A PhD dissertation in the Department of Physics at the College of Science, University of Kerbala, presented by Yasser Abdul Noor Jabbar, focused on improving the thermal performance of a parabolic solar collector system using cylindrical turbulators for water desalination.
The study aimed to increase freshwater production by enhancing heat transfer inside the absorber tube of the solar collector system. It involved both numerical and experimental analyses to determine the optimal length, thickness, and number of cylindrical turbulators within the receiver tube, thereby increasing the heat exchange surface area and improving desalination efficiency.
The research was conducted at the College of Engineering (Al-Musayyib), University of Babylon, and recommended the use of nanomaterials in the working fluid to further enhance heat transfer. It also suggested exploring alternative turbulators that could achieve even better thermal performance.
The findings demonstrated strong agreement between experimental and numerical results, confirming that increasing the length, thickness, and number of turbulators significantly enhances the thermal efficiency of the solar collector system.