Performance enhancement of concentrated photovoltaic systems using a microchannel heat sink with nanofluids

Abstract A new cooling technique for low concentrated photovoltaic–thermal (LCPV/T) systems is developed using a microchannel heat sink with nanofluids. In this study, Aluminum Oxide (Al 2 O 3 )–water and Silicon Carbide (SiC)–water nanofluids with different volume fractions are used as cooling mediums. The influence of cooling mass flow rate and nanoparticles volume fractions on the performance of LCPV/T system is investigated at different values of concentration ratio. A comprehensive model is developed which includes a thermal model for the photovoltaic layers, coupled with thermo-fluid dynamics of two-phase flow model of the microchannel heat sink. The model is numerically simulated to estimate the performance parameters such as the solar cell temperature and the electrical and thermal efficiency. Results indicate that a significant reduction in solar cell temperature is attained particularly at the high concentration ratio by using nanofluids compared to using water. Using SiC–water nanofluid achieves a relatively higher reduction in cell temperature than Al 2 O 3 –water nanofluid. By increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles, both SiC–water and Al 2 O 3 –water nanofluids accomplish a major reduction of cell temperature. As a result, the use of nanofluids achieves higher solar cell electrical efficiency, particularly at lower Reynolds number (Re) and higher concentration ratio, than the use of water. The influence of nanofluids on thermal efficiency varies according to the concentration ratio. Furthermore, friction power increases with the increase in both Reynolds number and nanoparticle volume fraction. By increasing the volume fraction of the nanoparticle, the net electrical power increases at high concentration ratio while the thermal power decreases. The results of this study indicate that the use of nanofluids is effective cooling technique, particularly at high solar concentration ratios where the solar cell temperature reduces to 38 °C, and electrical efficiency improves up to 19%.

[1]  J. Smith.  Heat and mass transfer in packed beds, N. Wakao and S. Kaguei, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1983,364 pages , 1983 .

[2]  Chuncheng Zuo,et al.  A novel multi-layer manifold microchannel cooling system for concentrating photovoltaic cells , 2015 .

[3]  Clement Kleinstreuer,et al.  Computational Analysis of Nanofluid Cooling of High Concentration Photovoltaic Cells , 2014 .

[4]  Ralph Greif,et al.  Improving efficiency of high‐concentrator photovoltaics by cooling with two‐phase forced convection , 2010 .

[5]  J. Kuipers,et al.  Numerical calculation of wall‐to‐bed heat‐transfer coefficients in gas‐fluidized beds , 1992 .

[6]  Shafiqur Rehman,et al.  Performance evaluation of a PV (photovoltaic) module by back surface water cooling for hot climatic conditions , 2013 .

[7]  Oussama Rejeb,et al.  A numerical investigation of a photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector , 2015 .

[8]  Stéphane Colin,et al.  Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Minichannels and Microchannels , 2005 .

[9]  Rahman Saidur,et al.  Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for nanofluids , 2012 .

[10]  M. Saffar-Avval,et al.  Experimental and numerical investigation of nanofluid forced convection inside a wide microchannel heat sink , 2012 .

[11]  J. Lienhard.  A heat transfer textbook , 1981 .

[12]  Andrew A. O. Tay,et al.  Testing of two different types of photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) modules with heat flow pattern under tropical climatic conditions , 2013 .

[13]  Yongchen Song,et al.  Solar radiation transfer and performance analysis of an optimum photovoltaic/thermal system , 2011 .

[14]  C. Dey,et al.  Cooling of photovoltaic cells under concentrated illumination: a critical review , 2005 .

[15]  William E. Boyson,et al.  Photovoltaic array performance model. , 2004 .

[16]  Seyfolah Saedodin,et al.  Enhancing heat transfer in microchannel heat sinks using converging flow passages , 2015 .

[17]  J. I. Rosell,et al.  Effect of a hybrid jet impingement/micro-channel cooling device on the performance of densely packed PV cells under high concentration , 2011 .

[18]  Qiang Li,et al.  Design of a novel concentrating photovoltaic–thermoelectric system incorporated with phase change materials , 2016 .

[19]  Eduardo F. Fernández,et al.  A new procedure for estimating the cell temperature of a high concentrator photovoltaic grid connected system based on atmospheric parameters , 2015 .

[20]  D. L. Evans,et al.  Terrestrial concentrating photovoltaic power system studies , 1976 .

[21]  M. Saffar-Avval,et al.  Eulerian–Eulerian two-phase numerical simulation of nanofluid laminar forced convection in a microchannel , 2011 .

[22]  J. I. Rosell,et al.  Outdoor test of a hybrid jet impingement/micro-channel cooling device for densely packed concentrated photovoltaic cells , 2014 .

[23]  L. Sundar,et al.  Convective heat transfer and friction factor correlations of nanofluid in a tube and with inserts: A review , 2013 .

[24]  Lan Xiao,et al.  Performance analysis of photovoltaic–thermoelectric hybrid system with and without glass cover , 2015 .

[25]  Gian Luca Morini,et al.  Viscous heating in liquid flows in micro-channels , 2005 .

[26]  M. Eslamian,et al.  Laminar forced convection of a nanofluid in a microchannel: Effect of flow inertia and external forces on heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics , 2015 .

[27]  M. Syamlal,et al.  Hydrodynamics of fluidization: Prediction of wall to bed heat transfer coefficients , 1985 .

[28]  Said Farahat,et al.  Thermal and Electrical Assessment of an Integrated Solar Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) Water Collector Equipped with a Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) , 2013 .

[29]  Zoha Azizi,et al.  Thermal performance and friction factor of a cylindrical microchannel heat sink cooled by Cu-water nanofluid , 2016 .

[30]  Masoud Rahimi,et al.  Heat transfer enhancement in a PV cell using Boehmite nanofluid , 2014 .

[31]  Swapnil Dubey,et al.  Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Modules and their Applications , 2010 .

[32]  Tara C. Kandpal,et al.  Optimum concentration ratio for a combined photovoltaic-thermal concentrator-receiver system , 1987 .

[33]  Clement Kleinstreuer,et al.  Concentration photovoltaic–thermal energy co-generation system using nanofluids for cooling and heating , 2014 .

[34]  Abhijit Date,et al.  Passive Cooling of Concentrated Photovoltaic Cells Using Phase Change Material , 2010 .

[35]  Canan Kandilli,et al.  Performance analysis of a novel concentrating photovoltaic combined system , 2013 .

[36]  M. I. Hussain,et al.  Parametric performance analysis of a concentrated photovoltaic co-generation system equipped with a thermal storage tank , 2015 .

[37]  Pallippattu Krishnan Vijayan,et al.  Experimental and CFD estimation of heat transfer in helically coiled heat exchangers , 2008 .

[38]  Sanjay Agrawal,et al.  Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid micro-channel photovoltaic thermal module , 2011 .

[39]  Francesco Calise,et al.  Experimental analysis and dynamic simulation of a novel high-temperature solar cooling system , 2016 .

[40]  Jicheng Zhou,et al.  Temperature distribution of photovoltaic module based on finite element simulation , 2015 .

[41]  Majid Hejazian,et al.  Comparative study of Euler and mixture models for turbulent flow of Al2O3 nanofluid inside a horizontal tube , 2014 .