Open AccessInvestigating the impact of using nano-fluid as a cooling medium on photovoltaic/thermal panel system performance
Author(s) -
Haroun A.K. Shahad,
Mohammed H. Abbood,
Abid Ali
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/1067/1/012118
Subject(s) - nanofluid , photovoltaic system , materials science , thermal , monocrystalline silicon , aluminium , volumetric flow rate , water cooling , nano , thermal efficiency , flow (mathematics) , work (physics) , mass flow rate , environmental science , mechanical engineering , composite material , mechanics , meteorology , silicon , metallurgy , electrical engineering , engineering , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , combustion
Making use of the superior thermal properties of nanofluids is now very common, especially with regard to the cooling of photovoltaic panels to improve overall efficiency. In this work, a novel cooling system manufactured from 3 mm aluminium was attached to the rear of a monocrystalline photovoltaic module, and two volumetric concentrations of SiC/Water nanofluid were tested with different flow rates. These tests were carried out under outdoor climatic conditions in middle of Iraq at Babylon University (32.46 °N, 44.42°E) during both winter and summer. A theoretical model was thus developed in SolidWorks and simulated using ANSYS 18.2. The maximum enhancements in electrical and overall efficiency were found to be 50% and 82.41% in March with a 0.5% nanofluid concentration and 2 L/min flow rate, while the minimum enhancements were 35.4% and 34.01% in June, with a 0.1% nanofluid concentration and 0.5 L/min flow rate. The theoretical results showed good approximation to the experimental results, and the average deviation percentage of electrical efficiency for a photovoltaic/thermal system with nanofluid on 27 March was 5.58%, while on 3 June it was 11%.