Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

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Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

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Heat collection characteristics of nanofluids in direct absorption

solar collector with built-in rotors
Haowei Li a, Xiahua Zuo b, Dailing Zhang a, Hongyuan Yin a, Weimin Yang a,
Hua Yan a, Fenghua Zhang a, Zhiwei Jiao a, Ying An a, *
a
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
b
Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, Guangdong, China

H I G H L I G H T S

• Combined rotors optimized the flow pattern of nanofluid in DASC, which improved heat collection performance.
• Suitable arrangements of rotors can deliver good heat and economic performance.
• Numerical simulations indicated that the turbulence of the rotors can enable more nanoparticles to absorb solar radiation.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As for the uneven heating of the working medium in direct absorption solar collector (DASC),this
Combined rotors paper proposed the method of optimizing the flow pattern in DASC by inserting combined rotors
Direct absorption solar collector into the collector tube to improve the heat collection performance. The working medium used in
Nanofluids this paper is Chinese ink nanofluid. The heat collection performance of the collector was studied,
Heat collection characteristics and the enhanced mechanism was explained through simulations. Results demonstrated that
inserting rotors improved the temperature rise rate in the circuit, and the temperature of the
medium after inserting rotors increased by about 56 % compared with that before inserting rotors
when the mass fraction of nanoparticles was 0.2 %. In some cases, a small number of rotors can
achieve an enhancement effect similar to that of enormous rotors, and improve the economic
performance of the system. The numerical simulation results showed that the high-temperature
medium in the plain tube is concentrated near the light side, while the medium in the centre
and backlight side of the tube cannot easily absorb solar radiation. After rotors were inserted into
the tube, the back-side and light-side media were displaced and mixed by the turbulence of rotors,
which can improve heat collection.

1. Introduction
With the expansion of industrialization, the problems of global warming and the mineral resource depletion are becoming
increasingly serious. New types of pollutant-free energy sources are urgently required to replace the traditional mineral sources of
energy. Solar energy is an inexhaustible, clean, and pollution-free source of energy; therefore, making full use of solar energy is of great
significance for solving the energy problems of the society [1].
Solar collectors are the core devices used for solar energy collection and utilization. According to the different principles of heat

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: anying@mail.buct.edu.cn (Y. An).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2023.103868
Received 5 September 2023; Received in revised form 24 November 2023; Accepted 3 December 2023
Available online 7 December 2023
2214-157X/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

