Comparative analysis of a novel low concentration dual photovoltaic/phase change material system with a non-concentrator photovoltaic system

Abstract

In this work, a novel design of a concentrated photovoltaic system with thermal management using phase change material is analyzed. The novelty lies in utilizing two mono-facial PV cells, installing one on upper side of the receiver to receive non-concentrated sunlight and installing another photovoltaic cell on bottom side to receive concentrated sunlight. An RT47 (melting range of 41-48℃) phase change material enclosed in an Aluminum containment regulates the temperature of the system. Parabolic trough concentrator is used to focus sunlight on the bottom photovoltaic cell with a concentration ratio of 25. A finite volume based coupled thermal, electrical and optical model is developed and the system is analyzed for environmental conditions of Doha, Qatar. Temperature regulation and electrical power output of upper photovoltaic cell and bottom concentrated photovoltaic cell of proposed design are compared to a conventional flat plate system. Analysis is made for one day of each month of a year. It is found that the proposed design maintains the temperature below 85℃ for all months of a year. The performance of the proposed system is comparable to the conventional flat plate system and excels it with power production in the range of-4.7% and +21.7%.

A novel configuration of a dual concentrated photovoltaic system: Thermal, optical, and electrical performance analysis

“…The performance of a CPV system with RT47 as PCM was analyzed for the weather conditions of Doha, Qatar with CR of 25 [16]. It was observed that the PCM maintained the temperature of the PV cell below 85 °C for all months of a year.…”

Performance Analysis and Comparison of a Concentrated Photovoltaic System with Different Phase Change Materials

“…The thermal efficiency of all selected PCMs in the CPVPCM system is calculated using Equation (10), and the result is shown in Figure 12. The analysis of the results has shown that the thermal efficiencies of salt and STL47 are better than all other PCM except in December which is due to their high latent heat of fusion.…”

“…An indoor experimental study has shown an electrical efficiency improvement of 7.7% for a building-integrated CPVPCM system (geometrical concentration ratio of ~2.7) compared to a naturally ventilated CPV system [9]. In a theoretical study conducted for the environmental conditions of Doha (Qatar), a CPVPCM system (concentration ratio of 25) was able to produce power in the range of −4.7% to 21.7% as compared to a flat plate system while keeping the temperature of the system below 85 • C year round [10]. A 2D thermal model for an embedded CPV with a coupled thermo-fluids model for investigating the phase change phenomenon of PCM was presented in [11].…”

Photovoltaic Module Efficiency Optimizing Techniques: A Review

“…The inactive second method is used to resist the temperature raise of pv system this is containing phase change material for heat controlling [26,27]. The latent heat of mixture is absorbed by the pcm the surplus thermal energy of cell, in uniform temperature in which the phase transfer happens that resist efficiency reduction due to increment in temperature.…”