Performance investigation of hybrid photovoltaic thermal-heat with mini-channels for application in electric vehicles

Abstract

The first autonomous car was developed in the 1980s, but it wasn't until the early 2010s that the technology began to gain significant attention and investment. In 2010, Google began testing self-driving cars on public roads, and since then, many other companies have joined the race to develop fully autonomous vehicles. Hybrid PVT (Photovoltaic Thermal) heat exchangers cooled with mini-channels find application in autonomous vehicles as a solution that enables efficient cooling of the vehicle's electronics and batteries. The solution involves using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and removing the heat produced during the process using mini-channels is removed by mini-channels. Hybrid PVT heat exchangers cooled with mini-channels can help maintain appropriate temperatures inside autonomous vehicles that generate large amounts of heat from electronic systems and sensors. The setup can improve the performance and reliability of autonomous systems, increase energy efficiency, and reduce energy demands. The experimental setup includes two parallel mini-channel systems separated by a smooth copper plate. The study aims to determine local heat-transfer coefficients, with a cooled solar cell efficiency range of 10% to 14% compared to other research. The cooled PV temperature range achieved was from 19.6 to 22.4 degrees Celsius, which is favorable for photovoltaic panels' operation under approximate light intensity for Poland's latitude. Heat-transfer from hot surfaces to cold fluids is analyzed during single-phase convection using two calculation methods: one-dimensional and numerical simulations using Simcenter STAR CCM+. Cooling photovoltaic modules is critical for the photovoltaic and autonomous vehicle systems sector, making this research significant both theoretically and practically. The research and methods presented in the article on mini-channel cooling of photovoltaic systems and autonomous vehicle systems are innovative at a global scale, and are crucial for further development of sustainable energy systems and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.