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The influence of microchannel heat sink configurations on the performance of low concentrator photovoltaic systems

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  • Radwan, Ali
  • Ahmed, Mahmoud

Abstract

A new cooling technique for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems is developed using various configurations of microchannel heat sinks. Five distinct configurations integrated with a CPV system are investigated, including a wide rectangular microchannel, a single layer parallel- and counter- flow microchannel, and a double layer parallel- and counter- flow microchannel. A comprehensive, three-dimensional thermo-fluid model for photovoltaic layers, integrated with a microchannel heat sink, is developed. The model is numerically simulated and validated using the available experimental and numerical data. Based on the results, the temperature contours on a plane located at the mid-thickness of the silicon layer are presented at different operating conditions and heat sink configurations. Accordingly, the maximum local temperature can be detected and temperature uniformity can be accurately estimated. Furthermore, at a concentration ratio of 20, the CPV system integrated with a single layer parallel- flow microchannel heat sink configuration (B) achieves the highest cell net power, electrical efficiency, and the minimum cell temperature. On the contrary, at the same operating conditions, the use of a single layer counter-flow microchannel heat sink configuration (C) is found to be the least effective cooling technique. The results of this study can guide industrial designers to adopt compact heat sink configurations and simple designs in the manufacturing process of hybrid CPV-thermal systems.

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  • Radwan, Ali & Ahmed, Mahmoud, 2017. "The influence of microchannel heat sink configurations on the performance of low concentrator photovoltaic systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 594-611.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:206:y:2017:i:c:p:594-611
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.202
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    5. Hamada, Alaa & Emam, Mohamed & Refaey, H.A. & Moawed, M. & Abdelrahman, M.A., 2023. "Investigating the performance of a water-based PVT system using encapsulated PCM balls: An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
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    7. Abo-Zahhad, Essam M. & Ookawara, Shinichi & Radwan, Ali & El-Shazly, A.H. & Elkady, M.F., 2019. "Numerical analyses of hybrid jet impingement/microchannel cooling device for thermal management of high concentrator triple-junction solar cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Ju, Xing & Pan, Xinyu & Zhang, Zheyang & Xu, Chao & Wei, Gaosheng, 2019. "Thermal and electrical performance of the dense-array concentrating photovoltaic (DA-CPV) system under non-uniform illumination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 904-915.
    9. Islam, Kazi & Riggs, Brian & Ji, Yaping & Robertson, John & Spitler, Christopher & Romanin, Vince & Codd, Daniel & Escarra, Matthew D., 2019. "Transmissive microfluidic active cooling for concentrator photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 906-915.
    10. Tao Yang & Xiaoming Zhang & Zhenyuan Chang & Liang Xu & Lei Xi & Jianmin Gao & Wei Kou & Xiaochun Jing, 2023. "Study on Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Lamilloy Structure with Different Configurations of Internal Minichannels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Radwan, Ali & Ookawara, Shinichi & Ahmed, Mahmoud, 2019. "Thermal management of concentrator photovoltaic systems using two-phase flow boiling in double-layer microchannel heat sinks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 404-419.
    12. Emam, Mohamed & Ookawara, Shinichi & Ahmed, Mahmoud, 2019. "Thermal management of electronic devices and concentrator photovoltaic systems using phase change material heat sinks: Experimental investigations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 322-339.
    13. Ji, Yishuang & Lv, Song & Qian, Zuoqin & Ji, Yitong & Ren, Juwen & Liang, Kaiming & Wang, Shulong, 2022. "Comparative study on cooling method for concentrating photovoltaic system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    14. Wang, Jian & Kong, Hui & Xu, Yaobin & Wu, Jinsong, 2019. "Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristics in finned copper foam heat sinks subjected to jet impingement cooling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 433-443.

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