Topology optimization and numerical analysis of cold plates for concentrating photovoltaic thermal management

Abstract

Continuous advances in concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) panel efficiency are increasingly affected by cell temperature. Improving PV panel cooling performance is critical. This application optimizes the internal flow channel structure of PV panel cooling systems using topology optimization techniques like multi-objective and multi-stage optimization with penalty factors. Three-dimensional CFD simulation is used to compare the heat transfer performance of topology optimized channel cooling configuration and traditional straight channel cooling configuration for photovoltaic panel systems. Effects of inlet flow rates, concentration ratios, and other parameters on cooling performance are investigated. Results show the topology optimized flow channel configuration has better cooling than the straight channel. At different concentration ratios, the solar cell temperature reduces 13.85%–23.45%. The optimized application also has lower inlet and outlet pressure drops for the same operating conditions, requiring less external power. Compared to the straight channel, the topology optimized flow channel increases net PV system output power 3.00%–19.37% at different concentration ratios. Applying topology optimization provides new ideas for optimizing PV cooling system designs.