Thermal Management Devices Research Articles

Design and demonstration of an ultra-thin planar microscale capillary pumped loop for electronics thermal management

With new requirements for enhanced thermal management, the minimum size of modern compact electronic devices and the maximum allowable processing speeds of the underlying microprocessor chips have become fundamentally limited by Joule heating. Miniaturizing a conventional loop heat pipe (LHP) or capillary pumped loop (CPL) to enable an ultra-thin high-heat-flux thermal transport system can lead to a paradigm shift in electronics thermal management. However, the complex thermodynamics of a CPL flow loop and the altered behavior of surface tension forces and thermal transport effects at small length scales pose several challenges to the actual implementation of a planar microscale CPL. Here we report on the design aspects of a micro-CPL device fabricated on a 500μm-thick silicon wafer, and experimentally examine the process of evaporation and two-phase flow in the device. An optical study of liquid evaporation in two distinct planar evaporator topologies during device startup reveals the critical roles played by enhanced surface tension forces and increased parasitic heat flows. Critical microfluidic device design aspects that can ensure the successful startup and operation of these ultra-thin thermal management devices are thereby revealed. Device evaporation experiments reveal successful device startup under evaporative heat fluxes of 10–20 W/cm2.

Soft and stretchable protective substrates for wearable thermal managements: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites containing paraffin microcapsules with silica nanoshells

Wearable thermal management has attracted extensive attention of researchers and clinicians due to their great potential application in the field of wearable and smart electronic device. In this research, the flexible PCMs composites as soft and stretchable protective substrates have been prepared for wearable thermal management through simple mixing and curing process of PDMS and paraffin encapsulated inside silica nanoshell (paraffin microcapsules). Systematic experiments have been carried out to illustrate the stress-strain curves, thermal insulating performance, stretchability and other properties varying with temperature. The obtained PDMS composite (P10M7, 7 g paraffin microcapsules in 10 g PDMS matrix) was soft and stretchable which can be subjected to complex deformations (such as stretch, twist, stretch/twist) over 100 % without failures. The silica nanoshells of paraffin microcapsules can not only avoid the leakage of paraffin during solid-liquid phase transition process, but also act as the support reinforced shell to maintain the mechanical properties upon paraffin melting point. Furthermore, the infrared thermal imaging research shown that PDMS composites with paraffin microcapsules exhibited faster temperature increment than PDMS composite with neat paraffin for the good compatibility between PDMS matrix and paraffin microcapsules which can reduce interface thermal resistance and improve thermal conduction during heating procedure. This study provides a feasible strategy to design and fabricate flexible PCMs composites for wearable thermal management device.

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate/ FeCo@C/ Silver nanowire/ polyimide sandwich membrane for electrothermal heating and electromagnetic interference shielding

The increasing frequency of global warming and extreme weather events raises concerns regarding energy conservation and efficient personal thermal management. As communication and technology progress, multifunctional wearable thermal management devices are gaining significant attention. In this study, a novel green recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET)-based sandwich composite with FeCo@C nanoparticles, silver nanowires (AgNWs), and polyimide tape (rPET/FeCo@C/AgNWs/PI) assembled by an efficient “filtering and taping” method was developed for multi-functions, including excellent Joule heat performance that rapidly increase to 165.7 ℃ at 0.9 V voltage in 12 s, electromagnetic interference shielding property with 49.35 dB at 120 μm thickness in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz), antibacterial and self-cleaning properties. Experimental results confirm the potential to the rPET/FeCo@C/AgNWs/PI composite for the thermal management and electromagnetic interference shielding.

Carboxylated cellulose composite film fabricated via layer‐by‐layer self‐sssembly for thermal management material with ultra‐high thermal conductivity

