Nanotechnology Applications for Solar Energy Systems

Mohsen Sheikholeslami, PhD is Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Renewable Energy Systems and Nanofluid Applications in Heat Transfer Laboratory at Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran. He has been selected three times as a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher, and has published widely on nanomaterials and energy transfer.

• About the Editor xiiiList of Contributors xvPreface xix1 Solar Energy Applications 1Swati Singh, Punit Singh, and Zafar Said1.1 Introduction and Recent Advances 11.2 Solar Energy Applications 51.2.1 Electricity Production Using Photovoltaics at Large Scale 51.2.2 Small-Scale Electricity Production for Houses and Commercial Buildings 61.2.3 Off-Grid Applications Using Photovoltaics 61.2.4 Concentrating Solar Thermal Electricity 71.2.5 Solar Thermochemical Processes 71.2.6 Solar Water Heating 81.2.7 Heating of Solar Architecture 81.2.8 Air Conditioning Through Water Evaporation 81.2.9 Artificial Photosynthesis 91.2.10 Decomposing Waste and Biofuels Production 91.3 Classification of Solar Energy Devices 101.3.1 Concentrating Solar Power 101.3.2 Building Integrated Solar Systems 101.3.3 Solar-Thermal Collectors 111.3.4 Solar Thermochemistry 111.3.5 Solar Thermal Energy Storage 121.3.6 Solar-Driven Water Distillation 121.4 Benefits and Opportunities 131.5 Challenges 161.6 Future Aspects 181.7 Conclusion 18References 192 Application of Nanofluid for Solar Stills 25Mohammad Javad Raji Asadabadi , Mohsen Sheikholeslami, and Ladan Momayez2.1 Introduction 252.2 Desalination Technology 252.2.1 What is a Solar Still? 262.2.2 Parameters Affecting Pure Water Yield of Basin Type SSs 272.2.3 Pure Water Augmentation of Solar Still Units 282.3 Nanofluid 332.3.1 Nanofluid Basics 342.3.2 Nanofluid Characteristics 352.3.3 Nanofluid Application in Solar Desalination 35References 433 Classification of Concentrating Solar Collectors Based on Focusing Shape and Studying on Their Performance, Financial Evaluation, and Industrial Adoption 49Z. Ebrahimpour and Mark Mba-Wright3.1 Introduction 493.1.1 Overview of Concentrating Solar Collectors 493.1.2 Some of the Applications of Concentrating Solar Collectors 503.2 Line Focus Concentrating Solar Collectors 513.2.1 Linear Fresnel Reflector 513.2.2 Parabolic Trough Collector 533.2.3 Compound Parabolic 553.3 Point Focus and Other Concentrating Solar Collectors 573.3.1 Central Receiver System 573.3.2 Solar Dish 593.3.3 Fresnel Lens 603.4 Improving the Thermal Performance of Solar Concentrating Collectors 623.5 Industrial Adoption and Costs of Solar Concentrating Collectors 633.6 Conclusions and Recommendations 63References 664 Nanotechnology for Heat Transfer 71Zafar Said , Maham Aslam Sohail, and Evangelos Bellos4.1 Introduction 714.2 Classification of Nanomaterials 724.2.1 Zero-dimensional (0D) 724.2.2 One-dimensional (1D) 724.2.3 Two-dimensional (2D) 724.2.4 Three-dimensional (3D) 734.3 Heat Transfer Characteristics and Applications of Nanotechnology on the Heat Transfer Enhancement 734.3.1 Convective Heat Transfer 754.3.2 Boiling Heat Transfer 774.3.3 Thermal Conductivity 774.3.4 Viscosity 784.4 A Review of Studies and Recent Advances Using Nanomaterials in Energy Conversion, Energy Storage, and Heat Transfer Development 794.5 Recent Advances 794.6 Challenges and Future Scope 864.7 Conclusion 87References 875 Nanofluids in Linear Fresnel Reflector 99Evangelos Bellos, Zafar Said, and Christos Tzivanidis5.1 Introduction and Recent Advances of Linear Fresnel Reflectors 995.2 The Idea of Using Nanofluids in Solar Collectors 1085.3 A Review of Studies with Nanofluid-based Linear Fresnel Reflector 