Performance Study on Flat Plate Solar Water Heater with Copper Nanoparticles
Evaluating the improvement in efficiency and heat transfer rate in heat exchangers using additives has been the centre of attraction for many researchers. In this study, a solar flat plate water heater is modelled using ANSYS Fluent, and the simulated res
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Abstract Evaluating the improvement in efficiency and heat transfer rate in heat exchangers using additives has been the centre of attraction for many researchers. In this study, a solar flat plate water heater is modelled using ANSYS Fluent, and the simulated results are compared with experimental data. For the simulation, a singlephase model is used with equivalent correlations for the thermo-physical properties of the nanofluid. Using water as the working fluid, the performance was evaluated for a set flow rate and solar insolation. The study is extended by modelling the same in ANSYS Fluent and using water and CuNP mixture as working fluid to analyse the enhancement of heat transfer in thermal absorbers. The pressure drop in the system is analysed and the data is used to justify the usage of nanoparticles in solar thermal absorbers. The efficiency of the system for various volume fractions of nanoparticles is optimized by introducing an efficiency index. Keywords Solar thermal energy · Nanoparticles · Optimization · Efficiency index · Flat plate collector
Nomenclature k Pe S T u v w x
Thermal conductivity Peclet number Efficiency index Temperature X-velocity Y-velocity Z-velocity Position/length
R. Praveen Bharathwaj · M. B. Varun Pradeep · J. J. Raju · A. Satheesh (B) · P. Padmanathan School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 S. Revankar et al. (eds.), Proceedings of International Conference on Thermofluids, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7831-1_50
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Greek symbols α ϑ P T ρ ϕ
Thermal diffusivity Kinematic viscosity Overall pressure drop in pipe Rise in temperature of nanofluid Density Concentration percentage of nanoparticles
Subscripts nb nf np i
Base fluid Nanofluid Nanoparticles Dummy variable
1 Introduction Solar energy is the driver of all other energy systems on this planet (wind, ocean thermal, biomass). Extracting it to its fullest potential is absolutely essential for sustainable growth. Solar energy can be extracted mainly through photovoltaic modules or solar thermal absorbers. According to the global solar thermal energy council, the thermal demand for comfort has levelled the electricity demand in the recent past [1]. Since most of the energy demand being thermal mostly for comfort, establishing effective passive thermal absorbers becomes crucial. To obtain higher efficiency nanoparticles can be implemented, even though many techniques and design adaptations have increased the heat transfer efficiency, nanoparticles have the best improvement factor [2]. Augmenting nanoparticles increases thermal conductivity at the cost of specific heat of the base fluid and pumping power. Optimizing the volume fraction of nanoparticle to obtain the maximum efficiency is one of the main challenges for any thermal system designer. In order to effectively design for any operating condition, there is a
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