Numerical study of phase change material partitioned cavities coupled with fins for thermal management of photovoltaic cells

Abstract

To enhance the temperature control capability of photovoltaic-phase change material systems, a strategy involving the combination of fins and partitioned cavities is employed to enhance the heat transfer process. Thermal performance of four cavity arrangements including a rectangular cavity, a partitioned rectangular cavity, a finned rectangular cavity, and a partitioned rectangular cavity with fins at two tilt angles of 90° and 45° are numerically evaluated. By employing a partitioned cavity with fins, the entire melting time can be reduced by a maximum of 8.9% compared to the baseline case. Moreover, the results show that the individual or simultaneous utilization of the partition and fins at an inclination angle of 90° can not only effectively reduce PV panel temperature but also improve temperature uniformity of the PV panel. Reducing the inclination angle to 45° prolongs the melting time, and this also reduces the temperature control performance for the majority cavity structures. Compared with the baseline case, the temperature of the PV panel can be reduced by up to 5.0 K, and the temperature uniformity can be increased by a maximum of 35.0%. The partitioned cavity coupled with fins has the best overall thermal performance among all structures.

Keywords

• Phase change materials
• Nature convection
• Photovoltaic panels
• Subzones
• Fins