Doping solar field heat transfer fluid with nanoparticles

A previously developed model of a concentrating solar power plant has been modified to accommodate doping the heat transfer fluid (HTF) with nanoparticles. The model with its unalloyed HTF has been validated with actual operating data beforehand. The thermophysical properties of the HTF were modified to account for the nanoparticle doping. The nanoparticle content in the HTF was then varied to evaluate its influence on solar power generation. The model was run to simulate plant operation on four different days representing the four different seasons. As the nanoparticle concentration was increased, heat losses were slightly reduced, transient warm up heat was increased, transient cool down heat was reduced, and the overall impact on power generation was trivial. Doping HTFs with nanoparticles does not seem promising for solar thermal power generation from a performance perspective. Moreover, doping HTFs with nanoparticles involves many other operational challenges such as sedimentation and abrasion.