Thermal modeling of hybrid concentrating PV/T collectors with tree-shaped channel networks cooling system

Xu, Xinqiang; Meyers, Mark M.; Sammakia, Bahgat; Murray, Bruce T.

doi:10.1109/itherm.2012.6231550

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For an identical irradiance, the electrical efficiency is taken to be a linear function of the cell temperature. The linear relationship for 20 times the concentrated irradiance is given by Xu et al [21] as…”

Section: Fluid Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Analysis of a Combination System of Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector and Thermoelectric Generators

Zhou

Meyers

et al. 2014

Journal of Electronic Packaging

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Thermoelectric (TE) modules utilize available temperature differences to generate electricity by the Seebeck effect. The current study investigates the merits of employing thermoelectrics to harvest additional electric energy instead of just cooling concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules by heat sinks (heat extractors). One of the attractive options to convert solar energy into electricity efficiently is to laminate TE modules between CPV modules and heat extractors to form a CPV-TE/thermal (CPV-TE/T) hybrid system. In order to perform an accurate estimation of the additional electrical energy harvested, a coupled-field model is developed to calculate the electrical performance of TE devices, which incorporates a rigorous interfacial energy balance including the Seebeck effect, the Peltier effect, and Joule heating, and results in better predictions of the conversion capability. Moreover, a 3D multiphysics computational model for the HCPV-TE/T water collector system consisting of a solar concentrator, 10 serially connected GaAs/Ge photovoltaic (PV) cells, 300 couples of bismuth telluride TE modules, and a cooling channel with heat-recovery capability, is implemented by using the commercial FE-tool Comsol Multiphysics V R . A conjugate heat transfer model is used, assuming laminar flow through the cooling channel. The performance and efficiencies of the hybrid system are analyzed. As compared with the traditional photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system, a comparable thermal efficiency and a higher 8% increase of the electrical efficiency can be observed through the PV-TE hybrid system. Additionally, with the identical convective surface area and cooling flow rate in both configurations, the PV-TE/T hybrid system yields higher PV cell temperatures but more uniform temperature distributions across the cell array, which thus eliminates the current matching problem; however, the higher cell temperatures lower the PV module's fatigue life, which has become one of the biggest challenges in the PV-TE hybrid system.

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Section: Fluid Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Analysis of a Combination System of Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector and Thermoelectric Generators

Zhou

Meyers

et al. 2014

Journal of Electronic Packaging

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“…A similar concept to the varying width of microchannels with a constant thickness of fins is a configuration with various thicknesses of fins. Tree-shaped channels were proposed in [130] and analyzed against the conventional heat sink with parallel and equal fins. The results revealed that the novel geometry allowed for a reduction in the maximum temperature of the PV cells of about 10 • C. Moreover, the temperature distribution over the receiver absorber was more homogeneous and the thermal stresses were significantly reduced.…”

Section: Multi-layered Microchannel Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Heat Extraction Devices for CPVT Systems with Active Liquid Cooling

Papis-Frączek

Sornek

2022

Energies

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Numerous numerical and experimental studies have been conducted regarding the Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal (CPVT) system because of its significant potential for efficient conversion of solar energy. The overall efficiency of the CPVT system is strongly dependent on the device, which extracts excess heat from photovoltaic cells. The most efficient cooling technology involves active cooling, which means that heat is collected from the PV cell via the forced flow of heat transfer fluid. This research paper provides an extensive discussion on devices dedicated to active-cooling CPVT systems, taking into account the latest solutions. First, a short introduction regarding CPVT systems and their main components is presented. The second part of this study presents state-of-the-art solutions in the field of heat extraction devices for the active cooling of photovoltaic cells. The available solutions are classified into two main groups depending on the scale of internal channels: macro- and micro-. Each geometry of the heat receiver is juxtaposed with the corresponding concentrating element, photovoltaic cell, concentration ratio, heat transfer fluid, and operating parameters of the specified system. In addition, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various devices for heat extraction and provides a comparative study of these devices. Finally, a set of recommendations for CPVT cooling devices is provided.

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