Estimation of the performance limits of a concentrator solar cell coupled with a micro heat sink based on a finite element simulation

Alzahrani, Mussad; Baig, Hasan; Shanks, Katie

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115315

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The passive cooling method normally uses devices that work independently, such as heat pipes, planar plates, and finned metal strips. However, the cost of passive cooling could be high for CPV solar cells under high CR due to insufficient cooling capability 8 . It is widely accepted that only a few passive cooling techniques and corresponding substrate materials can meet the cooling requirement of CPV solar cells with CR above 100× 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Cui

et al. 2021

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) attracts a lot of attention recently because it can achieve much higher efficiency than traditional solar cells by concentrating sunray with an in‐expensive Fresnel lens or parabolic mirror. However, heat dissipation is a critical challenge for CPV solar cells particularly at a high concentration ratio (CR) since the concentrated solar irradiance also results in a large amount of excessive heat. Experimental studies about CPV working at high CR were documented by a few pieces of literature. In this study, the electrical and thermal behavior of active cooling heat sinks with multi‐stage channels for CPV solar cells at both indoor (248× CR) and outdoor (500× and 900× CRs) conditions were comprehensively investigated. The effects of water flow rate, water inlet temperature, season change, and CR on the performance of heat sinks with the different channel numbers and overall size were examined. Convection heat transfer coefficient, electrical, thermal, and cogeneration efficiencies of the heat sinks were evaluated. Results show that the maximum temperature of CPV is significantly reduced as the increase of water flow rate or decreases in the water inlet temperature, meanwhile, the output power is slightly enhanced. The benefits of channel numbers increase are limited, while heat sinks with a cooling area equal to the unpacked cell have higher overall efficiency. Moreover, the convection heat transfer coefficient of the recommended heat sink can reach above 10 kW/(m2 K), with the average CPV cell temperature can be maintained at 63.2°C under 500× CR on Summer Solstice, and 71.4°C under 900× CR on Frost's Descent. Highlights Indoor and outdoor tests of active cooling for CPV cells at high CR were studied. Influences of heat sink designs and operating parameters were analyzed. Convection heat transfer coefficient above 10 kW/(m2 K) is reached. CPV cell average temperature of 63.2°C is achieved on Summer Solstice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Cui

et al. 2021

Int J Energy Res

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“…The COMSOL Multiphysics numerical tool simulated the performance based on the ray optics and heat transfer in solid models. 40 The solution relied on a bi-directionally coupled ray-tracing study. This study solves for the ray optics model at conditions similar to the one under a Wacom AAA+ continuous solar simulator (model WXS-210S-20) (1000 W/m 2 —1.5 AM).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergistic Effect of Paraffin-Incorporated In₂O₃/ZnO Multifold Smart Glazing Composite for the Self-Cleaning and Energy-Saving Built Environment

Roy

Ullah

Alzahrani

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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The thermal performance of window glazing requires improvement for a sustainable built environment at an acceptable cost. The current work demonstrates a multifold smart composite consisting of an optimized In 2 O 3 /ZnO–polymethyl methacrylate–paraffin composite to reduce heat exchange through the combined self-cleaning and energy-saving envelope of the smart built environment. This work has attempted to develop a smart composite coating that combines photosensitive metal oxide and phase change materials and investigate their thermal comfort performance as a glazed window. It is observed that the In 2 O 3 /ZnO (5 wt %) multifold composite film experienced better transmittance and thermal performance compared to its other wt % composite samples. Moreover, the multifold composite-coated glass integrated into a prototype glazed window was further investigated for its thermal performance, where a steady average indoor temperature of ∼30 °C was achieved when the outside temperature reached ∼55 °C, while maintaining good visibility. Interestingly, the transparency reached ∼86% at 60 °C and exhibited a hydrophobic water contact angle (WCA) of ∼138°. In contrast, a similar film exhibits ∼64% transparency at 22 °C, where the WCA becomes moderately hydrophilic (∼68°). Temperature dependency on transparency and wettability properties was examined for up to 60 cycles, resulting in excellent indoor thermal comfort. In addition, a thermal simulation study was executed for the smart multifold glazing composite. Moreover, this study offers dynamic glazing development options for energy saving in the smart built environment.

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“…Studies 3,[9][10][11][12] show that the passive cooling mechanism is the easiest way to dissipate heat and cool down the single-cell CPV systems at high and ultra-high CRs. The mechanism exhibits a good thermal management and maintenance of the temperature within an acceptable operating range.…”

Section: Review Of Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

A comprehensive study of pin fins cooling channel for a single‐cell concentration photovoltaic system under ultra‐high concentration ratios

Maatallah

2020

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Analysis of the single‐cell concentration photovoltaic (CPV) system is challenging due to the high thermal stress across the solar cell surface area inducing extreme degradation of the electro‐mechanical behavior. Although the good thermal performance shown by the passive cooling using heat sinks and the different optical configurations based on Cassegrain and Fresnel lens designs, the experimentally achieved concentration ratio (CR) is still below 5800 suns. The actively cooled heat sink integrating millimeter‐scale pin‐fin array inside a cooling channel can be promising toward minimum heat sink weight and maximum discharge of the generated heat. The current study presents a comprehensive analysis of a pin‐fins cooling channel for a single‐cell CPV system under ultra‐high CRs. The thermal performance and the hydraulic resistance of five pin‐fin heat‐sink configurations were performed at different CRs and low Reynolds number for an Aluminum substrate material. The inline pin‐fins heat sink (PFHS) displayed the minimum average cell temperature for all Reynolds numbers with thermal performance higher than its closest successor by 9.07%. The thermal performance and the pressure drop showed more dependence on streamwise spacing rather than spanwise spacing for all tested staggered pin‐fin heat sinks. Pressure drop drastically increased at higher Reynolds number, Re = 726, for the inline pin‐fin heat sink reaching a value of 288.20 Pa due to higher disturbance in the streamwise direction. The results demonstrate that the inline pins‐fin heat sink with a constant distribution of circular axial grooves (plugs) along each pin can keep the solar cell within a safe operating temperature, that is, 80°C, for CR up to 15 000 suns at an ambient temperature below or equal to 35°C.

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Estimation of the performance limits of a concentrator solar cell coupled with a micro heat sink based on a finite element simulation

Cited by 27 publications

References 43 publications

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Synergistic Effect of Paraffin-Incorporated In₂O₃/ZnO Multifold Smart Glazing Composite for the Self-Cleaning and Energy-Saving Built Environment

A comprehensive study of pin fins cooling channel for a single‐cell concentration photovoltaic system under ultra‐high concentration ratios

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Estimation of the performance limits of a concentrator solar cell coupled with a micro heat sink based on a finite element simulation

Cited by 27 publications

References 43 publications

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Experimental study on active cooling for concentrating photovoltaic cells working at high concentration ratios

Synergistic Effect of Paraffin-Incorporated In2O3/ZnO Multifold Smart Glazing Composite for the Self-Cleaning and Energy-Saving Built Environment

A comprehensive study of pin fins cooling channel for a single‐cell concentration photovoltaic system under ultra‐high concentration ratios

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Product

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Synergistic Effect of Paraffin-Incorporated In₂O₃/ZnO Multifold Smart Glazing Composite for the Self-Cleaning and Energy-Saving Built Environment