Performance Analysis and Comparison of a Concentrated Photovoltaic System with Different Phase Change Materials

Jawad Sarwar, Muhammad Rizwan Shad, Arshmah Hasnain, Farman Ali, Konstantinos E. Kakosimos and Aritra Ghosh
Additional contact information
Jawad Sarwar: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Muhammad Rizwan Shad: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Punjab, Lahore 54782, Pakistan
Arshmah Hasnain: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Farman Ali: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Konstantinos E. Kakosimos: Chemical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University at Qatar, P.O. Box 23874, Doha, Qatar
Aritra Ghosh: College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Renewable Energy, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: In this work, temperature regulation and electrical output of a concentrated photovoltaic system coupled with a phase change material (CPVPCM) system is investigated and compared with a single sun crystalline photovoltaic (PV) system. A fully coupled thermal-optical-electrical model has been developed in-house to conduct the simulation studies for actual weather conditions of Doha (Qatar) and selected phase change materials (PCMs). The selected PCMs are lauric acid, RT47, S-series salt, STL47, ClimSel TM C48, RT54, RT60, RT62, and RT64. An optical concentration ratio of 20× is considered on a 15 mm wide crystalline silicon cell. The temperature evolution, thermal energy storage and electrical output of the CPVPCM system are obtained for 48-hour simulations with representative weather conditions for each month of a typical meteorological year (TMY). Results and overall thermal and electrical efficiency are compared for each PCM. In brief, the CPVPCM system with S-series salt performs better than all other PCM with an overall efficiency of 54.4%. Furthermore, this system consistently produces more power than a PV system with an equal footprint (1 m 2 ) for each month of the TMY.

Keywords: concentrated photovoltaic; finite element method; overall efficiency; phase change material; thermal efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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