Performance improvement of a heat pipe evacuated solar water collector using quartz/water nanofluid: A numerical and experimental study

Solar water collectors (SWCs) are the major element of any solar power system. Evacuated tube solar water collectors (ESWCs) contain multiple evacuated tubes formed between the tubular absorber and the glass cover in each tube to reduce heat losses. In this survey, it is aimed to improve the thermal performance of a heat pipe evacuated tube water solar collectors (HP-ESWCs) by using quartz nanofluid as the working fluid and experimentally and numerically obtained results are explained in detail. The numerical simulation of the heat pipe part of the system aims to present a general view of energy gain by the heat pipe, evaporation of the working liquid inside the pipe and condensation of the vapor by releasing its energy in the condenser section. Also, the performance of the whole collector was experimentally examined utilizing four different working fluids. The outcomes indicate that the thermal efficiency of the HP-EWSC using deionized water varied between 29.63 and 55.78 %, 36.50–61.13 %, 40.73–64.35 % and 32.81–75.92 % at 0.008, 0.016, 0.033 and 0.050 kg/s flow rates, respectively. Also, the efficiency of HP-EWSC using quartz/water changed between the ranges of 43.87–71.95 %, 50.86–78.22 %, 46.37–79.66 % and 55.60–85.64 % at 0.008, 0.016, 0.033 and 0.050 kg/s flow rates, respectively. Average exergy efficiency enhancement by utilizing quartz/water nanofluid in the present work varied in the range of 34.23–99.97 %. General findings of this study clearly showed the positive impacts of using quartz/water as working fluid in the HP-ESWCs on the overall performance.