collection, solar collectors can be divided into direct absorption solar collector and indirect absorption solar collector [2]. The greatest
feature of a direct absorption solar collector (DASC) is that the medium in the transparent glass tube directly absorbs the solar radiation
[3–6]. Therefore, the highest temperature point in this system appears in the medium, thereby greatly reducing the heat loss and
improving the photothermal conversion performance of the working medium.
Nanofluids has unique suspension system, its optical performance, primarily in terms of the transmission, scattering and absorption
of solar radiation [7,8], is much better than that of the base liquid. Therefore, nanofluids can function as a working medium for DASCs.
Much research has been conducted on the photothermal conversion performance of nanofluids in DASCs. Zou et al. [9] prepared
nanofluids from hollow TiN nanofluids and applied them in a DASC to achieve a maximum photothermal conversion efficiency of
92.64 %, which is 7.18 % higher than that of solid TiN with the same particle size. Chen et al. [10] prepared Ag–water nanofluid and
examined the effects of its volume fraction, collector height, radiation intensity and irradiation time on the photothermal conversion
performance. Results demonstrate that the photothermal conversion efficiency increases with the collector height and nanoparticle
concentration. When the collector height is 10 mm and the nanoparticles mass fraction is 0.03 %, the photothermal conversion ef­
ficiency can reach 90 %, and this efficiency can be maintained over a high range under high radiation intensity; this property is
conducive to the subsequent energy utilization. Luo et al. [11] examined the photothermal conversion performance of TiO2, Al2O3, Ag,
Cu, SiO2, graphite, and carbon nanotube water-based nanofluids by combining experimental and numerical simulations. Results
demonstrate that the photothermal conversion characteristics of nanofluids are related to their optical path and that the outlet
temperature and photothermal conversion efficiency increased by 30–100 K and by 2%–25 %, respectively, compared with their base
solution. The photothermal conversion efficiency of several nanofluids is in the following order: C ≈ Ag > Al2O3 > SiO2 ≈ 0.01 % Cu >
0.025 % Cu > TiO2. Gupta et al. [12] prepared Al2O3–water nanofluid and examined its photothermal conversion characteristics at
different flow rates. Results demonstrate that when the particle diameter is 20 nm and the flow rate is 1.5 L/min, the photothermal
conversion efficiency of Al2O3-water nanofluids is 8.1 % higher than that of deionized water. When the flow rate is 2 L/min, the
photothermal conversion efficiency reaches its maximum value. Chinese ink (CI) nanofluid is a type of nanofluid with a core–shell
structure. Compared with other nanofluids, it has the advantages of high stability, low cost, environmentally friendly nature, and
non-polluting nature, and it has excellent photothermal conversion convective heat transfer performance [13]. Zuo et al. [14–16]
experimentally reported that the maximum photothermal conversion efficiency of CI nanofluids under a solar light simulation lamp
can reach 76.7 %, which is 26.4 % higher than that of deionized water.
Although nanofluids exhibit excellent photothermal conversion performance in DASCs, there are still many problems in existing
studies. Many studies show that the mass fraction of nanoparticles is proportional to the photothermal conversion efficiency within a
certain range. However, the photothermal conversion efficiency will gradually decreases with the increase of the mass fraction of
nanoparticles [16–20]. This is mainly due to the fact that when the number of particles in the fluid is high, the particles on the light side
will block the sunlight, while the particles in other parts cannot absorb the sunlight radiation, which is reflected as the decrease of the
efficiency of photothermal conversion at the macro level. In addition, most of the current studies mainly focus on the working medium
of DASC, while few studies have explored the influence of the medium flow pattern of the collector on its heat collection performance.
The structure of DASC is mostly a fixed circular tube or flat plate, and due to the directionality of sunlight, the working medium in
DASC will inevitably encounter uneven heating [21,22]. Moreover, experiments on photothermal conversion mostly involve static or
micro flows [11,12,23–25], so these studies can provide little reference for industrial applications.
In order to solve these problems and further improve the heat collection efficiency of DASC, our research group choose to optimize
the heat collection process by changing the flow pattern of the medium in the collector. The solution is to use combined rotors, a kind of
plug-in heat-transfer enhancement component for tubular heat exchangers, in DASC. Through enormous experiments and numerical
simulations, our research group has confirmed that the combined rotor can greatly improve the heat and mass transfer efficiency of the
tube by generating a swirling flow inside the tube [26–30].
In this study, the working medium in DASC is Chinese ink (CI) nanofluid with different mass fractions. Through experiments and

Fig. 1. Experimental setup.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

numerical simulations, our group comprehensively studied its heat collection performance and strengthening mechanism under the
turbulence of combined rotors, so as to provide a theoretical basis for subsequent studies and even industrial applications.

2. Experimental method
2.1. Experimental device
Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the experimental system used in this study. The device was primarily composed of a water tank,
pump, flowmeter, heat collection section, power consumption tester, data collector, and solar analog lamp. The medium in the water
tank was pumped to the heat collection section to absorb solar radiation and then returned to the water tank. The heat collection
section was surrounded by a vacuum layer. The inner diameter and length of the heat collection section were 25 and 300 mm,
respectively. A transparent two-blade rotor with an outer diameter of 22 mm, an axial length of 27.5 mm, and a lead of 200 mm was
used. The exterior of the water tank and the connecting tube were covered with a thermal insulation layer for thermal insulation. The
temperature of the water tank was measured using a thermocouple, and the measured value was transmitted to a data collector and
analyzed and processed in a PC. In each group of experiments, the electric power consumed by the pump was measured and collected
by a power consumption tester.
Fig. 2 shows the assembly diagram of the combined rotor in the heat collection section. The combined rotor was primarily
composed of rotors, banking pins, a steel wire, and fixed mounts. The rotors were connected by the steel wire and fixed to the ends of
the tube through the fixed mounts. The position of a rotor on the shaft was controlled by the banking pin. When the medium enters
from the inlet of the heat collection section, it hits the rotors and causes the rotors to be self-suspended in the tube.
Fig. 3 shows a structural diagram of the heat collection section with built-in rotors.
The preparation method for the medium used in this study is the same as that described in Ref. [16]. CI nanofluids with different
mass fractions (0.01 %, 0.02 %, 0.05 %, 0.1 %, and 0.2 %) were prepared using a two-step method. The physical parameters of the
relevant solutions and particles at 30 ◦ C were experimentally measured (see Table 1).

