Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer Enhancement in Flat Plate Collector Using Nanofluids

Abstract

Solar Energy Collectors Are Special Kind Of Heat Exchangers That Transform Solar Radiation Energy To Internal Energy Of The Transport Medium. Researches In Heat Transfer Have Carried Out Over The Previous Several Decades, Leading To The Development Of The Currently Used Heat Transfer Enhancing Techniques In Solar Flat Plate Collector. This Study Uses Different Nanofluids To Enhance The Heat Transfer Due To Their High Thermal Conductivity. The Solar Radiation Estimation (For Adama, Ethiopia) Is Done Using Ms Excel, And The Cfd Model Used To Simulate The Steady, Laminar Flow Process Occur In Solar Flat Plate Collector Using Ansys Fluent 17.2. The Pressure Velocity Coupling Is Done Using The Simple Algorithm And Discretization Is Made Using Second Order Upwind Scheme. The Nusselt Number (Heat Transfer Coefficient) Of Different Nanofluids Is Analyzed And Compared To The Sfpc Using Water. The Numerical Simulation Results Shows For 3% Volume Concentration Of Si2o, Ti2o, Al2o3 And Cuo, 0.6887%, 3.3011%, 3.3429%, 4.1423% Increment In Russel Number Is Achieved Respectively. The Cuo Nanoparticle Has Greater Improvement Than Other Nanoparticles And Si2o Has Lower Improvement Than The Other Nanoparticles. In The Same Way The Experimental Results Shows The Addition Of Nanofluids Increases The Thermal Efficiency Of The Flat Plate Collector. Finally, The Result Shows The Pressure Drop Is Insignificant In All Cases.