Comprehensive 3E analyses of a parabolic trough collector equipped with an innovative combined twisted turbulator

Abstract

The Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is one of the most well-known equipment in renewable energy. Today, it is also a renewable source for refining and transferring power to a low-carbon economy. The present study aims to investigate the effect of the geometrical shape of the Receiver cross-section in the PTC and to investigate the effect of placing the innovative combined twisted turbulator (CTT) in it. The receiver is simulated with three different geometric shapes circular cross-section (CCS), vertical elliptical cross-section (VECS), and horizontal elliptical cross-section (HECS). The PTC contains a two-phase MWCNT-GO/Syltherm 800 hybrid nanofluid (HNF), simulated using the mixture model. In this study, numerical simulations have been conducted for Reynolds numbers (Re) of 5000 to 20,000, volume fractions (ϕ) of 1 and 2% of nanoparticles, and pitch ratios (PR) of 0.5 to 2 of the innovative CTT. The results obtained from the present study show that the geometrical change of the cross-section of the receiver is very effective in the hydrodynamic performance of the PTC. Also, placing the innovative CTT in Receiver has consistently increased thermal performance and energy efficiency. The performance evaluation criteria (PEC) index is always greater than 1 in all numerical simulation modes. Therefore, innovative CTT is always desirable in terms of the PEC index. The maximum exergy efficiency is Re = 10,000, ϕ= 0.02, and PR = 2. Based on the environmental analysis, the amount of carbon dioxide in the PTC equipped with an innovative CTT containing two-phase MWCNT-GO/Syltherm 800 HNF is 0.033 kg/day.