Effects of flow regime and geometric parameters on the performance of a parabolic trough solar collector using nanofluid

The present paper investigates the optimum results on the performance of a parabolic trough solar collector using (3%) CuO-water nanofluid. The single-phase model based on a three-dimensional CFD method is used to model and numerically study the heat transfer behavior and fluid flow under a turbulent regime. Effects of various parameters, including different inlet Reynolds numbers (50000 <= R-e <= 250000), pipe length (0,25 m <= L <= 8 m) and pipe inner diameter (di = 60 mm, 66 mm, 72 mm, 78 mm, 82 mm, 86 mm) on the thermal and hydraulic efficiency of a parabolic trough solar collector are studied and discussed.