Effect of CuO-H20 and ZnO-H20 nanofluids on the Performance of Solar Flat Plate Collector

Abstract

The solar flat plate collector is commonly used in low-temperature domestic applications for water heating. In this paper, copper oxide (CuO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofluids were synthesized and prepared with water as base fluid, and its thermal efficiency is examined by conducting experiment on a solar flat plate collector. The experiment was conducted under forced flow conditions by varying the volume concentration and flow rates of both the nanofluids. For higher flow rates and volumetric fraction considered, substantial performance improvement was observed. The inclusion of EBT (eriochrome black T) and OA (olylamine surfactant, for CuO and ZnO nanofluid provided the best dispersion stability compared to pure water suspension.