Computational analysis of photovoltaic thermal performance using Al2O3/Water and CNT/water nanofluids with perforated V-shape heatsink

Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) systems present a viable solution for the simultaneous production of electricity and thermal energy; however, their overall efficiency is often limited by excessive heat accumulation in the photovoltaic (PV) modules. This study introduces an enhanced PVT design by integrating high-conductivity nanofluids with a perforated V-shape heatsink (PVT-PVSH) to improve heat dissipation. A three-dimensional CFD model was developed in ANSYS Fluent to analyze the system performance using pure water, Al2O3/water, and CNT/water nanofluids under varying nanoparticle volume fractions (0 %–6 %), flow rates (10–50 kg/h), and solar irradiance levels (400–1000 W/m2). The numerical results, validated against experimental data with a maximum deviation below 5 %, indicate that the CNT/water nanofluid significantly improves system performance, achieving an electrical efficiency of up to 17 % and thermal efficiency of 83.5 %, with a reduction in solar cell temperature by approximately 7.9 K compared to pure water. Increasing the nanoparticle concentration to 6 % further enhanced the thermal efficiency by nearly 19 % relative to the 1 % concentration. These findings demonstrate that combining optimized heatsink geometry with nanofluids can substantially increase the electrical and thermal performance of PVT systems, providing a practical pathway for more efficient solar energy utilization.