Computational Fluid Dynamics Tools Research Articles

Fuel System Design and Validation for UAV

The main goal is to develop a simple fuel system for a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), as well as to check and validate whether the simulation and theoretical values are within an acceptable range. The fuel system of Lakshya is studied as a baseline reference model. Lakshya is a remotely piloted high-speed target drone system which is used to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battlefield and target acquisition. Flowmaster is a 1-Dimensional (1-D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool which is used for modelling and analyzing fluid mechanics in simple and complex piping structures as well and duct components of any scale. The fuel system of Lakshya is modelled in Flowmaster software with some modifications. The losses across each component are calculated theoretically and recorded. The losses are simulated on Flowmaster and the results are analyzed. The benefits of using Flowmaster simulation software are highlighted.

Design and fabrication of box-type passive solar dryer (BTPSD) with thermal insulation material for valorizing biomass and neutral lipids of marine Chlorella vulgaris for biodiesel application

The staggering rate of population growth has augmented the reliance on fossil fuel utilization, and it kindled the society to explore alternative and sustainable sources of energy. In this regard, biodiesel from microalgae came to the limelight; but crucial energy-consuming and expensive processes like cultivation, harvesting, and drying make the microalgal biodiesel unsustainable and economically unfeasible. To surpass these impediments, in this research work, a low-cost box-type passive solar dryer (BTPSD) is designed and fabricated with zero energy consumption mode and compared with conventional hot air oven for drying the biomass, neutral lipids of the marine microalga Chlorella vulgaris for biodiesel application. The onset of the work, BTPSD with 2 cm thickness of glass wool as TIM (thermal insulation material), 4 cm TIM thickness and no TIM was simulated for thermal storage behaviour using ANSYS FLUENT 19.2 Computational Fluid Dynamics tool and based on the results, 4 cm TIM thickness was chosen for experimentation. The time taken by BTPSD and hot air oven to remove the moisture from algal biomass is 3 and 2 h, respectively, whereas for neutral lipids drying, it was 4 and 3.5 h, respectively. Though there is a little difference in drying time, neutral lipid and FAME content from both drying systems are tantamount, i.e., ~ 12% neutral lipid and 95% FAME. Further, the percentage of vital fatty acids identified from BTPSD and hot air oven methods are almost similar, i.e., C16:0 (23.4%), C18:1 (14.3%), C18:3 (11.42%), C18:1 (9.22%). Though the time taken for valorizing biomass and neutral lipids of C. vulgaris by BTPSD is slightly longer than hot air oven, low energy consumption and cost-effectiveness make the BTPSD a promising system to scale down the microalgal biodiesel production cost significantly.

Application of Machine Learning to Predict the Performance of an EMIPG Reactor Using Data from Numerical Simulations

Microwave-driven plasma gasification technology has the potential to produce clean energy from municipal and industrial solid wastes. It can generate temperatures above 2000 K (as high as 30,000 K) in a reactor, leading to complete combustion and reduction of toxic byproducts. Characterizing complex processes inside such a system is however challenging. In previous studies, simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) produced reproducible results, but the simulations are tedious and involve assumptions. In this study, we propose machine-learning models that can be used in tandem with CFD, to accelerate high-fidelity fluid simulation, improve turbulence modeling, and enhance reduced-order models. A two-dimensional microwave-driven plasma gasification reactor was developed in ANSYS (Ansys, Canonsburg, PA, USA) Fluent (a CFD tool), to create 644 (geometry and temperature) datasets for training six machine-learning (ML) models. When fed with just geometry datasets, these ML models were able to predict the proportion of the reactor area with temperature above 2000 K. This temperature level is considered a benchmark to prevent formation of undesirable byproducts. The ML model that achieved highest prediction accuracy was the feed forward neural network; the mean absolute error was 0.011. This novel machine-learning model can enable future optimization of experimental microwave plasma gasification systems for application in waste-to-energy.