2.2. Experimental process and data processing

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of rotors and the number of rotors in each group on the photothermal
conversion efficiency under identical flow rates. Fig. 4 shows the specific layout of the combined rotor.
The specific steps of the experiment are as follows:

(1) First, 1.5 L of the prepared nanofluids or deionized water was added into the water tank. Ice bags were then added into the water
tank to reduce the temperature to below 20 ◦ C. Then, the tube line was connected, and the test section was placed under a solar
analog lamp.
(2) The radiation intensity of the solar analog lamp was measured and adjusted using a light intensity meter to control the surface
radiation intensity of the experimental section at 1200 W/m2.
(3) The data collector was turned on, and the water pump and power consumption tester were started. The power of the water pump
was adjusted such that the inlet flow of different combinations was controlled at 10 L/min to ensure that the medium in the
water tank was circulated via the heat collection section for photothermal conversion. The data acquisition interval was 2 min.
(4) After 3 h, the water pump was turned off. The temperature data in the data collector card and the power consumption data in the
power consumption tester were extracted. The tubeline was disassembled and washed with deionized water. Subsequently, the
next group of experiments was conducted.

2.3. Data processing

After collecting the temperature data in the circulating circuit during the experiment, the photothermal conversion efficiency of the
system in the heat collection process was calculated as follows:
[ / ]/( )
η = mcp (Ti+1 − Ti ) Δτ AI + qp (1)

where m is the mass of the circulating medium, kg; cp is the specific heat capacity of the medium in the circulating circuit, J/(kg. ◦ C); Ti
and Ti+1 are the medium temperature at the first and second moments, ◦ C; Δτ is the time interval between the two times, s; A is the
irradiation area of the collector, m2; I is the radiation intensity, W/m2; qp is the heating power of the pump.
The pump heating power was first measured experimentally and then calculated by the following formula:

Fig. 2. Structure of a circular tube with inserted rotors.

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Fig. 3. Structure diagram of heat collection section.

Table 1
Physical parameters of Chinese ink (CI) nanofluids with different concentrations.

Nanoparticles/nanofluids Density (kg. m-3) Thermal conductivity (W.m-1K-1) The specific capacity (kJ. kg-1K-1) Viscosity (mPa. s)

water 994.1 0.627 4.174 0.0007274

CI-water 0.01 % 994.79 0.6314 4.160 0.0007297
CI-water 0.02 % 995.58 0.6413 4.144 0.0007341
CI-water 0.05 % 998.68 0.6585 4.123 0.0007401
CI-water 0.1 % 999.17 0.667 4.074 0.0007575
CI-water 0.2 % 1003.47 0.6834 3.960 0.0007677

Fig. 4. Different arrangements of rotors.

mcp ΔT
qp = (2)
Δτ

In the experiment, the solar lamp was turned off, and only the water pump was turned on. After 3 h, the measured temperature change
in the circuit was 5 ◦ C, and therefore the heating power of the pump was 2.9 W.
In the experiment, because the medium flow in the circuit was driven by the pump, it was necessary to comprehensively calculate
and compare the increase in the internal energy caused by the medium in the circuit with the electrical energy consumed by the pump.
This comparison was performed to determine whether the whole heat collection system had the effect of energy saving while
improving heat collection. Therefore, an evaluation factor φ was introduced to measure the comprehensive energy consumption of the
system:
( )/
mcp ΔT Δτ
φ= (3)
P

where P is the electric energy consumed by the pump, J. Here, φ ＞ 1 shows that the increase in internal energy caused by the
circulating medium is higher than the electrical energy consumption of the pump.

