Exploring the use of hybrid nanofluid in flat plate collector for sustainable energy harvesting: An experimental investigation

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India

^* Corresponding Author: kuwar.mausam@gla.ac.in

Abstract

Application of hybrid nanofluid work as a performance booster of solar collector and also provide an opportunity of sustainable development of eco-friendly energy harvesting. The performance of Flat plate solar collector (FPSC) has been investigated experimentally at different combinations of flow rate, intensity of radiation and angle of inclination. The comparative performance analysis of FPSC with two different working fluids i.e. distilled water and Cu-MWCNT hybrid nanofluid have also been made. The best combination of the operating parameters has been identified for performance optimization. The mathematical co-relations between the efficiency of the FPSC with the operational parameters has also been studied. Contribution in prevention of greenhouse gases emission also calculated along with energy saving. Carbon credit contribution also identified for the used solar collector. The efficiency of operation with hybrid nanofluid as working fluid was better compared to the distilled Water. Hybrid nanofluids provided higher rise in temperature as well as the useful energy gain compared to the distilled water. The flow rate was identified as dominant factor for efficiency. The efficiency of the collector was a linear function with reduced temperature. Higher efficiencies were achieved at higher flow rates with minimum inclination angle.