Work

Enhancing parabolic trough collector thermal efficiency: Experimental investigation of hybrid nanofluid

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines the performance of parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) in series with a hybrid nanofluid consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and cobalt (III) oxide nanoparticle (Co2O3). In this study, distilled water sourced from Amman, Jordan, was used as the working fluid, while gum arabic served as the surfactant. Initially, the flow rate was 1 L min−1, and water was used as a thermal medium to join two identical PTC devices in a sequence. Subsequently, a hybrid-type nanofluid with different volume concentrations was used for experiments namely; 0.01%, 0.04%, and 0.1%. All tests were conducted between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on different days, equipping both collectors with a digital tracking system. After the nanofluid was prepared and tested, the heat-handling performance of the PTCs was evaluated at different concentrations of MWCNT and Co₂O₃, and the results were compared to those of pure water. In the tests, the best thermal efficiency (17.84%) was achieved when the hybrid nanofluid was used at a concentration of 0.1%. The MWCNT and Co2O3 nanofluids with concentrations of 0.04% and 0.01% obtained thermal efficiency of 17.6% and 17.02%, respectively, while water obtained 15.07%. By increasing the concentration to 0.1%, a peak optical thermal efficiency of 18.38% was achieved.

Source: International Review of Applied Sciences and Engineering

DOI: 10.1556/1848.2025.01019