Numerical study on using multichannel tube and PCM for improving thermal and electrical performance of a photovoltaic module

Abstract

The electrical efficiency of a crystalline silicon module drops with increasing cell temperature. Phase change material (PCM) was commonly used to perform the thermal management of a PV module, while its poor thermal conductivity may act as a barrier to wide application. In the current study, an innovation design that utilizes excellent heat storage capacity (HSC) of PCM and high thermal conductivity of multichannel tube is introduced into a PV module (MPCM-PV). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the MPCM-PV together with experimental validation was conducted. It was determined that the established model can predict the performance of the MPCM-PV at reasonable accuracy. The effect of the structural and physical parameters on the operating performance of the MPCM-PV module was analyzed. The electric energy production was increased by 4.75 % when the number of channels was increased from 1 to 5. Additionally, the rectangular-shape channel rather than triangular shape was more beneficial for the MPCM-PV temperature reduction. Further, it was found that the low melting point and large HSC of PCM lead to the higher electric energy production. The electrical energy increments of 1.71 % and 0.32 % were respectively achieved when the HSC was increased from 240 kJ/kg to 560 kJ/kg and the melting temperature was decreased from 44 °C to 38 °C. The sensitive analysis suggested that the channel shape and the HSC have the most significant impact on electric energy production. These findings provide insight into the design the MPCM-PV system and can guide the development of efficient PV system.