Parametric analysis of a solar parabolic trough collector integrated with hybrid-nano PCM storage tank

Abstract

Application: Newly developed fluid called phase change materials (PCM) used to accumulate solar thermal energy. This paraffin-based fluid is mixed with hybrid nanoparticles composed of titanium dioxide “TiO2″ and copper oxide “CuO”. Using this fluid, we hope to improve the efficiency of industrial solar thermal installations. Purpose and Methodology: A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed using Ansys Fluent 19, coupled with a home code implemented in the C programming language as a “user-defined function”. Initially, the model was validated against experimental data, then a parametric study was conducted to investigate the impact of pure paraffin PCM and hybrid nanoparticles-paraffin PCM, as well as the effect of varying the mass fraction of nanoparticles and the heat transfer fluid flow rate. geometric parameters such as the number of fins installed in the storage tank were also considered during the analysis. Major findings: On the basis of the obtained results, it was found that the incorporation of paraffin phase change materials (PCMs) within a storage tank has the potential to significantly prolong the operational duration of solar systems. Additionally, hybrid nanoparticles at 1% concentration increased the average storage tank temperature by 8% and decreased the melting time by 13.29% compared to pure PCM.

Keywords

• Phase change materials
• Parabolic trough collector
• Thermal energy storage system
• Hybrid nanoparticles
• Solar energy