CFD Simulation of Oil Jet Piston Cooling Applied to Pistons with Cooling Gallery

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Efficient cooling of pistons with oil jets can avoid engine failures due to exceeded piston temperatures of thermally high-loaded combustion engines and can contribute to fuel consumption savings. To reduce expensive and time-consuming engine testing during product development, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations help to quantify the piston cooling performance and provide detailed insights into the complex interactions between oil, air, and piston already in the design phase. The durability of new piston design approaches, such as integrated advanced cooling galleries or highly resistant materials like steel, can be evaluated including the use of alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas (CNG), hydrogen, alcohols, or e-fuels. A new CFD simulation methodology for oil-jet piston cooling has been developed to investigate the cooling efficiency considering various piston cooling geometries and operational parameters. Method, software, and tools were already available from a former common research project of Ford and RWTH Aachen University where the level set and volume of fluid methods have been compared. Several applications of oil-jet piston cooling have been investigated on Ford engines. One example describes a gallery cooled CNG piston for a gas engine to resist the increased thermal load of the methane combustion. Another application considers a steel piston for a diesel engine with enlarged cross-sections within the cooling gallery to handle higher metal temperatures coming along with steel to avoid oil coking. For both examples, various engine speeds and oil-jet volume flow rates have been investigated. Results for each case are the transient oil flow including the oil filling process of the cooling gallery, the oil filling ratio, and the total heat transfer. Overall, the analyses show that modern CFD tools are a powerful way for investigating active cooling strategies for pistons to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines and to reduce emissions.</div></div>

Hydrogen hazard mitigation in small modular reactor during SBO severe accident using GASFLOW-MPI

Hydrogen combustion or explosion will lead to over-pressurization of the reactor containment in case of severe accident caused by Station BlackOut (SBO) in an Small Modular Reactor (SMR). In order to mitigate the hydrogen hazard, ignitors as well as recombiners have been typically used in the reactor containment via the hydrogen deliberately burned or recombined catalytically with the oxygen in air. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool GASFLOW-MPI, which provides the details of the 3D flow field and hydrogen distribution, is appropriate to analyze hydrogen mitigation system performance. Analysis of mitigation system performance is to evaluate the efficiency of the mitigation of hydrogen hazard in reactor containment. The objective of this paper is to apply the GASFLOW-MPI code to analyze the SBO severe accident in SMR, specifically with regard to analysis of the hydrogen distribution, the risk posed by hydrogen and the mitigation by deliberate ignition and the Passive Autocatalytic Recombiner (PAR). The relevant analysis is presented according to the GASFLOW-MPI features, and indicates that: 1. The hydrogen with/without mitigation distributes well during accident scenario. 2. The ignitor reduces hydrogen accumulation significantly, and 8 units of PARs can mitigate the hydrogen risk in the long-term phase. 3. Both installed mitigation systems (8 PARs and 6 ignitors) can prevent the flame acceleration and local detonation. 4. Utilization of PARs could be better than ignitors in SMR containment, since the passive mitigation with PARs can avoid the failure situations such as the ignitors’ electricity supply cut-off, etc. 5. GASFLOW-MPI provides the possibility of a CFD simulation to a long-time accident scenario in SMR containment.

Performance enhancement of futuristic airplanes by nature inspired biomimetic fish scale arrays—A design approach

Biomimetics has an immense potential to drive the next generation of technologies forward by propounding competent solutions from nature. For decades, the nonsmooth topography of most living creatures has been critical to their existence and survival. Contrary to human-made smooth surfaces, when adapted for fluid flow applications, nonsmooth surfaces can enhance the overall aerodynamic performance by reducing the drag force. Recently, the bioinspired scale structure of fish has been identified as a key biomimetic derivative for improving the aerodynamic efficiency in various cross-domain applications. This study investigates the aerodynamics of a fish scale array (FSA) NACA 0021 model at a specific Reynolds number (Re) of approximately 2.46 × 105 that is meant for laminar flow conditions using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools and a subsonic wind tunnel facility. A 3D printed biomimetic FSA film is developed and affixed on the NACA 0021 wing profile for the experimental investigation, followed by flow visualization through the smoke tunnel facility. As proved qualitatively under specific aerodynamic conditions, the creation of velocity streaks has a major role in the drag reduction process. To obtain a clear perspective of flow across the overlapping fish scale structures, the results are focused on the central and overlapping regions of the FSA structure. The experiment has proved the existence of a combined formation of low and high velocity streaks in central and overlapping regions. The FSA 0021 model showed a maximum drag reduction of 9.57%, which was attributed to the streak formation phenomenon observed in the overlapping FSA configuration.

