Open AccessTemperature Regulation of Photovoltaic Cells using Phase Change Material Heat Sinks Integrated with Metal Foam
Author(s) -
Ahmad K. Al-Migdady
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1888/1/012001
Subject(s) - metal foam , heat sink , materials science , phase change material , porosity , heat transfer , composite material , heat transfer coefficient , metal , heat flux , convection , thermodynamics , phase change , metallurgy , physics
This article investigates the cooling performance of Phase Change Material “PCM”-heat sinks integrated with porous metal that are attached to PV cells. Numerical simulations were carried out for a 2-dimensional configuration of a PCM-based heat sink subjected to uniform heat flux of 900W/m 2 on the upper side and heat convection takes place at all other sides with a uniform convective heat transfer coefficient of 10 W/m 2 .°C. Two different PCMs were considered (n-Eicosane and RT44HC) and three values of metal foam porosity “e” were chosen as well (ε = 1.00, 0.97 and 0.90, where ε = 1.00 refers to no-metal foam case). Results showed that addition of metal foam enhances the cooling performance of PCM-based heat sinks. In the n-Eicosane based heat sinks, the PV-surface temperature was reduced by 6.31 °C and 7.00 °C for the 97% and 90% porosities respectively when compared to the no-metal foam case (100% porosity). On the other hand, in the RT44HC based heat sinks the PV-surface temperature was reduced by 5.50 °C and 6.15 °C for the 97% and 90% porosities respectively when compared to the no-metal foam case (100% porosity).