Investigation and simulation of parabolic trough collector with the presence of hybrid nanofluid in the finned receiver tube

Abstract

The present study discusses the thermal performance of the receiver tube, which contains a wall with various fin shapes in the parabolic trough collector. Inserted fins and bulge surfaces of the inner wall of the receiver tube increase the turbulent fluid flow. In pursuance of uniform distribution of heat transfer, various fin shapes such as square-shape, circle-shape, triangle-shape, and combined square-circle shapes were inserted, examined, and compared. A study of the temperature differences and fluid flow is meaningful for this project therefore Finite Volume Method was used to investigate heat transfer. Also, hybrid Nano-Fluid AL₂O₃CuO, TiO₂Cu, and Ag-MgO were applied to increase thermal diffusivity. When the combined square-circle-shaped fin was inserted, the thermal peak of fluid flow in the receiver tube was lower than the other studied fin shapes by almost 1%. Besides, the hybrid nano-fluid Ag-MgO Syltherm-oil-800 has lower thermal waste in comparison to others by more than 3%.