Experimental investigation on the thermal efficiency and performance characteristics of a flat plate solar collector using SiO2/EG-water nanofluids

Application of nanofluids in thermal energy devices such as solar collectors is developing day by day. This paper reports the results of experiments on a flat plate solar collector where the working fluid is SiO2/ethylene glycol (EG)-water nanofluid with volume fractions up to 1%. The thermal efficiency and performance characteristics of solar collector are obtained for mass flow rates between 0.018 and 0.045 kg/s. The curve characteristics of solar collector indicate that the effects of particle loading on the thermal efficiency enhancement are more pronounced at higher values of heat loss parameter. The results of this work elucidate the potential of SiO2 nanoparticles to improve the efficiency of solar collectors despite its low thermal conductivity compared to other usual nanoparticles. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.