ABSTRACT:
Solar collectors are the devices employed to convert solar radiation into heat. The most common collector is the plate type which consists of a metal plate with an absorbing coating connected to channels where the working fluid flows. Another very used collector is the evacuated-tube type, which usually adopts selective coatings deposited on the glass surface. Recently, nanofluids - which are suspensions of nanometer size particles in a base fluid - have been proposed for the absorption of solar radiation. Very low nanoparticle concentrations can make the fluid almost completely opaque to the solar radiation, thus nanofluids can be used for the “direct” absorption of the radiation in a new generation of solar collectors without the need of a metal plate or a selective coating and therefore with a theoretically higher efficiency. Although a lot of studies on the potential of those fluids are available in the literature, a very limited number of works reports experimental tests on their behaviour and on the performance of full-scale prototypes of so called “Direct Absorption Solar Collectors” (DASCs). This research project is aimed at investigating the performance of new nanofluids, based on Single Wall Carbon Nanohorns or other similar nanoparticles, inside a novel collector prototype called Nano-CASE (Nanofluid-based Collector for the Absorption of the Solar Energy). The project aims at the development of such collector and the evaluation of its performance in comparison to the aforementioned conventional systems. The research will cover the steps needed for the development of this prototype, from the preparation and characterization of the nanofluids, to the experimental testing of the fluids in a loop and to the design of a collector prototype for the market. 

PUBBLICAZIONI:
Investigation of Nanofluids Circulating in a Volumetric Solar Receiver, E. Zanetti, S. Dugaria, F. Biscaglia, F. Agresti, L. Fedele, M. Meneghetti, D. Del Col, J. Thermal Sci. Eng. Appl. Aug 2021, 13(4): 041023 (12 pages)

ATTIVITA':