Simulation of natural convection of n-Hexadecane paraffin inside a porous chamber

Abstract

Today, the photovoltaic (PV) system is widely used to convert solar irradiance into electricity; whereas, increasing PV temperature leads to decrement of life and efficiency of PV. Therefore, studying and new novelties for cooling them can play an important role in the PV industry. In this study, a chamber filled with aluminum foam and n-Hexadecane paraffin with a melting temperature of 18°C was installed under a PV. Also, for approaching the numerical results to the real conditions, the solar irradiance was applied as a function of time for 9 h from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which radiated the PV’s surface. In addition, the effects of wind speed and ambient temperature by Robbin boundary condition were considered in the PV’s surface. Hence, the finite volume method of computational fluid dynamic was implemented to observe the effects of deflection angle and addition of porous medium with different porosity. The results of current CFD simulation showed that aluminum foam could keep the maximum temperature of PV in near of fusion temperature of PCM resulting reduction of PV temperature; while, inclined angle and different porosity did not affect remarkably the maximum temperature of PV and melting fraction.

Keywords

• Photovoltaic
• Passive cooling
• Phase change material
• Aluminum foam
• CFD Simulation