Fabrication and Thermal Analysis of Nano-structured Heat Transfer Medium and Novel Conical-shaped Solar Greenhouse Device

The solar device that acts on the principle of greenhouse effect is a solar greenhouse device and it is a feasible option for photothermal applications. Its optical characteristics, thermal properties, and thermal performances are to be improved for its effective utilization in application sectors. From these perspectives, the initial part of the present research was devoted to preparing, characterizing, and evaluating the nano-based heat transfer medium. The central part of the present research was devoted to fabricating the novel conical-shaped solar greenhouse device integrated with the nano-based heat transfer medium; the final part was devoted to experimentally evaluating the thermal performances of the fabricated solar greenhouse device. In the present research work, the carbon nanotube and nano-tungsten carbide-coated heat transfer medium and novel solar greenhouse device were developed and they were experimentally analyzed. The characterization studies showed that the chemical constituents in the coating affecting the heat transfer medium were in nano-sizes. The thermal studies showed that the maximum temperature enhancement on heat transfer medium with nano-coating was in the range of 49.0 to 76.2 °C. The performance study showed that the maximum drying efficiency of the conical-shaped solar greenhouse device varied from 63.9 to 66.7% for drying the leaves of medicinal plants. The novelty of the present work was not only the preparation of a nanostructured heat transfer medium but also the fabrication and utilization of a novel solar greenhouse device. Since the physical characteristics of the components and devices were found to be satisfactory, it could be concluded that the components and conical-shaped greenhouse devices would effectively be utilized in energy-intensive sectors.