Numerical study on using multichannel tube and PCM for improving thermal and electrical performance of a photovoltaic module

The electrical efficiency of a crystalline silicon module drops with increasing cell temperature. Phase change material (PCM) was commonly used to perform the thermal management of a PV module, while its poor thermal conductivity may act as a barrier to wide application. In the current study, an innovation design that utilizes excellent heat storage capacity (HSC) of PCM and high thermal conductivity of multichannel tube is introduced into a PV module (MPCM-PV). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the MPCM-PV together with experimental validation was conducted. It was determined that the established model can predict the performance of the MPCM-PV at reasonable accuracy. The effect of the structural and physical parameters on the operating performance of the MPCM-PV module was analyzed. The electric energy production was increased by 4.75 % when the number of channels was increased from 1 to 5. Additionally, the rectangular-shape channel rather than triangular shape was more beneficial for the MPCM-PV temperature reduction. Further, it was found that the low melting point and large HSC of PCM lead to the higher electric energy production. The electrical energy increments of 1.71 % and 0.32 % were respectively achieved when the HSC was increased from 240 kJ/kg to 560 kJ/kg and the melting temperature was decreased from 44 degrees C to 38 degrees C. The sensitive analysis suggested that the channel shape and the HSC have the most significant impact on electric energy production. These findings provide insight into the design the MPCM-PV system and can guide the development of efficient PV system.