AbstractWith the development of 5G equipment, aerospace, sensors, thermal management devices and other fields in the direction of high power, high performance and miniaturization, the heat released during usage increases significantly, leaving great application prospects for heat dissipation materials. In spite of great attention paid to film materials due to their light weight and flexibility, they have the obvious disadvantage of poor thermal conductivity. In this work, carboxylated cellulose (CNF‐C)/dopamine‐coated nickel‐coated graphene (PDA‐Ni@GNS) composite films with high in‐plane thermal conductivity (in‐plane TC) have been fabricated by a simple vacuum‐assisted filtration method. In the prepared composite films, the flaky packing layers were found to be stacked orderly and form an excellent thermally conductive network, resulting in an increase in in‐plane TC by 322.1% (sample W4) as compared with that of neat films. By comparing the in‐plane TCs of the composite films with that of a commercial gasket, it was readily seen that the present composite films had fairly excellent heat dissipation properties. The composite exhibits not only sufficiently high in‐plane TC and tensile strength of 149.02 MPa but also exhibits hydrophobic property, imparting the composite films good working stability under extreme conditions, which ensured of their potential applications in thermal management materials.Highlights The introduction of Ni promotes the construction of heat conduction path. High in‐plane TC is obtained through layer‐by‐layer self‐assembly. The modification of filler enhanced the mechanical properties of the films. The modification of fillers led to the hydrophobicity of the film. The introduction of PDA made the films have insulating properties.

A flexible wearable phase change composite with electro-/photo-thermal heating for personal thermal management and human body motion detection

There is an urgent need to develop flexible materials with electrothermal/photothermal conversion and energy storage/release capabilities to meet the requirement of wearable personal thermal management (PTM) and health monitoring. Here, sandwich-structured phase change composites (SSPCCs) with PTM and health monitoring were prepared through film-forming and pressing process, in which a poly (ethylene vinyl acetate) (EVA)/poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) composite was the middle layer, and waterborne polyurethane (WPU)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) films were the top and bottom layers. The electrical conductivity and tensile strength of the two outer layers with 3 phr CNTs can achieve 2.83 S/m and 12.96 MPa, respectively. Due to the multiple synergistic effects of sandwich structure, the SSPCCs exhibit excellent flexibility with an elongation at break of approximately 1173 %, good stability and durability of 500 cycles and admirable electro-/photo-thermal heating performance (∼40 °C at 7 V or NIR light power of 50 mW/cm2). In addition, the inner layer, where the flexible EVA hold PEG well, has a melting latent heat of 71.45 J/g and freezing latent heat of 65.79 J/g in the phase change process as the mass ratio of PEG reached 50 wt%. The prepared composites show good abilities of information encryption and motions monitoring, which turns out great promising applications in wearable personal thermal management and medical devices.

Observation of nonvolatile magneto-thermal switching in superconductors

Applying a magnetic field to a solid changes its thermal-transport properties. Although such magneto-thermal-transport phenomena are usually small effects, giant magneto-thermal resistance has recently been observed in spintronic materials and superconductors, opening up new possibilities in thermal management technologies. However, the thermal conductivity conventionally changes only when a magnetic field is applied due to the absence of nonvolatility, which limits potential applications of thermal switching devices. Here, we report the observation of nonvolatile thermal switching that changes the electron thermal conductivity when a magnetic field is applied and retains the value even when the field is turned off. This unconventional magneto-thermal switching arises in commercial Sn-Pb solders and is realized by phase-separated superconducting states and resultant nonuniform magnetic flux distributions. This result confirms the versatility of the observed phenomenon and aids the development of active solid-state thermal management devices.

Improving the performance of heat sinks through the integration of fins and the utilization of graphene-mixed latent heat energy storage

Effective thermal management is significant to ensure the safety of all operating systems. However, these systems demand innovative thermal management technology. A heat sink with improved thermal conductivity is one of the passive heat management techniques. This study focuses on enhancing thermal management in devices by evaluating the performance of a heat sink with and without fins integrated with high thermal conductivity graphene-incorporated phase change material. Paraffin wax with a melting temperature of 58 °C was used as the phase change material. The study examines how the addition of graphene nanoparticles improves heat transfer capacity and extends the heat sink's working duration. The findings revealed that the phase change material extends the heat sink's working duration while adding nanoparticles improves performance. The performance of the phase change material and mixture of the nanoparticles was examined using a finned heat sink under constant heat input. The heating and cooling cycle of the heat sink was examined. The performance of the heat sink with fins and nano PCM was increased by 30 % compared to the baseline heat sink at 15 W heat input. This performance was increased to 45 % when the heat input changed to 30 W. The results indicated that nanoparticles in the phase change material augment the heat sink's recovery time, irrespective of the influence of fins.

