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Abstract
Three-dimensional nickel-water nanofluid flow and heat transfer in a prismatic glass louver are analyzed under various solar irradiation conditions and different nanoparticle sizes. Our innovative louver serves for dual-purpose: solar energy harvest and illumination. To meet natural daylighting requirement, the nanofluid is extremely dilute. The solar radiation and illumination were analyzed by the Monte Carlo method and the acquired solar energy absorption distribution is input as a source in the conjugate heat convection and conduction modeling executed by COMSOL. Temperature-dependent thermophysical properties and various nanofluid models are considered. The temperature rise and distribution under various combinations of solar air-mass models, nanoparticle sizes, and flow conditions are scrutinized. It is found that the nanofluid properties are not appreciably affected by the different nanofluid models because the nanofluid considered is dilute. The harvested solar thermal power and its efficiency are strong functions of the nanoparticle diameter and the flow Reynolds number.
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No conflict of interest has been reported by the authors.
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Notes on contributors
Yi Nan
Yi Nan is a Ph.D. candidate of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ, USA. His main research fields are solar energy and nanofluid.
Yaomin Cai
Yaomin Cai is a director of thermal management engineer at Build Your Dreams (BYD) Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University, USA in 2021. He has published 10 journal/conference papers or patents.
Zhixiong Guo
Zhixiong Guo is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ, USA. He graduated top one in Engineering Physics from Tsinghua University, China in 1989; and has worked in KAIST, South Korea, and Tohoku University, Japan. After receiving a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from NYU-Tandon School of Engineering, he joined the faculty at Rutgers in 2001. He is the author/co-author of over 260 archival journal and conference papers. He is a Fellow of ASME and ASTFE. He is the Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer, a Managing Editor for Heat Transfer Research, and an editorial board member for Applied Thermal Engineering and for Frontiers in Energy. He was a former Associate Editor for ASME Journal of Heat Transfer (2013–2019).