Heat transfer study of poly-c PV system integrated with phase change material under semi-arid area (Errachidia-Drâa Tafilalet)

Abdelouahed Ait Msaad,Zaineb Benzaid,Amine Tilioua,S Krit,Ibtissam Lamaamar,Moulay Ahmed Hamdi Alaoui

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202129701008

Abstract

The high operating temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) modules decreases significantly its efficiency. The integration of phase change material (PCM) is one of the feasible techniques for reducing the operating temperature of the PV module. A numerical simulation of the PV module with PCM and without PCM has been realized. The thermal behavior of the PV module was evaluated at the melting and solidification processes of PCM. The results show that the integration of RT35HC PCM with a thickness of 4 cm reduces the temperature of the PV module by 8 °C compared to the reference module. Compared the RT35 and RT35HC, we found that the latent heat has a significant effect on the PCM thermal comportment. Furthermore, it has been found that the thermal resistance of the layers plays an important role to dissipate the heat from the PV cells to the PCM layer, consequently improving the heat transfer inside the PV/PCM system.

Highlights

The photovoltaic (PV) module can absorb up to 80% of incident solar radiation
Zhou et al [3] studied the thermal behavior of the polycrystalline PV module, the authors showed that the performance of the PV modules can be improved by optimizing the back sheet, and the aluminum alloy sheet performed best on heat dissipation and the highest module temperature scarcely changed within proper scope of thickness, several works focused on the different cooling technologies to decrease the PV module temperature operating and increasing its performances
We raise the thickness of the phase change material (PCM) again to 0.04 m; we find that the PCM RT35HC gives better results than the PCM RT44Hc, with a drop in module temperature of 8°C compared to the reference module

Summary

Introduction

The photovoltaic (PV) module can absorb up to 80% of incident solar radiation. A very small amount is transformed into electricity, while the rest is converted into heat, which increases the operating temperature of the PV module. In other research works [7], [8] the investigation and analysis of the available thermal energy storage systems incorporating PCMs for use in different applications; extensive efforts have been made to apply the latent heat storage method to solar energy systems [7]. In this sense, the authors agreed on the advantage of coupling the PCM to the PV modules. Browne et al [9] explained that the regulation of the PV systems temperature comprised of crystalline silicon cells appears to be the most economically viable for the use of PV/PCM systems, as increases in temperature have the most detrimental effect on the efficiency of silicon

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Discussion

Conclusion