ISSN 2466-4677; e-ISSN 2466-4847
Journal Menu
Archive
Last Edition
Journal Menu
Archive
HEAT TRANSFER AND FRICTION FACTOR OF FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTOR WITH Al2O3 -CuO/WATER HYBRID NANOFLUIDS: EXPERIMENTAL AND ANN PREDICTIONS
Authors:
Solomon Mesfin1,2
, Veeredhi Vasudeva Rao2
, L. Syam Sundar3
,
Kotturu V.V. Chandra Mouli4
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
2Department of Mechanical, Bioresources and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, CSET,
University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa
3Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Al-
Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
4Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Al-
Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia
Received: 15 August 2024
Revised: 2 October 2024
Accepted: 10 October 2024
Published: 31 March 2025
Abstract:
The Nusselt number, heat transfer, and friction factor of flat plate collector working with Al2O3-CuO/water hybrid nanofluids were estimated experimentally, and the obtained data is used for the artificial neural network- Support Vector Regression method. Experiments were conducted from 09:00 to 16:30 hr, with volume loadings of 0.048%, 0.096%, 0.144%, 0.192% and 0.24%, respectively. The entire region is divided into time zone 1 (09:00 hr to 13:00 hr) and time zone 2 (13:00 hr to 16:30 hr). Results show the time zone-1, at 13:00 hrs, at 0.24% vol. and a Reynolds number of 364.66, the Nusselt number is enhanced by 20.43%, and at time zone-2, at 16:30 hrs, at 0.24% vol., and at Reynolds number of 211.23, the Nusselt number is enhanced by 14.08%, respectively, over the base fluid. Similarly, for time zone-1 and time zone-2, at 13:00 hrs and 16:30 hrs, at 0.24% vol. and at Reynolds number 364.66 and 211.23, the friction factor is enhanced by 15.34% and 11.50%, respectively, over the base fluid. The employed support vector regression algorithm accurately predicts the values with experimental data. The correlation coefficients found for the Nusselt number, heat transfer, and friction factor are 0.99497, 0.9947, and 0.99955, respectively.
Keywords:
Flat plate solar collector, Heat transfer coefficient, Friction factor, Nusselt number, Enhancement, Hybrid
nanofluids, ANN analysis
References:
[1] A.W. Bhutto, A.A. Bazmib, G. Zahedi, J. Klemes, A review of progress in renewable energy Implementation in the Gulf cooperation council countries. Journal of Clean Production, 71, 2014: 168–180.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.12.073
[2] S. Jaisankar, T.K. Radhakrishnan, K.N. Sheeba, Experimental studies on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of forced circulation solar water heater system fitted with helical twisted tapes. Solar Energy, 83, 2009: 1943–1952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2009.07.006
[3] R.H. Martín, A. García, J. Pérez-García, Influence of wire-coil inserts on the thermo- hydraulic performance of a flat-plate solar collector. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 395, 2012, 012057. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/395/1/012057
[4] S.U.S. Choi, Enhancing thermal conductivity of fluids with nanoparticles. ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, San Francisco, CA, 1995.
