Indoor investigation and numerical analysis of PV cells temperature regulation using coupled PCM/Fins

Indoor investigation and numerical analysis of PV cells temperature regulation using coupled PCM/Fins

Abdulmunem R. Abdulmunem Jalal M. Jalil 

Electromechanical Eng. Dept., University of Technology, Baghdad 10066, Iraq

Corresponding Author Email: 
abdulmunemraad@yahoo.com
Page: 
1212-1222
|
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.18280/ijht.360408
Received: 
10 April 2018
| |
Accepted: 
8 October 2018
| | Citation

OPEN ACCESS

Abstract: 

This work aims at utilizing the paraffin wax (PCM) latent heat of fusion and calculates the effect of coupling aluminum fins with PCM, to regulate PV cells temperature for the sake of enhancing performance. Absorbing the heat energy from its surface was investigated experimentally and numerically. From the experimental results and the numerical simulation of the paraffin wax melting behavior inside a PV cell container in the back side with and without fins is seen by using of coupled PCM/Fins, which led to good distribution of temperature inside PCM as compared with using PCM only. The use of aluminum fins with PCM led to accelerate melting of PCM by 3.5 min at a depth of 2 cm and about 14 min at a depth of 3 cm compared with using PCM only. This led to more dropping in PV cell temperature compared with using PCM only. The percentage in PV cell temperature drop was about 18.3% by using PCM only and 27.8% by using coupled PCM/Fins compared with PV cell without additive materials (PCM). The improvement in the used PV cell performance with dropping in its temperature was about, 9.84% and 5.1% on maximum power and fill factor, respectively, with using PCM only, and about 14.19% and 7.37% on maximum power and fill factor, respectively with using coupled PCM/Fins, compared with using PV cell without PCM.

Keywords: 

numerical analysis, PV cell, PCM/Fins, temperature regulation, improved performance

1. Introduction
2. Methodologies
3. Experimental Part
4. Results and Discussion
5. Conclusions
Nomenclature
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