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An investigation into the thermophysical and rheological properties of nanofluids for solar thermal applications

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  • Arthur, Owen
  • Karim, M.A.

Abstract

Considered to be the next generation of heat transfer fluids, nanofluids have been receiving a growing amount of attention in the past decade despite the controversy and inconsistencies that have been reported. Nanofluids have great potential in a wide range of fields, particularly for solar thermal applications. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on the enhancements in thermophysical and rheological properties resulting from experimental works conducted on molten salt nanofluids that are used in solar thermal energy systems. It was found that an increase in specific heat of 10–30% was achieved for most nanofluids and appeared independent of particle size and to an extent mass concentration. The specific heat increase was attributed to the formation of nanostructures at the solid–liquid interface and it was also noted that the aggregation of nanoparticles has detrimental effects on the specific heat increase. Thermal conductivity was also found to increase, though less consistently, ranging from 3% to 35%. Viscosity was seen to increase with the addition of nanoparticles and is dependent on the amount of aggregation of the particles. An in-depth micro level analysis of the mechanisms behind the thermophysical property changes is presented in this paper. In addition, possible trends are discussed relating to current theorised mechanisms in an attempt to explain the behaviour of molten salt nanofluids.

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  • Arthur, Owen & Karim, M.A., 2016. "An investigation into the thermophysical and rheological properties of nanofluids for solar thermal applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 739-755.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:55:y:2016:i:c:p:739-755
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Liu, Jian & Wang, Fuxian & Zhang, Long & Fang, Xiaoming & Zhang, Zhengguo, 2014. "Thermodynamic properties and thermal stability of ionic liquid-based nanofluids containing graphene as advanced heat transfer fluids for medium-to-high-temperature applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 519-523.
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    Cited by:

    1. Suganthi, K.S. & Rajan, K.S., 2017. "Metal oxide nanofluids: Review of formulation, thermo-physical properties, mechanisms, and heat transfer performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 226-255.
    2. Muñoz-Sánchez, Belén & Nieto-Maestre, Javier & Iparraguirre-Torres, Iñigo & García-Romero, Ana & Sala-Lizarraga, Jose M., 2018. "Molten salt-based nanofluids as efficient heat transfer and storage materials at high temperatures. An overview of the literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3924-3945.
    3. Tawfik, Mohamed M., 2017. "Experimental studies of nanofluid thermal conductivity enhancement and applications: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1239-1253.
    4. Marina Tselepi & Costas Prouskas & Dimitrios G. Papageorgiou & Isaac. E. Lagaris & Georgios A. Evangelakis, 2022. "Graphene-Based Phase Change Composite Nano-Materials for Thermal Storage Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Adrián Caraballo & Santos Galán-Casado & Ángel Caballero & Sara Serena, 2021. "Molten Salts for Sensible Thermal Energy Storage: A Review and an Energy Performance Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Yaroslav Grosu & Luis González-Fernández & Udayashankar Nithiyanantham & Abdessamad Faik, 2019. "Wettability Control for Correct Thermophysical Properties Determination of Molten Salts and Their Nanofluids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Abdelrazik, Ahmed S. & Al-Sulaiman, FA & Saidur, R. & Ben-Mansour, R., 2018. "A review on recent development for the design and packaging of hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 110-129.
    8. Bhalla, Vishal & Tyagi, Himanshu, 2018. "Parameters influencing the performance of nanoparticles-laden fluid-based solar thermal collectors: A review on optical properties," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 12-42.
    9. Jiang, Zhu & Palacios, Anabel & Lei, Xianzhang & Navarro, M.E. & Qiao, Geng & Mura, Ernesto & Xu, Guizhi & Ding, Yulong, 2019. "Novel key parameter for eutectic nitrates based nanofluids selection for concentrating solar power (CSP) systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 529-542.
    10. David González-Peña & Iván Alonso-deMiguel & Montserrat Díez-Mediavilla & Cristina Alonso-Tristán, 2020. "Experimental Analysis of a Novel PV/T Panel with PCM and Heat Pipes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Kaood, Amr & Abubakr, Mohamed & Al-Oran, Otabeh & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2021. "Performance analysis and particle swarm optimization of molten salt-based nanofluids in parabolic trough concentrators," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 1045-1062.
    12. Minea, Alina Adriana, 2017. "Challenges in hybrid nanofluids behavior in turbulent flow: Recent research and numerical comparison," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 426-434.
    13. Xin Xiao & Gan Zhang & Yulong Ding & Dongsheng Wen, 2019. "Rheological Characteristics of Molten Salt Seeded with Al 2 O 3 Nanopowder and Graphene for Concentrated Solar Power," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    14. Li, Zhao & Li, Baorang & Du, Xiaoze & Wu, Hongwei, 2020. "Experimental investigation on stability of thermal performances of solar salt based nanocomposite," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 816-827.
    15. Zhao Li & Liu Cui & Baorang Li & Xiaoze Du, 2021. "Effects of SiO 2 Nanoparticle Dispersion on The Heat Storage Property of the Solar Salt for Solar Power Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, January.
    16. Elsheikh, A.H. & Sharshir, S.W. & Mostafa, Mohamed E. & Essa, F.A. & Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Kamal, 2018. "Applications of nanofluids in solar energy: A review of recent advances," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3483-3502.

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