Utilization of Vibration to Enhance the Thermal Performance of Flat Plate Solar Collectors—A Numerical Study

This study investigates the combioned effect of low-frequency vibrations and heat transfer fluid on the fluid outlet temperature of flat plate solar collectors (FPSC). Low-frequency vibrations in the range of 5–10 Hz with a constant amplitude of 3 mm were applied on the FPSC having water (H2O) and Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3–H2O) water nanofluid as HTF. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study was carried out to simulated FPSC and the model validated with the experimental results from the literature. The results showed a noticeable enhancement in the fluid outlet temperature of FPSC after applying vibrations. With water as HTF, the fluid outlet temperature without vibrations was 41.4 °C, while by applying low-frequency vibrations of 5 and 10 Hz, it increased to 48.7 °C and 49.5 °C respectively. While with Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3–H2O) water nanofluid as HTF, the fluid outlet temperature without vibrations was 50.68 °C while by applying low-frequency vibrations of 5 and 10 Hz, it increased to 51.3 °C and 52.5 °C respectively.