Research and numerical analysis on performance optimization of photovoltaic-thermoelectric system incorporated with phase change materials

In recent years, photovoltaic (PV) cells have been widely used to cope with the problem of global energy shortage. In the current researches, the PV-TEG-PCM (photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator-phase change material) system can improve the utilization of solar energy and the hybrid system shows better performance. Most of the previous studies were two-dimensional models or steady-state models, which could not accurately evaluate the system performance under fluctuating solar irradiation. This research constructs a threedimensional thermal simulation transient model of the PV-TEG-PCM system. The model is simulated under fluctuating solar irradiation, model validity has been verified. This research completes and optimizes the theoretical researches of PV-TEG-PCM systems. This research will play a guiding role in the subsequent practical experiments and applications. The effects of PCM melting temperature, thickness and thermal conductivity are studied. The results show that the performance of PV-TEG-PCM system is better than that of PV-TEG or sole PV systems. At the peak sun-hour, the PV temperature was reduced for three types of PV-TEG-PCM systems compared to PV-TEG systems. Through simulation, the PCM layer with 30 mm thickness and melting temperature of 42 degrees C, can make the PV-TEG-PCM system established this time achieve the best thermal performance.