Simulation CFD and experimental investigation of PVT water system under natural Malaysian weather conditions

Abstract

PV power generation is a viable option to resist fossil fuels, which consume and harm the environment, but increasing the cell temperature of the photovoltaic device reduces its electrical performance. The photovoltaic thermal PVT system is a suitable technology to improve electrical performance and obtain useful heat, which improves the overall efficiency. To overcome the challenges, a new dual oscillating absorber copper pipeline flow that was designed based on the PVT water system, was developed and studied. ANSYS 19.2 was used to predict the outlet water temperature and surface temperature of PVT model based numerical simulations, were irradiation levels of 600, 800, and 1000 W/m2 with the mass flow rate at 2, 4, and 5 LPM and water temperature inlet 26°C. The experiment was conducted outdoors under Malaysian weather conditions at different value flow rates of 2–6 LPM for the present investigation. The CFD results were validated with the experimental results. Validation ensures good agreement between the numerical and experimental results. The results show that the maximum average thermal efficiency of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system is 59.6%. The highest average value of electrical efficiency of PV panel and the PVT water system was found to be 10.86% and 11.71%, respectively at a mass flow rate 6 LPM. The PVT electrical, thermal efficiency and the output power increased with the increase in mass flow. The thermal efficiency increased with the increase in the mass flow rate, solar irradiation level and reducing the difference between water inlet and outlet temperature. While, the cell temperature decrease with the increase in the mass flow rate. The maximum electrical performance achieved using the PVT system 11.71%.