Performance enhancement of a Flat Plate Solar collector using Titanium dioxide nanofluid and Polyethylene Glycol dispersant

Abstract

The use of TiO<inf>2</inf>-water nanofluid as a working fluid for enhancing the performance of a flat plate solar collector has been studied. The volume fraction of the nanoparticles was 0.1% and 0.3% respectively while the mass flow rates of the nanofluid varied from 0.5 to 1.5 kg/min respectively. Thermo-physical properties and reduced sedimentation for TiO<inf>2</inf>-nanofluid was obtained using PEG 400 dispersant. The results reveal the impact and importance of each of these parameters. Energy efficiency increased by 76.6% for 0.1% volume fraction and 0.5 kg/min flow rate whereas the highest exergy efficiency achieved was 16.9% for 0.1% volume fraction and 0.5 kg/min flow rate. Results showed that the pressure drop and pumping power of TiO<inf>2</inf> nanofluid was very close to the base fluid for the studied volume fractions. © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.