2.4. Uncertainty analysis

Experimental uncertainty analysis includes two parts: (1) the accuracy of the experimental equipment and (2) errors caused by the
environment or improper operation during the experiment, which are unavoidable.
The uncertainty of the parameters directly measured in the experiment is calculated using the following equation:
xi = xim ±δxi (4)

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Where xi is the true value of the parameter, xim is the measured value and δxi is the uncertainty of xi .
The parameters that need to be calculated in the experiment are calculated using the following equation:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
∑ n ( )2
∂R
δR = δxi (5)
i=1
∂xi

The uncertainties of the measuring instruments and experimental variables used in this study are presented in Tables 2 and 3,
respectively.
From the table, it can be seen that the uncertainty of the parameters in this experiment is within an acceptable range, which proves
the experimental results are reliable.

3. Numerical simulation
3.1. Mathematical model
In the numerical calculation process adopted in this study, the medium in the collector tube was considered an incompressible
single-phase continuous medium. The flow and heat transfer process followed the conservation of mass, energy, and momentum, and
the physical parameters of the medium were constant. The RNG k − ε model with accurate prediction ability for spiral flow was selected
as the turbulence model. The wall of the collector tube was treated as a standard wall. SIMPLE algorithm was used for pressure and
velocity coupling. The second-order upwind scheme was used for the discrete format of pressure, momentum, turbulence dissipation
rate, and energy.
The continuity equation and equations for momentum, energy, turbulent kinetic energy, and dissipation rate are as follows:
Continuity equation:
∂ρ
+∇•(ρ→
v )= 0 (6)
∂t
Momentum equation:

∂(ρ→v)
+∇ • (ρ→
v→v )= − ∇ • (τ) (7)
∂t
Energy equation:
∂(ρE) ( )
+∇ • [→
v (ρE + P)]= ∇ • keff ∇T (8)
∂t
Turbulent kinetic energy equation:
( ) [ ]
∂(ρk) ∂ ρkuf ∂ ∂k
+ = αk μeff + ρε (9)
∂t ∂xi ∂xj ∂xj
Dissipation rate equation:
[ ]
∂(ρε) ∂(ρεui ) ∂ ∂ε ε ε2
+ = αε μeff + C1ε − C2ε ρ (10)
∂t ∂xi ∂xj ∂xj k k

where → v is the velocity vector; T is temperature; t is time; ρ is density; E is internal energy; μeff is effective viscosity; k is turbulent
kinetic energy; ε is turbulent energy dissipation rate; and C1ε and C2ε are constants.

3.2. Physical model and boundary conditions

Three-dimensional modelling software was used to establish a model of the built-in rotor heat-collecting tube. Because the limiting
parts, hanging parts, rotating shafts, and other components have small impact on the flow and heat transfer in the tube, these com­
ponents were ignored to simplify the calculation process. Furthermore, the thickness of wall of the heat collection tube was ignored.
The established model was divided using a tetrahedral grid. Fig. 5 shows a partial diagram of the divided grid model.
The grid independence of the divided grid was examined. The results are shown in Fig. 6. The results show that when the number of
grids of N3, N2, and N1 are 3677412, 2794581, and 2,512,145, respectively, the relative error of the calculation results is 0.146 %.
Because of the calculation accuracy and cost, the models with 3677412, 2794581, and 2,512,145 grids were selected as the models for

Table 2
Uncertainties of measuring instruments.

Instrument Parameter Uncertainty/%

3
turbine flow meter 0.01–0.6 m /h 1%
power consumption tester 0–2200 W 1%
solar radiation meter 0–1500 W/m2 3%
thermocouples 0–100 ◦ C 0.5 %

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Table 3
Uncertainties of variables.

Variable Uncertainty/%

η 4.8 %
φ 3.9 %

Fig. 5. Partial diagram of the mesh.

Fig. 6. Grid independence test.

N3, N2, and N1, respectively, for subsequent calculation.

