Enhanced Thermal Performance in Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors Using Titanium Oxide Nanoparticle: a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Investigation

Abstract This study focuses on improving thermal performance in evacuated tube solar collectors (ETSCs) by incorporating titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles into the working fluid. Our work, which aims to improve the efficiency of solar thermal systems, uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling to predict the heat transfer characteristics and fluid dynamics in ETSCs. The effect of incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles into the base fluid on improving the system’s thermal conductivity and overall heat transfer efficiency is investigated. The report introduces a thorough simulation framework that replicates real-world settings and examines the effect of nanoparticle concentration on the thermal characteristics of the working fluid. The core objective is to investigate how TiO2 nanoparticles can enhance the thermal conductivity of the working fluid, thereby improving the overall efficiency of solar thermal systems. The CFD model results are notable, revealing a substantial enhancement in the performance of solar collectors. The efficiency of ETSCs is observed to increase by 12.5%, primarily due to the improved thermal conductivity achieved with the incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles while maintaining a negligible impact on the fluid’s viscosity. Future work will implement a prototype of the proposed system to study its performance experimentally and compare it with the simulated results.