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Article
Publication date: 7 June 2023

Mohamed Elmnefi and Waqas Al-Khazraji

One of the existing and commonly used solar energy harvesting devices is the parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC). Because of their ability to operate in low and medium…

Abstract

Purpose

One of the existing and commonly used solar energy harvesting devices is the parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC). Because of their ability to operate in low and medium temperatures, parabolic trough concentrators are widely used in power generation plants and industrial process heating applications. Therefore, the investigation of how different operating conditions affect these devices’ overall efficiency has received a great deal of attention in the recent decade. This study aims to enhance the thermal performance of the PTSC and reduce the system cost.

Design/methodology/approach

In the novel configuration, a noncirculated nanofluid absorbs solar radiation through a glass wall. The base fluid was synthetic oil (5W30), and the nanoparticles used were copper oxide. The heat captured is immediately absorbed by the water circulating inside the copper tube immersed in the nanofluid. ANSYS FLUENT 15.0 was used for carrying out computational fluid dynamics simulations for two models of single and triple copper tubes. The experimental results obtained from a test rig constructed for this purpose were compared with the numerical outcomes of the single copper tube model.

Findings

The findings of the simulation demonstrated that performance was superior for the single copper tube model over the triple copper tube model. The numerical findings of the single copper tube model were compared with the experimental results. The numerical and experimental results differed from 3.17% to 5.6%. Investigations were carried out to study the effects of varying the volumetric flow rate of (20, 40, 60 and 80 L/h) and water inlet temperatures of (300, 315 and 330 K) on the effectiveness and performance of the newly developed model. Additionally, two nanofluid volume fractions of 0.05% and 0.075% were used for investigating their effect on the performance of the novel configuration. According to the findings, the highest thermal efficiency of 55.31% was recorded at 0.075% concentration and 80 L/h volume flow rate.

Originality/value

In this study, a novel direct absorption solar collector configuration using a noncirculated nanofluid was designed to enhance the thermal efficiency of PTSC. This new approach makes it possible to boost the thermal performance of the PTSC and lower the system’s cost.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 33 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2023

Syed Sohaib Zafar, Aurang Zaib, Farhan Ali, Fuad S. Alduais, Afrah Al Bossly and Anwar Saeed

The modern day has seen an increase in the prevalence of the improvement of high-performance thermal systems for the enhancement of heat transmission. Numerous studies and…

Abstract

Purpose

The modern day has seen an increase in the prevalence of the improvement of high-performance thermal systems for the enhancement of heat transmission. Numerous studies and research projects have been carried out to acquire an understanding of heat transport performance for their functional application to heat conveyance augmentation. The idea of this study is to inspect the entropy production in Darcy-Forchheimer Ree-Eyring nanofluid containing bioconvection flow toward a stretching surface is the topic of discussion in this paper. It is also important to take into account the influence of gravitational forces, double stratification, heat source–sink and thermal radiation. In light of the second rule of thermodynamics, a model of the generation of total entropy is presented.

Design/methodology/approach

Incorporating boundary layer assumptions allows one to derive the governing system of partial differential equations. The dimensional flow model is transformed into a non-dimensional representation by applying the appropriate transformations. To deal with dimensionless flow expressions, the built-in shooting method and the BVP4c code in the Matlab software are used. Graphical analysis is performed on the data to investigate the variation in velocity, temperature, concentration, motile microorganisms, Bejan number and entropy production concerning the involved parameters.

Findings

The authors have analytically assessed the impact of Darcy Forchheimer's flow of nanofluid due to a spinning disc with slip conditions and microorganisms. The modeled equations are reset into the non-dimensional form of ordinary differential equations. Which are further solved through the BVP4c approach. The results are presented in the form of tables and figures for velocity, mass, energy and motile microbe profiles. The key conclusions are: The rate of skin friction incessantly reduces with the variation of the Weissenberg number, porosity parameter and Forchheimer number. The rising values of the Prandtl number reduce the energy transmission rate while accelerating the mass transfer rate. Similarly, the effect of Nb (Brownian motion) enhances the energy and mass transfer rates. The rate of augments with the flourishing values of bioconvection Lewis and Peclet number. The factor of concentration of microorganisms is reported to have a diminishing effect on the profile. The velocity, energy and entropy generation enhance with the rising values of the Weissenberg number.

Originality/value

According to the findings of the study, a slip flow of Ree-Eyring nanofluid was observed in the presence of entropy production and heat sources/sinks. There are features when the implementations of Darcy–Forchheimer come into play. In addition to that, double stratification with chemical reaction characteristics is presented as a new feature. The flow was caused by the stretching sheet. It has been brought to people's attention that although there are some investigations accessible on the flow of Ree-Eyring nanofluid with double stratification, they are not presented. This research draws attention to a previously unexplored topic and demonstrates a successful attempt to construct a model with distinctive characteristics.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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