In this numerical calculation, the tube wall of the heat collection section was set as adiabatic, and the inlet was set as a velocity
inlet. The inlet flow rate was set as 0.34 m/s, and the initial inlet temperature was set as 293.15 K such that the temperature was equal
to the outlet temperature. The outlet was set as a pressure outlet, and the walls of the rotors were considered to be adiabatic. The rotor
speed was obtained by a PIV experiment [31]. The fitting correlation formula is given in Equation (10). In this equation, L, Lx, and Qv
are the tube length, rotor position, and inlet flow, respectively. The simulation time step was 1 s. In the simulation process, solar
radiation was emitted from the top of the experimental section, and the photothermal conversion process of nanoparticles absorbing
solar radiation generated volume heat inside the fluid. Hence, the energy source term was added to the medium. The heat source S is
obtained from (10):
( )2
Lx Lx Lx
n = − 0.09143 + 1.21276 + 0.23914Qv − 1.79575 − 0.00047863Qv 2 − 0.06456 Qv (11)
L L L

dF(y)
S=I (12)
dy

F(y) is the absorption fraction of the medium at different optical paths, and the absorption fractions of CI nanofluids with different

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

mass fractions at different optical paths are shown in Fig. 7.

3.3. Verification of the simulation results

To test the accuracy of the simulation results, the simulation results of the average temperature of the catchment with 0.05 % CI as
the collecting medium in a plain tube (PT) were compared with experimental results. The comparison results are shown in Fig. 8. The
figure shows that the simulation and experimental results have a good fit in the first 80 min; then, the error between the two sets of
results gradually increases. The primary reason for the error is that the flowing medium causes convective heat transfer with the
surrounding environment during the experiment, generating small bubbles in the flow. These bubbles will prevent the medium from
absorbing solar radiation. The boundary conditions of the adiabatic tube wall and the single-phase flow model without bubbles were
used in the simulation. With increasing experimental time, the temperature of the nanofluids gradually increased, and the convective
heat transfer between the outer surface of the tube wall and the environment increased, thereby generating more bubbles with increase
in the number of time cycles. Thus, there was a gradual increase in the experimental and simulation errors. However, the maximum
error was still within 11.06 %, indicating that the simulation model has good accuracy.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Discussion of the experimental results
4.1.1. Effect of rotor and medium concentration on heat collection performance
As shown in Fig. 9 (a), the temperature variation curve of different mass fractions of media in the PT with time was experimentally
obtained. The figure shows that when the medium in the tube is changed from pure water to nanofluids, the temperature growth rate
and final temperature rise in the circuit drastically increased, with the temperature increase ranging ~10.01%–13.45 %. When the
medium concentration in the circuit was 0.01%–0.05 %, the temperature growth rate in the circuit was proportional to the final
temperature rise and mass fraction; when the mass fraction continued to increase, the temperature growth rate in the circuit was
inversely proportional to the final temperature rise and medium concentration.
Fig. 9 (b) shows the temperature variation curve of the different concentrations of media in the built-in rotor tube with time. The
figure shows that after the rotors are inserted, regardless of the type of medium in the circuit, the temperature growth rate and final
temperature rise in the circuit are higher than those in the PT; with increase in the mass fraction, the enhanced heat collection effect of
the rotor is more remarkable. When the circuit medium is pure water, the temperature of the circuit medium increases by ~2.52 %
after the rotors are inserted; when the medium is 0.2 % CI, the temperature of the circuit medium after inserting the rotors is ~56.86 %
higher than that before inserting the rotors.
Fig. 9 (c) and 9 (d) show the variations in the heat collection efficiency with time for different mass fractions of media in the PT and
built-in rotor tube, respectively. Because the temperature rise of the medium in the circuit is small in a short time, the time interval is
considered as 10 min. The figure shows that after the medium is changed from water to nanofluids in the PT, the heat collection
efficiency in the circuit is greatly improved, but the change in mass fraction has little impact on the heat collection efficiency. When the
rotors are inserted into the tube, the heat collection efficiency in the circuit is remarkably improved compared with that of the PT. The
higher the medium mass fraction in the circuit, the more significant is the increase in the heat collection efficiency. The maximum
increase realized was 86.51 %.
The abovementioned results show that when the rotors are inserted into the tube, the temperature rise in the circuit drastically
increases, but the addition of the rotors will inevitably increase the pressure difference at the inlet and outlet of the tube. To maintain

Fig. 7. Absorbed fractions of CI with different concentrations.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 8. Simulation test results.

