Amjad, M, Raza, G, Xin, Y et al. (4 more authors) (2017) Volumetric solar heating and steam generation via gold nanofluids. Applied Energy, 206. pp. 393-400. ISSN 0306-2619
Abstract
Volumetric solar absorption using nanofluids can minimize the thermal loss by trapping the light inside the fluid volume. A strong surface boiling with the underneath fluid still subcooled could have many interesting applications, whose mechanism is however still under strong debate. This work advanced our understanding on volumetric fluid heating by performing a novel experiment under a unique uniform solar heating setup at 280 Suns, with a particular focus on the steam production phenomenon using gold nanofluids. To take the temperature distribution into account, a new integration method was used to calculate the sensible heating contribution. The results showed that the photothermal conversion efficiency was enhanced significantly by gold nanofluids. A three-stage heating scenario was identified and during the first stage, most of the energy was absorbed by the surface fluid, resulting in rapid vapor generation with the underneath fluid still subcooled. The condensed vapor analysis showed no nanoparticle escaping even under vigorous boiling conditions. Such results reveal that nanoparticle enabled volumetric solar heating could have many promising applications including clean water production in arid areas where abundant solar energy is available.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Applied Energy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Nanofluid; Steam production; Photothermal conversion; Evaporation; Direct absorption; Solar energy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 15 Nov 2017 14:13 |
Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2018 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.144 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:124063 |