Energy and exergy analyses of a parabolic trough collector operated with nanofluids for medium and high temperature applications

Thermal performance of parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) can be improved by suspending nanoparticles into the traditionally used heat transfer fluids. In this work, a one-dimensional mathematical model is proposed to investigate the effect of various nanoprticles suspended in the working fluid for medium and high temperature PTCs. The major finding of this work is that the nanofluid enhances the thermal efficiency of the PTC slightly. High...