Experimental and theoretical analysis of energy efficiency in a flat plate solar collector using monolayer graphene nanofluids

Abstract

Flat‐plate solar collectors are one of the cleanest and most efficient heating systems available. Studies on the presence of covalently functionalized graphene (Gr) suspended in distilled water as operating fluids inside an indoor flat‐plate solar collector (FPSC) were experimentally and theoretically performed. These examinations were conducted under different testing conditions namely 0.025%‐wt., 0.05%‐wt., 0.075%‐wt., and 0.1%‐wt., 0.5, 1, and 1.5 kg/min, 30, 40, and 50 °C, and 500, 750, and 1000 W/m2. Various techniques were used to characterize the functionalized nanofluids’ stability and morphological properties namely UV/Vis spectrophotometry, EDX analysis with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), zeta potential, and nanoparticle size. The results showed that the collected heat improved as the percentage of GrNPs and the fluid mass flow rates increased, although it decreased as the reduced temperature coefficient increased, whereas the maximum increase in collector efficiency at higher concentration was 13% and 12.5% compared with distilled water at 0.025 kg/s. Finally, a new correlation was developed for the base fluid and nanofluids’ thermal efficiency as a function of dropped temperature parameter and weight concentration with 2.758% and 4.232% maximum deviations.