Fig. 9. Heat collection performance for different combinations.

the same flow rate at the inlet and outlet of the tube, the pump power consumed by the medium circulation in the pump drive circuit
will have to be inevitably increased. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the power consumption of each combination to determine the
economy of the enhanced heat collection method. Fig. 10 (a) and 10 (b) show the changes in the power consumption ratio with time in
the PT and the built-in rotor circuit, respectively.
Fig. 10 shows that the power consumption ratio in the circuit will increase to a certain extent after addition of the CI into the PT;
however, as the heat collection process proceeds, the internal energy gained by absorbing the solar radiation of the medium in the
circuit will gradually decrease. This internal energy will be less than the electrical energy consumed by the pump after a certain time; i.
e., the power consumption ratio will be < 1. Within the experimental range of this study, after ~90 min, the power consumption ratio
of each combination in the optical tube was <1. When the combination rotor was inserted into the tube, the power consumption of the
combination with medium concentration of >0.02 % in the circuit was significantly higher than that in the light tube, causing an

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 10. Power consumption ratios for different combinations.

increase with the increase of medium concentration in the circuit, up to 2.535. With the increase in time, the power consumption ratio
in each combination will decrease; however, note that the increase in the mass fraction in the circuit can considerably delay the critical
time point when the power consumption ratio in the circuit decreases to 1, thus improving the economy of the whole system during
operation.

4.1.2. Effect of rotor arrangement on heat collection performance

The abovementioned experimental results show that the enhanced heat collection effect of the rotor is not significant when the
medium used is water. Therefore, research on the number and arrangement of rotors was conducted using CI as the medium.
Fig. 11 (a), (b), and (c) show the temperature variation curves with time corresponding to different rotor arrangement modes for CI
mass fractions of 0.01 %, 0.05 %, and 0.2 %, respectively. The figure shows that when the medium concentration in the circuit is low,
the rotor arrangement has little impact on the temperature change in the circuit. When the medium mass fraction in the circuit is high,
the temperature in the circuit with more rotors is slightly higher than that in the circuit with fewer rotors, but the impact is still small.
In the medium with different mass fractions, so long as a rotor is present in the tube, the temperature rise in the circuit significantly
increases. Therefore, within the scope of this experiment, the number of rotors in the tube is not the main factor affecting the tem­
perature rise in the circuit. The dominant factor of the temperature rise in the circuit is the mass fraction of the medium and the
presence or absence of rotors.
Previous experimental research demonstrated that by reducing the number of rotors in the tube, the flow resistance in the tube can
be significantly reduced and the pump power can be reduced [30]. Fig. 12 (a), (b), and 12 (c) show the variations in the power
consumption ratio in the circuit with time after using different rotor arrangement modes for CI mass fractions of 0.01 %, 0.05 %, and
0.2 %, respectively.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 11. Temperature rise in the built-in rotor tube with different arrangements.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 12. Power consumption ratios for different concentrations.

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Fig. 12 shows that when the medium mass fraction in the circuit is low, the power consumption ratio distribution in the circuit after
the rotors are inserted is close to that of the PT, and the economy is poor. However, with an increase in the medium concentration in the
circuit, so long as rotors are inserted into the tube, the power consumption ratio in the circuit is significantly higher than that of the PT
and reducing the number of rotors in each group can significantly improve the power consumption ratio. When the medium con­
centration in the circuit is 0.2 % and the rotors are arranged according to N1, the maximum power consumption ratio in the circuit can
reach 2.945, and the power consumption ratio can be maintained at >1 for most of the time during the experiment.

4.2. Discussion of simulation results

The effect of turbulence caused by the rotors on the flow characteristics and temperature distribution in the collector tube were
examined via numerical simulation to analyze the mechanism of rotor-enhanced heat collection.

