A numerical investigation of a photovoltaic thermal system contained a trapezoidal channel with transport of silver and titanium oxide using the water as base fluids

Abstract

This article presents a numerical investigation of forced convection in a PV/T system to reduce the temperature caused by solar radiation, which can decrease its electrical energy production. The study uses two types of nanoparticles, namely titanium oxide and silver, combined with water as the base fluid. The PV/T system features a trapezoidal flow channel, and the Navier-Stokes and energy equations are solved using the COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 finite element-based computer code to obtain an approximate solution. The study tests the range of Reynolds number, aspect ratio, and the volume fraction of both nanoparticles as (100–1000), (0.4–1), and (0.01–0.25), respectively, to analyze the various impacts of the selected variables on the percentage change in cell temperature and efficiency by varying the Reynolds number and aspect ratio between the inlet to the outlet height of the flow channel. The results indicate that increasing the Reynolds number from 100 to 1000 can reduce cell temperature by 50% and increase cell efficiency by 4.4%. Similarly, changing the aspect ratio from 0.4 to 1 can reduce the percentage temperature of the cell due to inlet temperature by 26.2% and increase cell efficiency by 1.6%. The study reveals that increasing the outlet height while fixing the outlet height of the channel can improve cell performance. Additionally, increasing the volume fraction of both nanoparticles in the base fluid can enhance the cell efficiency of the PV/T system.