Experimental Investigation on the Thermophysical and Rheological Behavior of Aqueous Dual Hybrid Nanofluid in Flat Plate Solar Collectors

Abstract

This work investigates the thermal–physical and rheological properties of hexagonal boron nitride/carbon nanotubes (hBN/CNTs) applied to reinforce water-based working fluid in a flat plate solar collector (FPSC). The hybrid nanoadditives of hBN and the chemically functionalized CNTs (CF-CNTs) were suspended in distilled water (DW) with a nonionic surfactant. The hybridization ratio between CF-CNTs and hBN was optimized to be 40:60. The thermal efficiency tests on the solar collector were carried out using different volumetric flow rates (2, 3, and 4 L/min) under the ASHRAE-93-2010 standard. The morphological characteristics of the hybrid nanoadditives were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Different concentrations of hBN/CF-CNTs were added to the water-based working fluid to record the optimal wt.% for maximum enhancement in the FPSC’s efficiency. The results revealed that using only 0.1 wt.% of hBN/CF-CNTs with a flow rate of 4 L/min remarkably improved the collector efficiency by up to 87% when compared to the conventional working fluid used in FPSC.