Enhancing the NOx and soot emissions reduction benefits of a low compression ratio light duty diesel engine by optimization of piston bowl design

In the present work, the benefits of the low compression ratio (LCR) concept on simultaneous reduction of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and soot emissions could be further enhanced by optimizing the piston bowl design using a 3-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool. A single-cylinder, direct-injection diesel engine was used for the present investigations. In its mass-production version, the engine had a compression ratio (CR) of 18:1 that was considered as the stock CR from which the LCR variants were derived. The initial and unoptimized piston design of the LCR variant with CR of 14:1 was arrived at using an offset bowl geometry from the stock compression ratio variant, and the corresponding benefits were quantified. The NO (nitric oxide) and soot reduction potential of the LCR variant could be further enhanced by adopting a step-by-step optimization procedure focused on the principal parameters of the bowl viz., piston bowl diameter, centre pip depth, reentrancy and bottom profile. Based on numerical investigations, an optimal piston bowl design could be arrived at that can significantly enhance the benefits of the LCR approach on NO and soot emissions. At a reference operating point of 2000 rpm and 40 N-m, by adopting the optimized profile, the NO reduction potential of the LCR variant could be improved from 10.3% to 40.2%. Moreover, the soot reduction potential could also be improved from 79.1% to 84.2%. The benefits of the optimized bowl design were also confirmed by engine dynamometer measurements across the engine’s operating speed range. Thus, it can be concluded that optimization of the piston bowl design specific to the LCR variant could enhance the NOx and soot emission benefits that can help diesel engines comply with the stringent emission regulations.

Flow Characteristics of Gerotor Motors With Pin and Nonpin Designs

Abstract The geometric design of a gerotor motor has a significant impact on its function, performance, quality, reliability and cost. When designing a gerotor motor all these features must be considered. A gerotor motor can be classified into two types based on the geometric design; gerolor (pin design) and gerotor (nonpin design). In this article, geometric parameters of the two design types are discussed briefly and the operation of the gerotor motor is described as well. A numerical analysis is carried out by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool (PumpLinx) to analyze the fluid flow and predict the performance of both types of gerotor designs. Various characteristics of the two designs of the gerotor motor are investigated and compared which include the gerotor design, fluid flowrate, velocity, pressure and output torque. Comparison of the results found out that using pin design gerotor motor, the flowrate, flow velocity, pressure and torque will vary greatly. Nonpin design can significantly reduce variations in all the flow characteristics thereby enhancing the stability and reduction in the leakage risk.

Investigation of corrosion sequence in the overhead pipeline of H2S stripper column through CFD models

The corrosion mechanism of the overhead pipeline of the H2S stripper tower was studied by macro examination, metallography, SEM and EDS analysis. The primary reason for the corrosion is the unsuitable material selected for the inhibitor injection pipe. In a H2S + HCl + NH3 + H2O environment, first dew point corrosion occurs. Then oil and gas erosion corrosion causes the injection tube to perforate and break, which directly alters the flow pattern and temperature in the overhead pipeline. Eventually, the tube is broken by erosion and acid corrosion. A computational fluid dynamic tool has been used for the simulation of the multiple phases inside the corroded pipe. The numerical simulation proves our conclusion of the development of corrosion in multiple locations.

Numerical study on heat transfer performance of geothermal piles in a Brazilian sandy soil

The worldwide consumption of electric energy destined for air conditioners, expected to triple by 2050, can be lessened by geothermal piles, which transfer heat from the internal environment of buildings to the subsoil. This paper shows the influence of pile geometry and properties of soil, pile, and pipe materials on the heat transfer of a geothermal pile to the surrounding soil, to support design from the viewpoint of thermal performance optimization. A numerical model was developed with ANSYS CFX 19.2, a high-performance Computational Fluid Dynamics tool, and calibrated using data from a thermal response test performed in a saturated sandy soil in São Paulo, Brazil. A parametric analysis was carried out varying pile length, diameter, and slenderness; soil and pile material conductivities; degree of saturation; fluid inlet temperature; fluid flow rate; and pipe thermal resistance. Results show that the fluid inlet temperature is the most influential parameter on the thermal performance of the pile. Heat transfer grows when geometrical parameters (diameter and length) are increased mainly due to an increase in heat exchange surface area, whereas the normalized heat transfer rate per unit of surface area of the pile is practically unaltered. Higher soil, pipe and pile thermal conductivities improve thermal performance. The degree of saturation increases the thermal conductivity of the soil; however, the effect is not remarkable on the system’s thermal performance for saturation degrees higher than 20%. The fluid flow must be turbulent but increases above a certain flow rate do not improve the thermal performance.