Thermally Conductive Polymer Composites with Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Medical Device Thermal Management

Polymer composites with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have the potential to meet the heat dissipation and electrical insulation requirements of electronic and medical devices. In this study, hBN/polymer composites were fabricated with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and epoxy as matrix materials. Three hBN powder types (BN1, BN2, BN3) with different platelet sizes and degrees of agglomeration were used. BN1 (with average size of 1 μm) and BN2 (with average size of 12 μm) mainly contained hBN platelets, while BN3 (with average size of 20 μm) contained both platelets and agglomerates of platelets. BN2 gave the highest thermal conductivity, while BN1 gave the lowest thermal conductivity. Thermal simulations were performed for a medical device with a limit for the maximum surface temperature. For the encapsulation of this device, several material combinations were simulated, using anisotropic thermal conductivity data. This included encapsulations with inner layers of commercial thermally and electrically conductive materials and an outer layer of the best thermally conductive (and electrically insulating) hBN/TPU composite fabricated by the authors.

A Breathable Fibrous Membrane with Coaxially Heterogeneous Conductive Networks toward Personal Thermal Management and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

The expeditious growth of wearable electronic devices has boomed the development of versatile smart textiles for personal health-related applications. In practice, integrated high-performance systems still face challenges of compromised breathability, high cost, and complicated manufacturing processes. Herein, a breathable fibrous membrane with dual-driven heating and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance is developed through a facile process of electrospinning followed by targeted conformal deposition. The approach constructs a robust hierarchically coaxial heterostructure consisting of elastic polymers as supportive "core" and dual-conductive components of polypyrrole and copper sulfide (CuS) nanosheets as continuous "sheath" at the fiber level. The CuS nanosheets with metal-like electrical conductivity demonstrate the promising potential to substitute the expensive conductive nano-materials with a complex fabricating process. The as-prepared fibrous membrane exhibits high electrical conductivity (70.38 S cm-1), exceptional active heating effects, including solar heating (saturation temperature of 69.7 °C at 1 sun) and Joule heating (75.2 °C at 2.9V), and impressive EMI shielding performance (50.11dB in the X-band), coupled with favorable air permeability (161.4mm s-1 at 200Pa) and efficient water vapor transmittance (118.9g m-2 h). This work opens up a new avenue to fabricate versatile wearable devices for personal thermal management and health protection.

Thermal and fluid aspects of dual piezoelectric jet pump of double chambers

The rapid development of electronics has led to a significant reduction in the size of electronic devices, while increasing their power consumption. This has resulted in the need for small-scale thermal management solutions. Piezoelectric pump is one of the efficient devices for local thermal management. This paper presents a novel configuration of a piezoelectric pump, which separates the pump chamber with a rigid wall to create two independent pulsating flows. This configuration aims to reduce eddies within each chamber. Furthermore, the proposed design incorporates two pairs of open-sided channels to guide the pulsating flow towards the hot target. The electrostatics physic of the piezoelectric patches along with energy and momentum equations in three dimensions are manipulating mathematically and solved numerically using the finite element method (FEM) and the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) technique. The implicit Large Eddy Simulation (iLES) turbulence model is adopted for this purpose. Several parameters, including frequency, voltage, and the radius of the piezoelectric patch are investigated to better understanding their influence on both the zero-net volumetric flow rate and the heat transfer process. The findings indicate that by separating the pump chamber, it becomes feasible to obtain a 3D solution with the iLES using a reasonable mesh size. Nusselt number increases with all the examined parameters, where it enhances by 42.48 % at V = 100 Volt when the pump is switched on compared to natural convection mode. The peak-peak volumetric flowrates rises by 50 % and 350 % when the applied voltage is raised from 50 to 100 Volts and the frequency is raised from 20 to 50.50 kHz, respectively.

