Thermal management of low concentrated photovoltaic systems using extended surfaces in phase change materials

Abstract

The applicability of phase change materials (PCMs) for the thermal management of low concentrated photovoltaic systems is explored in the current research work. Extended surfaces on the back surface of the PCM container are proposed with its small portion extruded to the outside. PCM thicknesses of 80 mm, 100 mm, and 120 mm are investigated, and an 80 mm thick PCM system is considered as the base configuration. Systems with 2 fins, 3 fins, and 4 fins are analyzed with two different fin lengths of 30 mm and 40 mm inside the PCM enclosure. Two-dimensional transient numerical analysis has been carried out with ANSYS FLUENT using the enthalpy porosity method. The nonuniform melting behavior of PCMs due to natural convection inside the molten PCMs is considered during the analysis using a Boussinesq approximation. The result shows that the proposed 4 fin configuration enhances the melting time by 6000 s compared to the no fin system, reduces the average PCM temperature inside the container by 18%, and decreases the heater surface temperature by 16%.