Experimental analysis on the impacts of soil deposition and bird droppings on the thermal performance of photovoltaic panels

Saboor Shaik; Pethurajan Vigneshwaran; Abin Roy; Karolos J. Kontoleon; Domenico Mazzeo; Erdem Cuce; C Ahamed Saleel; Mamdooh Alwetaishi; Sher Afghan Khan; Ali Etem Gürel; Ümit Ağbulut

Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Aug 2023)

Experimental analysis on the impacts of soil deposition and bird droppings on the thermal performance of photovoltaic panels

Saboor Shaik,
Pethurajan Vigneshwaran,
Abin Roy,
Karolos J. Kontoleon,
Domenico Mazzeo,
Erdem Cuce,
C Ahamed Saleel,
Mamdooh Alwetaishi,
Sher Afghan Khan,
Ali Etem Gürel,
Ümit Ağbulut

Affiliations

Saboor Shaik: Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering (SMEC), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India; Corresponding author.
Pethurajan Vigneshwaran: Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering (SMEC), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Abin Roy: Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering (SMEC), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Karolos J. Kontoleon: Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.), University Campus, Gr - 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
Domenico Mazzeo: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano 34 La Masa, Milan, 20156, Italy
Erdem Cuce: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Zihni Derin Campus, 53100, Rize, Turkey
C Ahamed Saleel: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, PO Box 394, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia
Mamdooh Alwetaishi: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21974, Saudi Arabia
Sher Afghan Khan: Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering (SMEC), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.), University Campus, Gr - 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano 34 La Masa, Milan, 20156, Italy; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Zihni Derin Campus, 53100, Rize, Turkey; Low/Zero Carbon Energy Technologies Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Zihni Derin Campus, 53100, Rize, Turkey; School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, B4 7XG, Birmingham, UK; Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, PO Box 394, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia; Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21974, Saudi Arabia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, IIUM Malaysia, 50728, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye; Clean Energy Resources Application and Research Center, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye
Ali Etem Gürel: Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye
Ümit Ağbulut: Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 48
p. 103128

Abstract

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Photovoltaic (PV) systems are capable of meeting the urgent demand for power production for both domestic and commercial purposes. PV systems possess serious drawbacks as their performance is heavily influenced by environmental variables like wind, radiation, shadow, dust, and soil accumulation. The current work examines the performance of solar PV panels in the presence of soil and dust at various tilt angles. A solar PV simulator was used, and experiments were conducted for a hot-dry climate location (Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, 12.91° N, 79.1325° E), to evaluate the performance of solar PV panels under varying dust deposition. A total of seven different samples, such as black soil, desert soil, red soil, alluvial soil, laterite soil, coal dust, and bird droppings, were selected and dispersed over the surface of the PV panel at various weights of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g. The physical characteristics of the dust samples have been emphasized as being essential in determining how effectively the PV panel functioned. Bird droppings were shown to have the greatest influence on PV panel efficiency because of their tendency to stick to the panel surface due to moisture content, but coal dust, independent of tilt angle, was found to have the least effect. Coal dust was determined to have the least impact of all soil types since it is quickly blown away and does not stick to the surface. Bird droppings accounted for about 46.42 %–89.18% of the efficiency loss, which was determined to be high, whereas coal dust accounted for less than 13% of the efficiency loss. Furthermore, it was revealed that considered tilt angles (0O and 12.91O) have a minor influence on the PV's overall performance.

Published in Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

ISSN: 2214-157X (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/case-studies-in-thermal-engineering/

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