Adequacy of binary fluid and turbulator based natural circulation loop in parabolic trough collector

Arunachala U Chandavar, Varun K, Chandan D

Abstract


The natural circulation loop (NCL) is in the limelight due to its sustainable and reliable mechanism. It finds application mainly in nuclear and solar thermal power plants. However, the low flow rate of fluid within the loop and instability causes a hindrance to their widespread applications. Hence many instability restraining and heat transfer augmentation techniques have been studied, including the recent innovations viz. binary fluid and turbulators. In the present experimental study, a horizontal heater horizontal cooler loop of Lt/d ratio 300 is constructed and initially tested with water to validate the loop behavior with Vijayan correlation. Later, the wire coil having a pitch ratio 4 is inserted in the heater region, and its influence is studied for the heat input range of 200 W to 600 W. The heat transport efficiency improvement ranges from 20 to 22% in the laminar region and 5 to 8 % in other regions with decreased mass flow rate penalty. Even binary fluid (40% acetone + 60% water) is tested for the same heat input range. For 200 W to 500 W heat input, the loop is neutrally stable and at 600 W, pulsation of loop fluid flow with high magnitude is noticed. Binary fluid enhanced the mass flow rate, but heat transfer has not improved because of acetone’s low specific heat value. Finally, future scope, like the use of discretized turbulator and high density secondary fluid, is suggested to enhance the NCL performance and thereby the efficiency of the parabolic trough collector.


Keywords


Solar energy; green energy; energy saving

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References


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DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v12i4.13500.g8607

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