Prototyping Roof Mounts for Photovoltaic (PV) Panels: Design, Construction and CFD Validation

Many countries have committed to using renewable energy and increasingly encourage the use of solar panels in residential dwellings part of achieving sustainability goals. However, building regulations and standards are often slow to catch up. In New Zealand, there is no specified standard for the mechanical structure when mounting the solar panels to the roof. Solar panel mounts can cause significant damage to the roof in the presence of environmental stressors, such as heavy rain and high-speed wind gusts. This paper presents the process of designing a novel mounting unit for solar panels using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools to prototype the unit. The prototype unit is easy to install and can accommodate a range of solar tiles manufactured by leading manufacturers. The proposed mount design addresses issues identified with current mounts, such as roof leaks, tilting of the tiles, and corrosion of mounting units by design optimization and proper material selection. Additionally, we compare the maximum temperature for each part of the unit to the CFD results and come up with an average error of 3.14-3.82%.

Convective heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of molten salts in spirally fluted tubes

Spirally fluted tubes have been widely used for heat exchangers due to their superior heat transfer enhancement. However, most of the previous studies focused on the effects of a limited number of geometric parameters, i.e., the flute pitch and flute depth, on convective heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of low-Prandtl-number fluids, i.e., air and water. The correlations developed in these studies may not be accurate or applicable for medium-Prandtl-number fluids, such as molten salts. A numerical analysis using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool, STAR–CCM+, is therefore carried out in this study to systematically investigate the effects of four geometric parameters, including the flute pitch p, flute depth e, flute start number Ns (or flute helix angle θ), and trough length Ltr on convective heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of a medium-Prandtl-number fluid, FLiNaK (46.5LiF-11.5NaF-42KF mol %), in spirally fluted tubes. In addition, the convective heat transfer and Darcy friction factor correlations are proposed and validated, with ± 20% uncertainties, for medium-Prandtl-number fluids under the following conditions: Re = 88–1600, Pr = 2.5–40, p/Dc = 0.44–3.51, e/Dc = 0.10–0.40, θ/90 = 0.20–0.81, and Ltr/Dc = 0.71–2.16. The correlations proposed help improve the design of spirally fluted-tube heat exchangers.

Utilising fractional porous interface for high thermal performance of serpentine wavy channel solar air heater

This work investigates the thermohydraulic performance of a porous serpentine wavy channel solar air heater. Comprehensive illustration on the effect of fractional porous interface (25%≤ξ≤100%), channel porosity (90%≤φ≤100%) and Reynolds number 2000≤Re≤11000 on the thermohydraulic performance of solar air heater design is presented. Experiments are performed and numerical results are validated to conduct further investigations for the optimization of the input variables. This study is a unique idea that broadly presents the scope of thermal performance improvement by utilizing the porous media in fraction and varying porosity in solar air heater channel and highly useful for the researchers of this field. Finite volume method based computational fluid dynamics tool is used to conduct numerical investigations, Forchheimer equation is used to account the effect of porous media and surface to surface (S2S) radiation model to capture the effect of shape factor and emitted radiation in collector channel. It is obtained that ξ of 25% and φ of 93% delineated the best thermohydraulic performance (THPP) of 4.52 for the present solar air heater design. While, the obtained thermohydraulic performance is 186% times higher compared to the smooth design. The excellent results that come into the light from numerical investigation are the secondary flow formation in the porous and flow zones at higher Reynolds number and lower fraction of porous region (ξ), and for all configurations of ξ at large channel porosity (φ). Hence, results of this investigation not only present the best operational configuration to obtain higher thermal performance, but also present the measures to reduce the material cost of porous media and consequently pumping power.

