A Comprehensive Performance Characterization of a Nanofluid-Powered Dual-Fluid PV/T System under Outdoor Steady State Conditions

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, Gwi-Hyun Lee and Jun-Tae Kim
Additional contact information
Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain: Green Energy Technology Research Center, Kongju National University, Cheonan 31080, Korea
Gwi-Hyun Lee: Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
Jun-Tae Kim: Department of Architectural Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan 31080, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-20

Abstract: This paper discusses the effectiveness of simultaneous use of CuO nanofluid and air as a dual-fluid coolant for the thermal management of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system. Outdoor experimental studies were performed to calculate the discrepancies between indoor and outdoor test findings. The thermal efficiency and the electrical characteristics of the dual-fluid PV/T system were investigated under steady-state test conditions following ISO standards. It was found that the divergence in electrical efficiency between indoor and outdoor-based PVT testing was significantly higher, while the difference in thermal efficiencies was marginal. It was observed that nanofluid/air, even at the lowest flow rates, outclassed the water/air coolant at higher flow rates in terms of PV/T energy output, which also ultimately helps in reducing the energy requirement for pumping. Unlike conventional solar air heaters, the proposed dual-fluid PV/T system produces a high air temperature when operated with only air at stagnant nanofluid. The maximum PV/T efficiency of approximately 85% was recorded when the nanofluid and air flows were kept at 0.02 kg/s and 0.04 kg/s, respectively. It is concluded that outdoor steady state testing provides comprehensive performance characterization of the nanofluid powered dual-fluid coolant for the PV/T system.

Keywords: nanofluid-powered dual-fluid; PV/T system; indoor and outdoor testing; comparative study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13134/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13134/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13134-:d:689032

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().