[5] N.B. Ziyadanogullari, H.L. Yucel, C. Yildiz, Thermal performance enhancement of flat- plate solar collectors by means of three different nanofluids. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 8, 2018: 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2018.07.005
[6] L.S. Sundar, M.K. Singh, A.C.M. Sousa, Experimental investigation of Al2O3/water nanofluids on the effectiveness of solar flat- plate collectors with and without twisted tape inserts. Renewable Energy, 119, 2018: 820–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.10.056
[7] N.S. Rajput, D.D. Shukla, D. Rajput, S.K. Sharma, Performance analysis of flat plate solar collector using Al2O3/distilled water nanofluid: An experimental investigation. Materials Today Proceedings, 10, 2019: 52–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.02.188
[8] A.A. Hawwash, A.K. Abdel Rahman, S.A. Nada, S. Ookawara, Numerical investigation and experimental verification of performance enhancement of flat plate solar collector using nanofluids. Applied Thermal Engineering, 130, 2018: 363–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.11.027
[9] H.J. Jouybari, S. Saedodin, A. Zamzamian, M.E. Nimvari, S. Wongwises, Effects of porous material and nanoparticles on the thermal performance of a flat plate solar collector: An experimental study. Renewable Energy, 114, Part B, 2017: 1407–1418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.07.008
[10] F. Kiliç, T. Menlik, A. Sözen, Effect of titanium dioxide/water nanofluid use on thermal performance of the flat plate solar collector. Solar Energy, 164, 2018: 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.02.002
[11] Z. Said, R. Saidur, N.A. Rahim, Energy and exergy analysis of a flat plate solar collector using different sizes of aluminium oxide based nanofluid. Journal of Cleaner Production, 133, 2016: 518–530.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.178
[12] E.C. Okonkwo, I. Wole-Osho, D. Kavaz, M. Abidb, T. Al-Ansari, Thermodynamic evaluation and optimization of a flat plate collector operating with alumina and iron mono and hybrid nanofluids. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 37, 2020: 100636.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2020.100636
[13] S.K. Verma, S.K. Tiwari, A.K. Tiwari, D.S. Chauhan, Performance analysis of hybrid nanofluids in flat plate solar collector as an advanced working fluid. Solar Energy, 67, 2018: 231–241.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.04.017
[14] B. Saleh, L.S. Sundar, Thermal efficiency, heat transfer, and friction factor analyses of MWCNT+Fe3O4/water hybrid nanofluids in a solar flat plate collector under thermosyphon condition. Processes, 9(1), 2021: 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9010180
[15] L.S. Sundar, A.H. Misganaw, M.K. Singh, A.C.M. Sousa, H.M. Ali, Efficiency analysis of thermosyphon solar flat plate collector with low mass concentrations of ND–Co3O4 hybrid nanofluids: an experimental study. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 143, 2021: 959–972.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-10176-1
[16] M.S. Elsherbiny, M. Ali, M. Shahin, M. El-Kady, Experimental study on the effect of micro concentrations of hybrid nanofluids through microchannel heat sinks. Journal of Applied Computational Mechanics, 2024: 1–24. https://doi.org/10.22055/jacm.2024.46291.4494
[17] M.S. Elsherbiny, M. Ali, M. Shahin, M. El-Kady, A review of miniature channels and nanofluids technologies used as heat transfer enhancement techniques for microcooling systems. Journal of Al-Azhar University Engineering Sector, 19(72), 2024: 185-211. https://doi.org/10.21608/AUEJ.2024.265603.1601
[18] A.M. Ajeena, I. Farkas, P. Vig, Performance enhancement of flat plate solar collector using ZrO2-SiC/DW hybrid nanofluid: A comprehensive experimental study. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 20, 2023: 100458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2023.100458
[19] M.A. Alfellag, H.M. Kamar, U. Abidin, S.N. Kazi, N.A.C. Sidik, A.S. Muhsan, O.A. Alawi, Optimizing mixing ratio of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and titanium dioxide: A green approach to high-performance hybrid nanofluids for heat transfer. Powder Technology, 436, 2024: 119509.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2024.119509
[20] L. Selvam, M. Aruna, I Hossain, R. Venkatesh, M. Karthigairajan, S. Prabagaran, V. Mohanavel, A.H. Seikh, M.A. Kalam, Impact of hybrid nanofluid on thermal behaviour of flat plate solar collector: performance study. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 149, 2024: 5047–5057.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-024-12994-z