1125.4 Remarks and Future Scope 1185.4.1 Advantages of LFR 1185.4.2 Disadvantages of LFR 1185.5 Conclusions 121References 1216 Thermal Management and Performance Enhancement of Parabolic Trough Concentrators Using Nanofluids 125Muhammed A. Hassan6.1 Introduction 1256.2 Recent Advances of Parabolic Trough Collectors 1276.3 Application of Nanofluids in PTCs 1316.4 State-of-Art Studies on Using Nanofluids in Parabolic Trough Collectors 1366.5 Conclusions and Future Scope 139References 1427 Developing Innovations in Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTCs) Based on Numerical Studies 145Sanaz Akbarzadeh, Maziar Dehghan, Mohammad Sadegh Valipour, and Huijin Xu7.1 Introduction 1457.2 An Introduction to Simulation Software 1487.3 Numerical Studies 1487.3.1 Design Parameters and Working Conditions in PTCs 1507.3.2 Using Inserts in PTCs 1547.3.3 Using Surface Modification Methods in PTCs 1577.3.4 Using Nanofluids in PTCs 1607.3.5 Using Nanofluids and Other Passive Methods in PTCs 1627.3.6 PTCs Integrated into Cooling Systems 1657.3.7 PTCs Integrated into Concentrated Solar Power Plants 1667.3.8 PTCs Integrated into Solar-powered Cycles 1687.3.9 PTCs Integrated into Solar Industrial Process Heat Plants 1707.3.10 PTCs Integrated into Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) System 1757.3.11 PTCs Integrated into Desalination Systems 1757.4 Challenges 1797.5 Conclusion 1797.6 Future Directions 183References 1838 Nanofluids in Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTCs) 191Maziar Dehghan, Sanaz Akbarzadeh, Mohammad Sadegh Valipour, and Hafiz Muhammad Ali8.1 Introduction 1918.2 Fundamentals of PTCs 1948.2.1 Components of a PTC 1948.2.2 Mathematical Formulations of PTCs 1958.2.3 Experimental Analysis (Standard Test Methods) 2038.3 Heat Transfer Fluids (HTFs) in PTCs 2038.3.1 Thermal Oils 2048.3.2 Liquid-water Steam 2048.3.3 Pressurized Gasses 2048.3.4 Molten Salts 2048.3.5 Nanofluids 2048.4 Heat Transfer Improvement Methods in PTCs 2068.4.1 Design Parameters 2068.4.2 The Application of Nanofluids in PTCs 2088.4.3 Combination of Nanofluids and Other Thermal Efficiency Enhancement Methods 2198.5 Economic Analysis 2258.6 Challenges 2288.7 Conclusion 2288.8 Future Directions 229Acknowledgment 230References 2309 Applications of Nanotechnology in the Harvesting of Solar Energy 239Seyede Mohaddese Mousavi, Zahra Sayah Alborzi, Saba Raveshiyan, and Younes Amini9.1 Introduction 2399.1.1 Overview of the Status of the Solar Energy 2399.1.2 Nanotechnology Overview 2409.2 Solar Harvesting Technology Using Nanomaterials 2429.3 Various Modern Solar Harvesting Technologies 2429.3.1 Solar Collectors 2429.3.2 Fuel Cells 2439.3.3 Photocatalysis 2439.3.4 Solar Photovoltaics 2469.4 Production Methods of Solar Cell Technology 2479.4.1 First Generation Solar Cell: Silicon Solar Cells 2479.4.2 Second Generation Solar Cells: Thin-film Solar Cell 2489.4.3 Third Generation Solar Cells 2509.5 Challenges in Using Nanotechnology 2519.6 Conclusion 252References 25310 Tubular Solar Thermal System: Recent Development and Its Utilization 257Arun Kumar Tiwari and Amit Kumar10.1 Introduction 25710.2 Different Tubular Solar System 25810.2.1 Evacuated Tubular Collector 25810.2.2 Tubular Solar Still 25910.2.3 Tubular System for Concentrating Solar Power 26210.3 Heat Transfer Fluid for the Tubular System 26410.3.1 Nanofluid 26410.3.2 Nano-enhanced Molten Salt 26410.3.3 Liquid Metal 26510.4 Conclusion 266References 26611 Nanofluids in Flat Plate Solar Collectors 273L. Syam Sundar and Zafar Said11.1 Nanofluid in Flat Plate Collector 27311.2 Introduction and Recent Advances of Flat Plate Collectors 27311.3 Application of Nanofluids in the Flat Plate