| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 765485 | Energy Conversion and Management | 2015 | 10 Pages |
•Synthesis and characterization of 0.05% volume concentration CuO/water nanofluid.•Solar water heater performance tested using water in natural and forced circulation.•The performance was compared with the prepared CuO/water nanofluid.•Efficiency increased with increase from laminar flow to turbulent flow.•Higher improvement in performance using nanofluid was observed in natural circulation.
Flat plate solar water heater is widely used for heating of water in low-temperature residential applications. In this paper, Copper Oxide/water (CuO/H2O) nanofluid is prepared from Copper Acetate and its thermal performance was investigated experimentally on a 100 Liters per Day (LPD) thermosyphon based indirect-type flat plate solar water heater. The volumetric fraction of CuO/water nanofluid chosen was 0.05%. Significant improvement in performance was observed in thermosyphon circulation compared to forced circulation, for the low volumetric fraction considered. The CuO/water nanofluid was prepared with the inclusion of surfactant Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (SDBS), as it provided the best CuO nanoparticle dispersion stability compared to pure water suspension and Triton X-100 surfactant suspensions. Also, the thermophysical properties of the synthesized nanoparticle and prepared nanofluid were compared theoretically and experimentally.
