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Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184
www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Thermal modelling of N partially covered photovoltaic thermal

(PVT) – Compound parabolic concentrator (CPC)
collectors connected in series
Rohit Tripathi a,⇑, G.N. Tiwari a, I.M. Al-Helal b
a
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
b
Department of Agriculture Engineering, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Received 4 September 2015; accepted 12 November 2015

Available online 14 December 2015

Communicated by: Associate Editor Brian Norton

Abstract

In the present study, the thermal energy balance equations have been taken for N partially covered photovoltaic thermal–compound
parabolic concentrator collectors (N-PVT–CPC) connected in series. An analytical mathematical expression for N th outlet water temper-
ature (TfoN) and efficiency of solar cell at N th collector (gcN) have been derived in terms of climate and design parameters. Numerical
computations have been carried out for two Indian climatic condition namely (a) January (winter) and (b) June (summer), respectively.
Effect of number of PVT–CPC collectors connected in series, mass flow rate and the percentage of PV coverage on various temperatures,
an overall thermal energy and overall exergy have been carried. It has been observed that an overall exergy of proposed system is
maximum for winter condition due to less thermal losses.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: PVT water collector; Compound parabolic concentrator; Characteristic equation

1. Introduction collector. Bhargava et al. (1991) and Prakash (1994) pre-

Due to vital importance of energy, it is necessary to
establish renewable energy in order to find a balance
between environment, technology and economic viability
of energy production and consumption. Photovoltaic ther-
mal (PVT) converts solar energy into thermal and electrical
energy. Kern and Russell (1978) presented the concept of
PVT collector for the first time. Either water or air can be
used as fluid below PV module to reduce the temperature
of solar cell which increases the electrical efficiency of PV
module. Hendrie (1979) presented a theoretical model of
PVT using techniques of convectional thermal plane
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9958268783.
E-mail address: rohittripathi30.iitd@gmail.com (R. Tripathi).
sented the results of their work on the effect of flow and
air duct. Othman et al. (2005) studied a double pass photo-
voltaic thermal solar air collector with compound parabolic
concentrator and fins on the back side of the absorber.
Tchinda (2008) presented the solar air heater combined with
compound parabolic concentrator. It was studied that when
mass flow rate of air increases then the outlet temperature of
air reduces. Chow et al. (2006) presented the thermal mod-
elling and comparative performance of solar PVT water col-
lector. Further in 2010, Tiwari and Dubey (2010) presented
all aspect of PVT systems. Dubey and Tiwari (2009) have
experimentally validated the theoretical model for partially
covered N-PVT water collectors connected in series.
Concentration technology in PVT has been adopted
and divided into two categories: high concentration

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2015.11.014
0038-092X/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184 175