Analysis of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) on fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete

An experimental and CFD analysis of self-compacting concrete uses quarry dust and various partial flea ash substitutes, silica fumes, and both flea ash and silica fume combinations to construct a finely-structured polypropylene reinforced concrete beam. Using three different fractions of fiber volume, this article investigates the influence of polypropylene fibers on self-compacting concrete beams (2.0 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent). The M30 grade was taken into consideration. This study employed a computational fluid dynamics tool to model the experimental beam and failure scenarios. The three-dimensional CFD technique method used to model concrete beams has proven to be a reliable predictive tool for concrete beam analysis. However, when performing non-linear CFD analysis, it is critical to select appropriate finite elements and the correct mesh density in order to obtain a satisfactory solution to the problem. Furthermore, it has been discovered that linear regression may provide a good forecast of first crack load, deflection at first crack load, yield load, deflection at yield load, ultimate load, deflection at ultimate load, and ultimate load, deflection at ultimate load. There is a high level of agreement between the forecast and the test findings.

Mathematical Modelling of Oil Pipeline Leakages Using Computational Fluid Dynamics - Case of BIDCO Oil Processing Refinery, Uganda.

The leakage flow phenomena of a refinery oil pipe with a leakage point is numerically studied with the purpose to minimize oil leakage using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. Among consequences of oil pipe leakages are losses as a result of property loss (oil), cost of pipe replacement and also death due to fire or explosion. To understand the leakage phenomena, pipe characteristics at the leakage orifice are necessary. In the simulation, considering a pipe with a leak orifice of 0.002m, diameter 0.06 m and length 10 m, single phased flow was considered. The leakage through the pipe was studied based on fluid dynamics simulations using a Computational fluid dynamic tool ANSYS FLUENT software 17.2 where the Navier-Stokes were solved and for turbulence the standard k-ε was considered. Results from this study show that the leakage flow rate increases with increase in velocity inflow of the fluid. The pressure effect was also studied at the vicinity of the leak and results also show that an increase in velocity increases the pressure drop. Therefore, keeping the inflow velocity range of 0.1ms−1 to 2 ms−1 show minimal leakage rates.

A numerical study of a taut-moored point-absorber wave energy converter with a linear power take-off system under extreme wave conditions

Probably the biggest challenge for wave energy is to ensure survival in harsh offshore conditions, in order to reduce costs for offshore repair operations and downtime, and achieve economic viability. This work presents a reliable numerical tool that can be used to study the dynamics and survivability of wave energy converters in violent wave conditions, possibly cutting down the costs of experimental campaigns. Within the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics framework, this research identifies a detailed procedure to model a taut-moored point-absorber wave energy converter together with its inherent power take-off device, which seamlessly exploits its functions of energy harvesting and load bearing. A validation of the DualSPHysics code is provided by contrasting the numerical outcome with a thorough set of data obtained in physical tests with extreme waves, showing that the time-integrated numerical model can capture with good accuracy all the physics involved. The computational fluid dynamics tool is employed to perform a survivability study, modeling high-return period wave conditions for marine structures, and providing guidelines on how to create the numerically best setup to be used for design purposes. A real-like irregular sea state representation, comprising 500 waves, was used to draw insightful indications for the structure optimization to increase the structure’s life expectancy, or conversely, to reduce the initial and operational costs.

Application of Numerical and Experimental Modeling to Improve the Efficiency of Parshall Flumes: A Review of the State-of-the-Art

One of the primary steps in managing the flow in an open channel is determining its properties. Empirical equations are developed to provide further information regarding the flow in open channels. Obtaining such experimental equations is expensive and time consuming; therefore, alternative solutions have been sought. Over the last century, the Parshall flume, a static measuring device with no moving parts, has played a significant role in measuring the flow in open channels. Many researchers have focused their interest on studying the application of Parshall flumes in various fields like irrigation and wastewater management. Although various scholars used experimental results to enhance the rating equation of the Parshall flume, others used an alternative source of data to recalibrate the height–discharge relation equation using numerical simulation. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software is becoming popular nowadays as computing hardware has advanced significantly within the last few decades, making it possible to go beyond the limited resolution that was experienced in the past. Multiple CFD models, depending on their availability, either open-source or commercially licensed, have been used to perform numerical simulations on different configurations of flumes, especially Parshall flumes, to produce water level results. Regarding various CFD tools that have been used, i.e., FLOW-3D, Ansys Fluent, or OpenFOAM, after precise calibration with experimental data, it has been determined that the output is reliable and can be implemented to the actual scenarios. The benefit of using this technique to produce results is the ability of the CFD approach to adjust the initial conditions, like flow velocity or structural geometry, where necessary. With respect to channel size and the condition of the site where the flume is located, the choices are narrowed to the specific Parshall flume suitable to the situation. It is not always possible to select the standard Parshall flume; therefore, engineers provide some modification to the closest flume size and provide a new rating curve to produce accurate flowrates. This review has been performed on the works of a number of scholars who targeted the application of numerical simulation and physical experimental data in Parshall flumes to either enhance the existing rating equation or propose further modification to the structure’s geometry.

