Chapters authored
Application of Nanofluids for Thermal Management of Photovoltaic Modules: A Review
Mounting temperature impedes the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic systems. Studies have shown drastic efficiency escalation of PV modules, if cooled by nanofluids. Ability of nanofluids to supplement the efficiency improvement of PV cells has sought attention of researchers. This chapter presents the magnitude of improved efficiency found by different researchers due to the cooling via nanofluids. The effect of factors (such as, nanoparticle size, nanofluid concentration, flowrate of nanofluid and geometry of channel containing nanofluid) influencing the efficiency of PV systems has been discussed. Collective results of different researchers indicate that the efficiency of the PV/T systems (using nanofluids as coolant) increases with increasing flowrate. Efficiency of these systems increases with increasing concentration of nanofluid up to a certain amount, but as the concentration gets above this certain value, the efficiency tends to decline due to agglomeration/clustering of nanoparticles. Pertaining to the most recent studies, stability of nanoparticles is still the major unresolved issue, hindering the commercial scale application of nanofluids for the cooling of PV panels. Eventually, the environmental and economic advantages of these systems are presented.
Part of the book: Microfluidics and Nanofluidics
Titanium Dioxide: Advancements and Thermal Applications
Distinctive characteristics of titanium dioxide such as high refractive index, overwhelmingly high melting and boiling point, high toughness, and hardness, photocatalytic nature, ability to absorb or reflect UV-rays, DeNox catalyst, nontoxicity, inert behavior, etc., have brought about the massive use of TiO2 in a variety of conventional as well as advanced engineering applications. Broad commercial utilization of titanium dioxide in products including paints, anti-air pollutants, cosmetics, skincare and sunblock, pharmaceuticals, surface protection, building energy-saving, etc., accounts for its multibillion dollars market worldwide. Titanium dioxide carries unique thermal and optical characteristics and therefore has gained significance as a potential candidate for advanced applications such as clean hydrogen fuel harvesting, photoelectric solar panels, photothermal conversion, treatment of exhaust gases from combustion engines and power plants, thermal energy storage, thermal management of electronic devices and photovoltaics, and nano-thermofluids. This chapter presents a brief insight into some of the noteworthy characteristics and a comprehensive overview of advanced thermal applications of TiO2.
Part of the book: Titanium Dioxide