Nomenclature

ac absorptivity of the solar cell T fom outlet water temperature at the end of PV mod-
m_ f mass flow rate of water (kg/m2) ule (°C)
sg transmissivity of the glass go efficiency at standard test condition
Cf specific heat of water (J/kg K) T foc outlet water temperature at the end of portion
b0 temperature coefficient of efficiency (K
1) covered by glass (°C)
Lr total length of receiver area (m) T fomN outlet water temperature at the end of Nth PV
La total length of aperture area (m) module (°C)
Lrc ; Lrm length of receiver covered by glass or PV module T foN outlet water temperature at the end of Nth PVT–
(m) CPC water collector (°C)
Lac ; Lam length of aperture covered by glass or PV h0i heat transfer coefficient from bottom of PVT to
module (m) ambient (W/m2 K)
gc solar cell efficiency ho heat transfer coefficient from top of PVT to
gm PV module efficiency ambient (W/m2 K)
b breath of receiver (m) hi heat transfer coefficient for space between the
bo breath of aperture (m) glazing and absorption plate (W/m2 K)
Arm area of receiver covered by PV module (m2) U tc;a overall heat transfer coefficient from cell to
Arc area of receiver covered by glass (m2) ambient (W/m2 K)
Aam area of aperture covered by PV module (m2) U tc;p overall heat transfer coefficient from cell to plate
Aac area of aperture covered by glass (m2) (W/m2 K)
Lg thickness of glass cover (m) hpf heat transfer coefficient from blackened plate to
Kg thermal conductivity of glass (W/m K) water (W/m2 K)
I b ðtÞ beam radiation (W/m2) U tp;a overall heat transfer coefficient from plate to
Ta ambient temperature (°C) ambient (W/m2 K)
Li thickness of insulation (m) U L;m overall heat transfer coefficient from module to
Ki thermal conductivity of insulation (W/m K) ambient (W/m2 K)
ðasÞeff product of effective absorptivity and transmit- U L;c overall heat transfer coefficient from glassing to
tivity ambient (W/m2 K)
F0 collector efficiency factor PF 1 penalty factor due to the glass covers of module
Tc solar cell temperature (°C) PF 2 penalty factor due to plate below the module
Tp absorption plate temperature (°C) PF 3 penalty factor due to the absorption plate for
Lp thickness of absorption plate (m) the glazed portion
Kp thermal conductivity of absorption plate PF c penalty factor due to the glass covers for the
(W/m K) glazed portion
T fi inlet water temperature (°C) b packing factor of the module
Tf water temperature (°C)

(CR > 4) – Fresnel lens and low concentration (CR > 4) –
compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). CPC’s are fur-
ther classified as: symmetric CPC and asymmetric CPC.
The CPC was proposed by Roland Winston and further
developed by Watter Welford mainly in 1970s. CPC are
quite attractive because they do not need tracking and
available to concentrate in a wider angular region of the
sky. Thermal modelling of hybrid photovoltaic thermal
air collector with compound parabolic concentrator
(CPC) was done by Garg and Adhikari, 1999. Kribus
et al. (2006) discussed the design of a PVT system using a
parabolic concentrator in small size, but system design
couldn’t provide heating at high temperature. Garg et al.
presented preliminary study based on building integrated
compound parabolic concentrator technology. Nilsson
et al. (2007) discussed and performed the electrical and
thermal characteristics of PVT-CPC systems for higher
and lower latitudes such as Lund and Sweden. Guiqiang
et al. (2012) presented a building integrated compound
parabolic concentrator with PVT systems. It was seen that
PVT-CPC collectors have controlled the reduction in the
quantity of PV cells and an increase in the electrical effi-
ciency. Kandilli (2013) presented a concentrating PV com-
bined system and examined that the payback time of
Photovoltaic system is reduced.
Mishra and Tiwari (2011) developed the analytical
expression of outlet temperature and useful energy for N-
series connected PVT flat plate water collectors partially
covered by the photovoltaic module at lower portion. Ana-
lytical equation for partially covered photovoltaic thermal
(PVT) – compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) for a sin-
gle unit of collector has been derived by Deepali et al. (2015).
It was found that overall efficiency of 25% PV covered por-
tion in receiver of the system is highest to other configura-
tions. Shyam et al. (2015) developed analytical expression
of temperature dependent electrical efficiency of N-PVT
176 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184

Absorber plate

Glazed surface
Solar cell

Air gap
Inlet Outlet

L Insulation

Cut section of metallic tubes

Fig. 1a. Cross section side view of proposed partially covered PVT–CPC first water collector where Ar = 1 m2, Arm = 0.25 m2 and Arc = 0.75 m2. (Atheaya
et al., 2015).

