Numerical study of a parabolic trough collector using a nano-fluid

Parabolic trough solar collectors (PTCs) are the best option nowadays for the industrial applications working in a range of temperature going from 150°C to 400°C. Numerous studies have been carried out on the performances of the PTCs using synthetic oils as a heat transfer fluid. In this article, we performed a numerical study on thermal performances of a parabolic trough solar collector using the nanofluid Al 2 O 3 -Syltherm800 as a working fluid. The mathematical model used in this work is based on energy balances of the collector and has been validated with experimental data of SANDIA laboratories in the USA. A description of thermal properties of Al 2 O 3 -Syltherm800 is presented in this paper. The results showed that the nanoparticles improve significantly the convection coefficient between the receiver and the heat transfer fluid and could decrease the heat losses of about 10%.