameter by the implementation of nanofluid and HST in comparison to base fluid passing through a plain tube is also determined and reported. According to the obtained results, with the implementation of the CuO/oil nanofluid, the PEC can be enhanced by 57.3–70.8, 68.7~86.4, and 83.4~105.9% for volume fractions of 1, 2, and 3%, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Reza Roohi & Amir Arya & Masoud Akbari & Mohammad Javad Amiri, 2023. "Performance Evaluation of an Absorber Tube of a Parabolic Trough Collector Fitted with Helical Screw Tape Inserts Using CuO/Industrial-Oil Nanofluid: A Computational Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10637-:d:1187767
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10637/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10637/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yaghoubi, M. & Azizian, K. & Kenary, A., 2003. "Simulation of Shiraz solar power plant for optimal assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 1985-1998.
    2. Rehman, Naveed ur & Uzair, Muhammad & Asif, Muhammad, 2020. "Evaluating the solar flux distribution uniformity factor for parabolic trough collectors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 888-896.
    3. Mohamed Allam & Mohamed Tawfik & Maher Bekheit & Emad El-Negiry, 2022. "Experimental Investigation on Performance Enhancement of Parabolic Trough Concentrator with Helical Rotating Shaft Insert," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Madadi Avargani, Vahid & Norton, Brian & Rahimi, Amir, 2021. "An open-aperture partially-evacuated receiver for more uniform reflected solar flux in circular-trough reflectors: Comparative performance in air heating applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 11-24.
    2. Naeeni, N. & Yaghoubi, M., 2007. "Analysis of wind flow around a parabolic collector (2) heat transfer from receiver tube," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1259-1272.
    3. Ou, Gen & Liu, Peng & Liu, Zhichun & Liu, Wei, 2022. "Performance analyses and heat transfer optimization of parabolic trough receiver with a novel single conical strip insert," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 335-350.
    4. Baghernejad, A. & Yaghoubi, M., 2010. "Exergy analysis of an integrated solar combined cycle system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2157-2164.
    5. Rehman, Naveed ur & Uzair, Muhammad, 2022. "Concentrator shape optimization using particle swarm optimization for solar concentrating photovoltaic applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1043-1054.
    6. Mazandarani, A. & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Chong, W.T. & Moghavvemi, M., 2011. "Fuel consumption and emission prediction by Iranian power plants until 2025," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1575-1592, April.
    7. Tang, X.Y. & Yang, W.W. & Yang, Y. & Jiao, Y.H. & Zhang, T., 2021. "A design method for optimizing the secondary reflector of a parabolic trough solar concentrator to achieve uniform heat flux distribution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    8. Ghorbani, Afshin & Rahimpour, Hamid Reza & Ghasemi, Younes & Zoughi, Somayeh & Rahimpour, Mohammad Reza, 2014. "A Review of Carbon Capture and Sequestration in Iran: Microalgal Biofixation Potential in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 73-100.
    9. Xiao, Hui & Liu, Peng & Liu, Zhichun & Liu, Wei, 2021. "Performance analyses in parabolic trough collectors by inserting novel inclined curved-twisted baffles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P2), pages 14-27.
    10. Ebadi, Hossein & Cammi, Antonio & Difonzo, Rosa & Rodríguez, José & Savoldi, Laura, 2023. "Experimental investigation on an air tubular absorber enhanced with Raschig Rings porous medium in a solar furnace," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10637-:d:1187767. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.