Numerical Study of Flow Structures Through Horizontal Double-Layered Vegetation Consisting of Combined Submergent and Emergent Vegetations

This study addresses the vivid internal flow structure variations through horizontal double-layered vegetation (HDLV) under subcritical flow conditions for an inland tsunami. The computational domain was built in ANSYS Workbench, while post-processing and simulation were performed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool FLUENT with the three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds stress model (RSM). Two alternative arrangements of HDLV were considered, namely Configuration 1 (short submergent layer [Formula: see text] emergent layer (Lt)) and Configuration 2 (tall emergent layer [Formula: see text] submergent layer (Ls)) along with varying flow depths. Strong inflections in velocity and Reynolds stress profiles were observed at the interface near the top of Ls, Whereas, these profiles were almost constant from bed to the top of vegetations inside Lt. A shear layer zone was formed above the top of Ls, which extended to the downstream region in Configuration 2 while it was restricted by Lt in Configuration 1. The normal Reynolds stresses at the bed were significantly greater within Ls in Configuration 2 than inside Lt in Configuration 1. Hence, Configuration 1 was performed relatively better than Configuration 2 in terms of reducing velocity within the vegetation, while Configuration 2 played a key role in attenuating the increased velocities and confining the shear layer above the short submergent layer.

Print fidelity evaluation of PVA hydrogel using computational fluid dynamics for extrusion dependent 3D printing

This study presents a practical method of print fidelity evaluation for an extrusion-dependent technique of 3D printing. Simulation through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool has been used for evaluating the fidelity of printing. The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based hydrogel was prepared with deionized (DI) water and PVA powder using a magnetic stirrer at 90 °C for 3D printing. Rheological tests were carried out for checking the viscosity at various shear rates. CFD simulation was done by employing the Bird-Carreau modelusing rheological values. Velocity, pressure, shearing rate, and viscosity distributions through nozzle were obtained. From the shear rate and viscosity results, the increase in shear rate and decrease in gel’s viscosity for both the nozzles prove that the material can be extruded. It was seen that the nozzle with a diameter of 0.51mm shows better results than the 0.41mm diameter, which was concluded from the values of maximum shear rate at the edges of the nozzles. The maximum shear rate value has reached a maximum of up to 326.5102s –1 whereas for a 0.41 mm diameter nozzle, it is 623.8037s –1 increasing the chances of developing wavy edges in a 0.41mm diameter nozzle than a 0.51mm diameter nozzle concluding that the nozzle with 0.51mm diameter gives far better results than the 0.41mm diameter nozzle.

Effect of duct geometry on thermal management of PCM – Liquid hybrid PV panel

In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a PV panel with different cooling technologies is performed. The basic setup consists of a hybrid PV-PCM system, with absorber plate of 0.25m breadth, 0.5m length and 5mm thickness. The study includes the design and simulation of a three-dimensional photo-voltaic model integrated with a water channel and PCM. A commercial CFD tool ANSYS Fluent is used to analyse the thermal transport. The melting of the PCM is simulated using enthalpy – porosity method. Effect of shape and orientation of duct cross-section on the performance of the system is investigated. The cross section dimensions are chosen so as to maintain negligible difference in the volume on PCM. The Reynolds number in each model is maintained constant (Re = 1500) to have similar flow characteristics, so that only the effect of shape on heat transfer can be analysed. Additionally, a PCM-PV model with circular cross-section duct was modelled and compared to triangular, square, rectangular and ellipse cross-section. From the results obtained, it was found that there was a minimum temperature drop of 20oC between simple PV model and PV-PCM model. Triangular shapes had highest thermal efficiencies, with an average of 46%, Square duct showed better electrical efficiency, with an average of 13.25% with same pressure drop as circular ducts. Orientation of duct showed a huge impact on thermal and electrical efficiencies of rectangular channel.