Numerical investigation for concentrated photovoltaic solar system in existence of paraffin equipped with MWCNT nanoparticles

Abstract

To generate greater electricity and heat saving, a concentrated PVT (Photovoltaic thermal) system was applied in current study. The thermal section of the unit includes tubes containing nanofluid and paraffin containers in existence of MWCNT nanoparticles. Numerical simulation has been incorporated to investigate the impact of installing fins within the paraffin zone. The four mirrors with equal width have been utilized to concentrate the solar irradiation which leads to use of the whole solar spectrum. Laminar 3D flow within the cooling unit has been considered. The verification tests have been done in both views of melting modeling and PVT simulation. The grid independence procedure has been done and also, the best value of time step has been selected. Three configurations of fins (I-shape, short base arrow and long base arrow) have been implemented with four levels of Re (25, 750, 1250 and 1750). The maximum useful heat has been achieved for configuration of short base arrows. Dispersing MWCNT nanoparticles makes useful heat to increase about 9.58% for greatest inlet flow. The minimum temperature of the paraffin zone has been reported for short base arrows and augment of Re leads to reduction of temperature about 1.05%. Among scrutinized configurations, the maximum value of ηele belongs to the configuration of short base arrows and this function enhances with augment of Re about 3.72%.