Investigating thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of a hybrid material based on cellulose nanofibers and boron nitride nanotubes using molecular dynamics simulations

Cellulose nanofibers (NFCs) have emerged as a preferred choice for fabricating nanomaterials with exceptional mechanical properties. At the same time, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have long been favored in thermal management devices due to their superior thermal conductivity (k). This study uses reverse non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate k for a hybrid material based on NFCs and BNNTs. The result is then compared with pure NFC and BNNT-based structures with equivalent total weight content to elucidate how incorporating BNNT fillers enhances k for the hybrid system. Furthermore, the fundamental phonon vibration modes responsible for driving thermal transport in NFC-based materials upon incorporating BNNTS are identified by computing the vibrational density of states from the Fourier transform analysis of the averaged mass-weighted velocity autocorrelation function. Additionally, MD simulations demonstrate how both NFCs and BNNTs synergistically improve the constituting hybrid structure’s mechanical properties (e.g. tensile strength and stiffness). The overarching aim is to contribute towards the engineered design of novel functional materials based on nanocellulose that simultaneously improve crucial physical properties pertaining to thermal transport and mechanics.

Graphene‑Assisted Assembly of Electrically and Magnetically Conductive Ceramic Nanofibrous Aerogels Enable Multifunctionality

AbstractCeramic aerogels are gaining increasing attention due to their low density, high‐temperature resistance, and excellent chemical stability. However, conventional ceramic aerogels are hindered by their intrinsic brittleness and limited dielectric properties, which restrict their scalable manufacturing and multifunctional applications. Here, ultralight, biomimetic porous, electrically and magnetically conductive ceramic nanofibrous aerogels composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanofibers, graphene, and metal–organic framework (MOF) derivatives are prepared through an ice‐templating freeze‐casting followed by annealing approach. The renewable SiO2 nanofibers form robust bonding points with graphene, constructing interconnected high‐porosity aerogels with good mechanical resilience. This allows for efficient integration of MOF‐derived magnetic nanoparticles associated with a synergistic mechanical enhancement. The synergies of the dielectric and magnetic components, combined with the uniformly arranged sheet‐like cell walls which facilitate the outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance. Moreover, the hydrophobic ceramic aerogels showcase excellent magnetothermal conversion, contributing to the application in wireless therapy, antibacterial, and magnetothermal deicing. Furthermore, the nanofibrous aerogels exhibit good thermal stability and insulation properties, rendering them highly suitable for thermal management devices in extreme conditions. With the renewable, convenient, and scalable manufacturing method, these multifunctional ceramic nanofibrous aerogels thus hold great promise in electromagnetic protection, wireless heating, and next‐generation thermal management devices.

Investigation of nanocomposite PNIPAm‐g‐graphene with pre‐lower critical solution temperature rapid thermal response function for chip adaptive cooling: A molecular dynamics and computational fluid dynamics simulations

AbstractTemperature‐sensitive hydrogels have been widely used for rapid adaptive cooling in electronic device thermal management with promising applications. However, existing temperature‐sensitive hydrogels can only regulate the flow in the chip cooling system after the ambient temperature reaches their lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Before reaching LCST, effective rapid heat dissipation for electronic chips is not achievable. This study aims to develop a temperature‐sensitive hydrogel that can provide assisted adaptive cooling for electronic chips before reaching its LCST. This requires the hydrogel to have a thermal conductivity far surpassing existing hydrogel materials. Using the temperature‐sensitive hydrogel PNIPAm and graphene molecules as base materials, this research utilized molecular dynamics simulations to graft graphene molecules onto PNIPAm molecules in different ways, resulting in the temperature‐sensitive hydrogel material PNIPAm‐g‐graphene. Non‐equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) was employed to calculate the thermal conductivity of this material under different temperature conditions. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity of PNIPAm‐g‐graphene can reach up to 1.95474 W/m K (graphene grafted at CH3 functional group, temperature at 280 K). Compared to the thermal conductivity of PNIPAm under the same conditions (0.45 W/m K), the increase in thermal conductivity is significant, demonstrating excellent thermal conductivity compared to PNIPAm. Subsequently, this study analyzed the underlying mechanisms of different thermal conductivities in materials obtained by grafting graphene molecules at different points using the method of overlap in Phonon Density of States Curves (PDOS) from the perspective of interfacial thermal conduction. Finally, through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, this study investigates the chip's adaptive cooling performance with PNIPAm‐g‐graphene material. The results show that, compared to traditional temperature‐sensitive hydrogels, PNIPAm‐g‐graphene can achieve efficient adaptive cooling of chip hotspots before the cooling fluid temperature reaches its LCST value. This finding is significant for the field of chip cooling. The study proposes a new method for rapid, adaptive cooling of chip hotspots and explores its feasibility from the perspectives of molecular dynamics and CFD simulation. It holds importance in the thermal management of electronic devices and the rapid adaptive cooling of electronic chips.

