Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Management Performance of MEPCM Modules for PV Applications

Abednego Oscar Tanuwijava, Ching Jenq Ho, Chi-Ming Lai and Chao-Yang Huang
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Abednego Oscar Tanuwijava: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
Ching Jenq Ho: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
Chi-Ming Lai: Department of Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
Chao-Yang Huang: Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 310, Taiwan

Energies, 2013, vol. 6, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: The efficiency of photovoltaic modules decreases as the cell temperature increases. It is necessary to have an adequate thermal management mechanism for a photovoltaic module, especially when combined with a building construction system. This study aims to investigate via computational fluid dynamics simulations the heat transfer characteristics and thermal management performance of microencapsulated phase change material modules for photovoltaic applications under temporal variations of daily solar irradiation. The results show that the aspect ratio of the microencapsulated phase change material layer has significant effects on the heat transfer characteristics and the overall thermal performance of the two cases examined with different melting points (26 °C and 34 °C) are approximately the same.

Keywords: microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM); thermal performance; photovoltaic (PV); computational fluid dynamics (CFD) (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: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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