4.2.1. Flow characteristics in tube

Fig. 13 shows the changes in the streamlines in the tube before and after insertion of the combination rotor for 0.05 % CI medium.
The figure shows that the flow mode in the tube after insertion of the rotor changes from a simple axial flow to a 3D spiral flow. Because
of this flow, the medium on the backlight side flows to the near-light side, and hence, the medium in the tube can fully absorb the solar
radiation. However, the streamlines did not change significantly when the number of rotors was changed.
Turbulence intensity is an important indicator of heat transfer and mixing capacity. Fig. 14 shows the distribution of turbulence
intensity in the tube under different rotor arrangements. Fig. 14 shows that the turbulence intensity in the tube with the rotor was
much better than that in the PT. This is because the rotor will produce large radial and tangential velocities in the tube, thereby
increasing the velocity gradient. With an increase in the number of rotors, the turbulence intensity distribution in the tube becomes
more uniform. However, when the number of rotors is small, the turbulence intensity in the tube is still high, and the turbulence
intensity in some areas is higher than that in the case of a large number of rotors. This is because when the number of rotors is reduced,
the flow impact force on each rotor is greater. Hence, the rotor speed and local turbulence intensity are enhanced.
In the experimental circuit, there are two main ways of heat transfer: one is the absorption of solar radiation by the nanoparticles in
the fluid, causing them to get heated up, and the another is the convective and conductive heat transfer between the heated nano­
particles and surrounding fluid. The improved turbulence intensity in the tube indicates a better mixing effect in the tube, and the
nanoparticles in the fluid can absorb more solar radiation. Furthermore, the intensity of convection between the nanoparticles and
fluid will increase, thereby simultaneously improving the efficiency of radiative and convective heat transfer.

4.2.2. Heat transfer characteristics in tube

Fig. 15 shows the temperature distribution of the medium with different concentrations in the middle section of the PT and the
inner tube of the built-in rotor heat-collecting tube (N3) at t = 60 min. The figure shows that when the medium used is water, the light
can completely pass through the heat collection tube, and the temperature gradient in the section is small; the effect of rotor turbulence
on enhancing the heat collection is not obvious. When the concentration of the medium in the tube increases, light cannot pass through
the heat collection tube, and only the medium at the near-light side can absorb the solar radiation. The high-temperature zone is
concentrated at ~0.5 mm on the near-light side, and the other side can only receive heat with a low heat transfer efficiency through
convective transfer from the near-light medium. When the heat collection tube contains the rotor, a swirl is generated in the tube (as
shown in Fig. 13), and it promotes the mixing of the high-temperature medium and low-temperature medium in the tube, thereby
displacing the two media such that the fluid at the centre and bottom of the tube can fully absorb solar radiation. Thus, the temperature
distribution in the tube becomes more uniform.
Fig. 16 shows the distributions of nanoparticles in the tube under the turbulence generated by the rotors. The figure shown that in
the low mass fraction medium, the nanoparticles in the PT are not dense, and the sunlight can penetrate the particles in the near-light
side of the tube. Hence, most nanoparticles in the tube absorb the solar radiation and generate volume heat, and they transfer heat to
the nearby fluid through convection. Therefore, after the rotors are inserted, the turbulence effect of the rotor does not significantly
increase the number of heated nanoparticles in the tube macroscopically, the temperature rise in the circuit is not significant after the
rotors are inserted. After the medium concentration increases, the distribution of nanoparticles in the tube becomes denser, and light
cannot pass through the nanoparticles on the near-light side. Hence, only the nanoparticles on the near-light side of the tube get heated

Fig. 13. Streamlines in different tubes.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 14. Distribution of turbulent kinetic energy in built-in rotor tube with different rotor arrangements.

