Multi-objective optimization of solar collector using water-based nanofluids with different types of nanoparticles

This study looks at the effects of different kinds of nanoparticles including AL2O3, SiO2, and CuO on the design of a solar flat plate collector in different volumetric concentrations. Water was used as the base fluid, and optimal SFPC parameters were obtained for each of the nanofluids. Both the efficiency and total annual cost were selected as objective functions, and the optimum Pareto fronts were compared with those of the base fluid. The results show a significant enhancement in both the efficiency and TAC for all the studied nanofluids compared with the pure water as the working fluid. The efficiency improved by 4.47%, 4.65%, and 5.22% in the cases of AL2O3, SiO2, and CuO compared with base fluid with a fixed TAC of 67 $ year−1. With a fixed efficiency of 0.564, TAC decreased by 25.45%, 25.87%, and 27.88%, respectively. The optimum design parameters show that lower heat transfer surface area and insulator thickness are needed for CuO compared with the other cases, followed by SiO2, AL2O3, and the base fluid. In the optimum conditions, a lower particle volumetric concentration is required for CuO, followed by Al2O3 and SiO2.