Harvesting of solar energy through hybrid nanofluid based parabolic concentrating solar collector – Experimental and theoretical study

The optical and thermophysical properties of conventional base fluids undergo significant enhancement when small quantities of copper oxide (CuO) and aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles are dispersed in the fluid. This characteristic enables efficient absorption and distribution of solar radiation. The increased solar radiation absorption capacity enhances heat transfer, thereby improving the overall thermal performance of the system. In this study, the concept of a hybrid nanofluid-based parabolic concentrating solar collector (HNPCSC) for solar energy harvesting is proposed. The novelty of this work lies in the theoretical modeling and experimental validation of a CuO–Al 2 O 3 /Therminol VP-1 hybrid nanofluid-based parabolic solar collector. The study demonstrates the combined effects of enhanced optical absorption and improved thermophysical properties on collector performance under realistic operating conditions. The HNPCSC exhibited superior performance compared to a conventional parabolic solar collector while maintaining identical external operating conditions, including ambient and inlet temperatures, wind speed, solar irradiance, flow rate, and concentration ratio. Furthermore, parametric analyses were conducted to examine the influence of various factors on collector efficiency and overall performance. The investigation specifically evaluated the effects of solar irradiance, incidence angle, and convective heat transfer efficiency. The theoretical results clearly indicate that the HNPCSC can absorb solar radiation more effectively than a conventional parabolic trough collector.