Fig. 15. Contours of temperature distribution in the central sections of the tubes.

up. Thus, the heat source in the heat collection tube can be approximately considered as a surface heat source rather than a volume
heat source as in the case of the low-concentration medium. Then, the contact area between the medium in the tube and heated
nanoparticles is greatly reduced. This is the reason why the temperature decreases instead of increasing once the medium concen­
tration in the tube increases to a certain value (Fig. 10 (a)). After the rotors are inserted in the medium with a high mass fraction, the
turbulence effect of the rotor disturbs the arrangement of nanoparticles near the near-light side and forces them to move towards the
centre and bottom of the tube; furthermore, the unheated nanoparticles at the centre and bottom of the tube move to the near-light side
such that most of the nanoparticles in the tube are being heated. The heat source formed in the heat collection tube is converted from a
surface heat source to a body heat source, thus enhancing the heat collection.
Fig. 17 shows the temperature distributions of different axial sections in the tube at t = 60 min for 0.1 % CI medium. In the PT, the
high-temperature area is concentrated only on the near-light side, and the temperature increases with an increase in the axial flow
distance, while the temperature of the medium in the centre of the tube and far away from the light side is lower. Once the rotor is
introduced, the medium circumferentially moves after passing through the rotor action area, and the medium in the high-temperature
area is displaced by the rotors to the centre and bottom of the tube. Hence, the temperature distribution of the medium in the built-in
rotor tube becomes more uniform. As per the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy in the tube (see Fig. 14), we can see that different
number of rotors can effectively mix the hot and cold media in the tube. Therefore, the number of rotors in each group in the tube can
be appropriately reduced by considering the enhanced heat collection effect and the operation economy.

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

Fig. 16. Distribution diagram of the nanoparticles in the tube under the turbulence generated by the rotors.

Fig. 17. Distribution of temperature in built-in rotors tube with different arrangement.

5. Conclusion
In this study, the photothermal conversion performance of nanofluids in a DASC with built-in rotors was examined through ex­
periments and simulations. Furthermore, the effect of the number of rotors in each group on the collector performance was studied.
The main conclusions are as follows:
(1) The experimental results showed that after the medium in the optical tube was changed from water to CI nanofluids, the rate of
temperature rise of the medium in the circuit and the final temperature rise were significantly higher—the increase was

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H. Li et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 53 (2024) 103868

approximately 10.01%–13.45 %. However, the increase in mass fraction had little effect on the temperature rise. After rotors
were inserted into the tube, regardless of the medium, the temperature rise rate and final temperature rise of the medium in the
circuit were higher than those of the PT. The significance of the enhanced heat collection effect of the rotor increased with the
increasing medium concentration. When the medium used was 0.2 % CI, the temperature of the medium in the circuit after the
insertion of the rotor was 56.86 % higher than that before the insertion of the rotor.
(2) Changing the number of rotors in each group in the tube has little effect on the medium temperature in the circuit. However,
regardless of the number of rotors, as long as the rotor is present in the tube, the medium temperature in the circuit will be
considerably higher than that in the PT. The economic performance was measured through power consumption. When the
concentration of the medium is the same, a reduction in the number of rotors in the tube can considerably improve the power
consumption ratio of the circuit. The power consumption ratio can be increased by a greater extent (up to 2.945) in a high-
concentration medium.
(3) The enhanced mechanism was explained through numerical simulation, and the results showed that the flow form in the tube
changed to a three-dimensional spiral flow because of the disturbance caused by the rotor. The turbulence intensity in the tube
varied considerably under different rotor arrangements. The swirling flow caused by the rotor can disturb the low-temperature
medium at the backlight side of the tube and displace it to the near-light side of the tube. Hence, the entire medium in the tube
can absorb the solar radiation. When the number of rotors in the tube increases, the temperature distribution in the tube will
become more uniform, but the impact on the average temperature is not significant. Therefore, the number of rotors in the tube
can be appropriately reduced by comprehensively considering the heat collection performance and economy.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Haowei Li: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing
– review & editing. Xiahua Zuo: Conceptualization, Investigation. Dailing Zhang: Investigation, Methodology. Hongyuan Yin:
Investigation. Weimin Yang: Supervision. Hua Yan: Supervision. Fenghua Zhang: Writing – review & editing. Zhiwei Jiao: Writing
– review & editing. Ying An: Conceptualization, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability

No data was used for the research described in the article.

Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC52176175).

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