[21] T. Sathish, J. Giri, R. Saravanan, M. Ubaidullah, S. Shangdiar, S. likela, T. Sithole, K.T.T. Amesho, Amplifying thermal performance of solar flat plate collector by Al2O3/Cu/MWCNT/SiO2 mono and hybrid nanofluid. Applied Thermal Engineering, 252, 2024: 123692.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123692
[22] L. Xu, A. Khalifeh, A. Khandakar, B. Vaferi, Numerical investigating the effect of Al2O3 – water nanofluids on the thermal efficiency of flat plate solar collectors. Energy Reports, 8, 2022: 6530–6542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.05.012
[23] M. Mirzaei, MZ. Mohiabadi, Neural network modeling for accurate prediction of thermal efficiency of a flat plate solar collector working with nanofluids. International Journal of Ambient Energy, 42(2), 2021: 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2018.1525576
[24] Y. Zhang, A. Selamat, Y. Zhang, H. Alrabaiah, A.H. Omar, Artificial neural networks/least squares fuzzy system methods to optimize the performance of a flat-plate solar collector according to the empirical data. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 52 Part A, 2022: 102062.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102062
[25] M. Sadeghzadeh, M.H. Ahmadi, M. Kahani, H. Sakhaeinia, H. Chaji, L. Chen, Smart modeling by using artificial intelligent techniques on the thermal performance of flat-plate solar collector using nanofluid. Energy Science & Engineering, 7, 2019: 1649–1658. https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.381
[26] M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian, H. Moayedi, Artificial intelligence in the field of nanofluids: A review on applications and potential future directions. Powder Technology. 353, 2019: 276–301.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2019.05.034
[27] A.M. Tomy, N. Ahammed, M.S.P. Subathra, L.G. Asirvatham, Analysing the performance of a flat plate solar collector with silver/water nanofluid using artificial neural network. Procedia Computer Science, 93, 2016: 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.07.178
[28] L.S. Sundar, Md.H. Farooky, S.N. Sarada, M.K. Singh, Experimental thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based low volume concentration of Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 41, 2013: 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2012.11.004
[29] V. Vapnik, The Support Vector Method of Function Estimation. In: Suykens, J.A.K., Vandewalle, J. (eds) Nonlinear Modeling. Springer, Boston, MA. 1998. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5703-6_3
[30] C. Cortes, V. Vapnik, Support-vector networks, Machine Learning, 20, 1995: 273–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00994018
[31] J.A.K. Suykens, J. Vandewalle, Least square support vector machine classifier. Neural Processing Letters, 9, 1999: 293-300. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018628609742
[32] H.W. Coleman, W.G. Steel, Experimental and uncertainty analysis for engineers. Wiley Interscience, New York, 1989.
© 2025 by the authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Volume 10
Number 4
December 2025
Last Edition
Volume 10
Number 4
December 2025
How to Cite
S. Mesfin, V.V. Rao, L.S. Sundar, K.V.V. Chandra Mouli, Heat Transfer and Friction Factor of Flat Plate Solar Collector With Al2O3-CuO/Water Hybrid Nanofluids: Experimental and ANN Predictions. Applied Engineering Letters, 10(1), 2025: 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2025.10.1.1
More Citation Formats
Mesfin, S., Rao, V.V., Sundar, L.S., & Chandra Mouli, K.V.V. (2025). Heat Transfer and Friction Factor of Flat Plate Solar Collector With Al2O3-CuO/Water Hybrid Nanofluids: Experimental and ANN Predictions. Applied Engineering Letters, 10(1), 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2025.10.1.1
Mesfin, Solomon, et al. “Heat Transfer and Friction Factor of Flat Plate Solar Collector With Al2O3-CuO/Water Hybrid Nanofluids: Experimental and ANN Predictions.“ Applied Engineering Letters, vol. 10, no. 1, 2025, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2025.10.1.1
Mesfin, Solomon, Veeredhi Vasudeva Rao, L. Syam Sundar, and Kotturu V.V. Chandra Mouli. 2025. “Heat Transfer and Friction Factor of Flat Plate Solar Collector With Al2O3-CuO/Water Hybrid Nanofluids: Experimental and ANN Predictions.“ Applied Engineering Letters, 10 (1): 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2025.10.1.1
Mesfin, S., Rao, V.V., Sundar, L.S. and Chandra Mouli, K.V.V. (2025). Heat Transfer and Friction Factor of Flat Plate Solar Collector With Al2O3-CuO/Water Hybrid Nanofluids: Experimental and ANN Predictions. Applied Engineering Letters, 10(1), pp. 1-13.
doi: 10.46793/aeletters.2025.10.1.1.