Performance Evaluation of a Nanofluid (CuO-H2O) Based Low Flux Solar Collector

As the fossil fuels are depleting continuously, we know that solar energy harvesting is a significant potential area for new research dimensions. Sun provides us about 1.9x10⁸ TWh/yr on the land, of which 1.3x10⁵ TWh/yr energy is used. In order to make much use of solar energy on the earth, solar energy harvesting into more usable form (e.g. heat or electricity) by using solar energy collectors is important aspect. A solar collector is a device which transfers the collected solar energy to a fluid which is flowing through it and in contact with it. The performance of collector does not only depends upon how effective the absorber is, but also on how effective the heat transfer is? And on thermal properties (e.g. thermal conductivity, heat capacity) of the fluid which is eing used. In general, the absorption properties of the fluids which are generally used in solar collectors are poor, which in turn limits the efficiency of the solar collector. So, there is a need to use energy efficient heat transfer fluids for high efficiency and performance. A relatively new attempt has been made to increase the performance of the solar collector by using nanofluids. Recently developed a new class of working fluids called Nanofluids, found to be possessing better thermal properties over the hosting fluids, can be a good option in the solar collector. In our research work the CuO-water based nanofluid has been tested in the solar collector and their performance is investigated. It has been found that efficiency if the solar collector is increased by 4-6% compared to water.