Abstract:

The low efficiency of Collectors that absorb energy can be mentioned as one of the drawbacks in solar cogeneration cycles. In the present study, solar systems have been improved by adding porous media and Nanofluid to collectors. One advantage of using porous media and nanomaterials is to absorb more energy while the surface area is reduced. In this study, first, solar collectors are enhanced using 90% porosity copper in solar combined cooling, heating and power systems (SCCHP). Second, different percentages of CuO and Al2O3 nano-fluids are added to a flat plate and parabolic collectors to enhance thermal properties. Simulations are performed in different modes (simple parabolic collectors, simple flat plate collectors, improved flat plate collectors, parabolic collectors with porous media, and flat plate and parabolic collectors with different density of CuO and Al2O3 nanofluids). A case study is investigated for warm and dry regions with mean solar radiation Ib = 820 w / m2 in Iran. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies are 60.12% and 18.84%, respectively, that is related to enhanced parabolic solar collectors with porous media and nanofluids. Adding porous media and nano-fluids increases an average 14.4% collector energy efficiency and 8.08% collector exergy efficiency.

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