Collector 27611.4 A Review of Studies Using Nanomaterials in Flat Pale Collector 28111.5 Remarks and Future Scope 28411.6 Conclusion 284References 28512 Recent Advances in the Simulation of Solar Photovoltaic Cell Cooling Systems Using Nanofluids 289Javad Mohammadpour and Fatemeh Salehi12.1 Introduction 28912.2 Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System 29112.3 Performance Parameters 29112.4 An Overview of Numerical Approaches 29212.5 Previous Research on PVT Systems 29412.5.1 PVT Nanofluid-Based Systems 29412.5.2 PVT Multiple-Nanofluid-Based Systems 29512.5.3 PVT/ PCM Nanofluid-Based Systems 29812.5.4 Economic Analysis in PVT Studies 29912.6 Future Works 30412.7 Conclusions 306References 30613 Multiphase Modeling of Powder Flow in an Ejector of Solar-driven Refrigeration System by Eulerian-Lagrangian Approach 313Mohit Biglarian, Ahmadreza Najafi, Morsal Momeni Larimi, and Masih Parhizkari13.1 Introduction 31313.2 Governing Equations 31413.2.1 Continuity Equation 31413.2.2 Momentum Equation 31413.3 Geometry Design and Meshing 31513.3.1 Generation of the Model 31513.3.2 Mesh Generation and Study 31513.3.3 Grid Independency 31813.3.4 Validation 31913.4 Results 31913.4.1 Optimization of the Nozzle 31913.4.2 Investigation of the Relation between Outlet Velocity and Entrainment Parameter (N) 32613.4.3 Unsteady Case 32713.5 Conclusion 335Declaration of interests 335References 33514 Radiative Non-Newtonian Nanofluid Flow through Stretchable Disks: An Application to Solar Thermal Systems 337S. A. Shehzad, A. Rauf, and M. Omar14.1 Introduction 33714.2 Problem Formulation 33914.3 Numerical Solution 34314.4 Results and Discussion 34414.5 Conclusions 351References 35215 Cooling of PV/ T System with Nanofluid and PCM 355Mohit Barthwal, Dibakar Rakshit, and Sujit Kr. Verma15.1 Introduction 35515.1.1 Overview 35515.1.2 Need for Cooling of Photovoltaics 35615.2 Application of Nanofluid and PCM for Cooling of PV/T System 35915.2.1 Nanofluids 35915.2.2 Phase Change Materials 36015.3 A Review of Studies Using Nanofluid and PCM for Cooling of PV/T System 36115.4 Remarks and Future Scope 37415.5 Conclusion 376Acknowledgment 376References 37716 Revival of Functional Nanofluid Photothermal Materials for Solar Still Applications 381Muhammad Sultan Irshad, Naila Arshad, and Xianbao Wang16.1 Nanofluid Based Solar Stills 38116.2 General Factors for Efficient Solar Still 38416.2.1 Environmental Factors 38416.2.2 Physical Factors 38516.3 Development and Modifications 38616.3.1 Conventional Single-effect Solar Still 38616.3.2 Solar Reflectors 38716.3.3 Wicked Type Solar Stills 38816.4 Application of Nanofluids in Solar Still 38816.4.1 Methodologies for the Fabrication of Nanofluids 38916.4.2 Optical Properties of Nanofluids 38916.4.3 Photothermal of Nanofluids 39116.5 Carbon-based Nanofluid 39116.6 Metallic/ Metal Oxide Nanofluids 39216.7 Magnetic Nanofluids 39416.8 Solar Thermal Collectors 39516.9 Solar-driven Steam Generators 39716.10 Remarks and Future Scope 39816.11 Conclusion 399References 40017 Nanotechnology in Solar Lighting 403Chao Shen, Changyun Ruan, and Guoquan lv17.1 Optical Fiber Lighting Based on Sunlight 40317.2 Radiation Properties of Nanoparticles 40517.3 Spectral Control of Nanofluid 40617.3.1 Full Spectrum Absorption Based on Nanofluids 40617.3.2 Thermal/Electrical Decoupling Control Based on Nanofluids 40717.4 Design of a Solar Lighting/Heating System 40817.5 Selection of Nanofluids for the Solar Lighting/Heating System 40917.6 System Efficiency of the Solar Lighting/Heating System 41017.7 Spectral Characteristics of Output Light of the Solar Lighting/Heating System 41117.8 Future Research 41317.9 Conclusion 414References 415Index 421