A bio-inspired shape memory alloy-based smart fin system for adaptive thermal management

Thermal management systems utilizing fixed-area extended surfaces for thermal enhancement have been extensively investigated. Unlike these systems, in nature, few creatures display the ability to control heat dissipation in adaptation to changes in environmental conditions by controlling their exposed surface area of the body. Motivated by this, the primary objective of this research is the design, development, numerical and experimental evaluation of an adaptive variable area smart fin system for intelligent thermal management using a high-strain SMA spring actuator. Unlike most thermal management devices and techniques that involve a fixed surface area, a smart fin controlled by Pennate structure-based SMA (PeSMA) actuator is proposed for large actuation and compact arrangement. The capabilities of the smart fin to adaptively enhance heat transfer are experimentally demonstrated and numerically modeled. The proposed fin design can deliver improved thermal performance in terms of reduced operating temperature and pressure drop, which is an indicator of operational cost when the application involves variable and uncertain thermal load conditions. We envisage one of the future applications of this technology in the battery thermal management of Electric Vehicles (EVs) where deployable compact heat transfer system is highly desirable.

Rapid Thermochromic and Highly Thermally Conductive Nanocomposite Based on Silicone Rubber for Temperature Visualization Thermal Management in Electronic Devices.

Effective heat dissipation and real-time temperature monitoring are crucial for ensuring the long-term stable operation of modern, high-performance electronic products. This study proposes a silicon rubber polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based nanocomposite with a rapid thermal response and high thermal conductivity. This nanocomposite enables both rapid heat dissipation and real-time temperature monitoring for high-performance electronic products. The reported material primarily consists of a thermally conductive layer (Al2O3/PDMS composites) and a reversible thermochromic layer (organic thermochromic material, graphene oxide, and PDMS nanocoating; OTM-GO/PDMS). The thermal conductivity of OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites reached 4.14 W m-1 K-1, reflecting an increase of 2200% relative to that of pure PDMS. When the operating temperature reached 35, 45, and 65 °C, the surface of OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites turned green, yellow, and red, respectively, and the thermal response time was only 30 s. The OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites also exhibited outstanding repeatability and maintained excellent color stability over 20 repeated applications.

Shooting Three Birds with One Stone: Device Construction and Thermal Management for Simultaneous Photothermal Conversion Water Evaporation, Thermoelectric Generation and Photocatalytic Degradation

AbstractIt's a promising way to address the global freshwater crisis and energy shortage through solar‐driven devices with evaporate, degrade, and generate electricity at the same time. Low‐efficient light‐thermal conversions for multi‐usage limit application. This paper presents a low‐cost melamine foam/TiO2/carbon black/bismuth (MF/TiO2/CB/Bi) composite with excellent activity to simultaneously process photothermal water evaporation, pollutant degradation, and thermoelectric output, namely‚ shooting three birds with one stone. Under 1 sunlight light intensity, the water evaporation rate reach 4.235 kg m−2 h−1, and the maximum electric power output of a single module is 0.733 W m−2. Meanwhile, Rhodamine B (RhB) solution with 4.0 × 10−4 mol L−1 can be almost degraded within 60 min. Excellent performance benefits from the enhanced adsorption by chemicals, 3D structure for accepting more incident light, and hydrophilic group reducing evaporation enthalpy. Combined with the simulation and experiment, the relationship between heat distribution and thicknesses is studied. When less than 1.98 cm, the lateral temperature is higher than the ambient temperature, thus additional energy cannot be obtained. This work provides a facile and novel method for the construction of photothermal conversion materials with multi‐functional, as a new and useful attempt to solve the shortage of fresh water and electric energy, as well as environmental pollution.

