Heat Transfer Enhancement with Ni-Water Nanofluid Flowing through a Prismatic Glass Louver for Solar Energy Harvest and Illumination

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.