Visible-to-near-infrared asymmetric transmission through a cross grating

Broadband asymmetric transmission (BAT) structures are in high demand for optical devices, computing, and thermal management. While achieving asymmetric transmission in a broad waveband remains challenging. In this work, we propose a simple cross grating made of SiO2 and silver (Ag) and demonstrate its ability to asymmetrically transmit visible-to-near-infrared radiation. Results indicate that the proposed grating achieves a BAT performance in the range of 0.4 – 1.5 μm, with a max forward transmissivity of 0.95 which is larger than the backward one which is always smaller than 0.45. The proposed structure in this work paves a high-performance candidate for achieving BAT in the visible-to-near-infrared wavelength ranges and, thus, has promising applications in thermal management devices such as thermophotovoltaic systems and smart windows.

Strain-Insensitive Outdoor Wearable Electronics by Thermally Robust Nanofibrous Radiative Cooler.

Stable outdoor wearable electronics are gaining attention due to challenges in sustaining consistent device performance outdoors, where sunlight exposure and user movement can disrupt operations. Currently, researchers have focused on integrating radiative coolers into wearable devices for outdoor thermal management. However, these approaches often rely on heat-vulnerable thermoplastic polymers for radiative coolers and strain-susceptible conductors that are unsuitable for wearable electronics. Here, we introduce mechanically, electrically, and thermally stable wearable electronics even when they are stretched under sunlight to address these challenges. This achievement is realized by integrating a polydimethylsiloxane nanofibrous cooler and liquid metal conductors for a fully stable wearable device. The thermally robust architecture of nanofibers, based on their inherent properties as thermoset polymers, exhibits excellent cooling performance through high solar reflection and thermal emission. Additionally, laser-patterned conductors possess ideal properties for wearable electronics, including strain-insensitivity, nonsmearing behavior, and negligible contact resistance. As proof, we developed wearable electronics integrated with thermally and electromechanically stable components that accurately detect physiological signals in harsh environments, including light exposure, while stretched up to 30%. This work highlights the potential for the development of everyday wearable electronics capable of reliable operation under challenging external conditions, including user-activity-induced stress and sunlight exposure.

Highly efficient pool boiling heat transfer on surfaces with zoned rose-petal-inspired hierarchical structures

Efficient boiling heat transfer depends on the rapid formation and detachment of vapor bubbles on solid surfaces. However, this process is hindered by the contradictory requirements of bubble nucleation and departure. Herein, a novel surface with zoned rose-petal-inspired hierarchical structures is prepared on copper by laser-based methods to promote bubble nucleation and detachment simultaneously. The surface features parahydrophobic rose zones surrounded by superwetting pump zones. The rose-petal-inspired hierarchical structures on the rose zones greatly enhance the bubble nucleation, resulting in very high heat transfer coefficients (HTC). The pump zones with hierarchical mini-nanostructures facilitate the formation of distinct pathways for liquid and vapor flows, enabling efficient liquid rewetting and bubble departure at high heat fluxes. The synergistic effects of the rose and pump zones enhance both bubble nucleation and departure, leading to superior boiling performance. The critical heat flux (CHF) and the HTC achieved at the CHF (HTC@CHF) increase by 100% and 360%, respectively, compared to a smooth surface. Our results provide new avenues for the development of metal-based highly efficient boiling surfaces, which may enhance the efficiency of energy utilization and heat dissipation of various thermal management devices.

Feasibility evaluation of a thermoelectrically cooled photovoltaic module at different arrangements and working conditions: A numerical study

The performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules decreases due to heating in real working conditions. To test the feasibility of utilizing thermoelectric cooling (TEC) devices for active thermal management of PV modules, different hybrid PV-TEC systems are modeled. A numerical model is developed by finite volume method with an iterative solution procedure proposed to handle the resulting non-linear system of equations. Two different thermoelectric modules are incorporated in various numbers and spacings. Results show that if an optimum electrical current is supplied to the TEC devices, a marginal positive power gain can be obtained in most cases compared to an uncooled PV. However, the value of the optimum current is a function of TEC arrangement and also ambient conditions. The power gain of 1.17 W is observed for an insolation of 1000 W/m2 with 45 thermoelectric modules at 144 mm spacing. In general, increasing insolation and decreasing wind speed result in higher power gains in the hybrid system. The daily performance of the hybrid system with optimum electrical input improves 0.25 % and 0.1 % for a typical summer and winter day respectively, which is found to be inferior to passive cooling with fins for all investigated arrangements.