water collector connected in series. It is observed two cases
are discussed: one is PV module at lower portion and second
is PV module at upper portion in the receiver. For a given
number of PVT water collectors connected in series the out-
let water temperature approaches to a constant value after
0.04 kg/s mass flow rate for both the cases.
2. System description
2.1. PVT–CPC water collector
Deepali et al. (2015) have proposed a design of PVT–
CPC water collector. Further, an analytical characteristic
equation for partially covered PVT–CPC system has also
been developed. In their design, the lower portion of
PVT–CPC collector has been covered with semitransparent
PV module while upper portion is covered by glass cover.
The outlet at end of semitransparent PV module covered
water collector (Tfom1) becomes the inlet of the glazed upper
portion of water collector and the final outlet temperature
of the PVT–PC water collector is (Tfo1) as shown in
Fig. 1a. A copper tube in plate configured as absorber has
been considered as receiver. The aperture and receiver area
b
Solar cell
Fig. 1b. Cut section XX0 front view of partially covered PVT–CPC water
collector. (Atheaya et al.2015).
of PVT–CPC has been considered as considered as Aa and
Ar respectively. The beam radiation falls on aperture area
of CPC–PVT. After reflection from reflector, it is allowed
to fall on PVT water collector. The beam radiation is trans-
mitted through the non-packing area of PV module as well
as glazed portion of PVT–CPC and gets absorbed by the
blackened absorber plate. The thermal energy of solar cells
is indirectly transferred by convection and radiation to the
black absorber plate. So the temperature of blackened
absorber plate is increased. This trends to increase in tem-
perature of the water flowing through tubes below the
absorber. Atheaya et al. (2015) for better understanding,
side view via cut section X–X0 of the water flow pattern
inside the PVT collector have been shown in Fig. 1b.
2.2. N-PVT–CPC water collectors connected in series
In the proposed system, a number (N) of PVT–CPC water
collectors have been connected in series as suggested by
Shyam et al. (2015) for PVT water collectors. The proposed
system as shown in Fig. 2 has been analyzed for composite
climatic condition of India. The PVT–CPC water collectors
have been inclined at 28.5°, equal to latitude of New Delhi,
India to receive the annual maximum solar radiation.
In this case, the outlet of first partial PV covered PVT–
CPC collector (Tfo1) has been connected to the inlet of sec-
ond PVT–CPC collector and again the outlet of second
PVT–CPC collector (Tfo2) has been connected to the inlet
of third PVT–CPC collector and so on up to N th collector.
The final outlet water temperature of proposed system is
considered as TfoN as shown in Figs. 2a and 2b.
Following four configurations of the proposed system
have been considered:
(i) PV module area is 25% of water collector area.
(ii) PV module area is 50% of water collector area.
(iii) PV module area is 75% of water collector area.
(iv) PV module area is 100% of water collector area.
 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184 177

1st collector 2nd collector 3rd collector Nth collector

Tfo1 Tfo2 Tfo3 Outlet,
TfoN

TfoN-1
Inlet, Tfi

Fig. 2a. Proposed system-arrangement of N-PVT–CPC water collectors connected in series at XX0 .

1st collector 2nd collector 3rd collector Nth collector

Tfo1 TfoN-1
Tfo3

Outlet,
Inlet, Tfi
Tfo2 TfoN

Fig. 2b. Proposed system – N-PVT–CPC water collectors connected in series at XX0 with different arrangement of connecting the collectors.

In the present study an analytical expression for an outlet From Eq. (1), one can find solar cell temperature (T c ) as
water temperature, solar cell temperature, PV module effi- follows:
ciency, thermal exergy, overall thermal energy, electrical ðasÞ1;eff I b þ U tc;a T a þ U tc;p T p
and an overall exergy of partially covered number of (N) Tc ¼ ð2Þ
U tc;a þ U tc;p
PVT–CPC water collectors connected in series has been
derived. Numerical computations have been carried out
3.1.2. Energy balance for absorber plate below the
for a typical day of two weather conditions namely January
photovoltaic module
and June, 2015.

3. Thermal modelling qap s2g ð1
bc ÞI b Aam þ U t;cp ðT c
T p ÞArm

¼ F 0 hpf ðT p
T f ÞArm þ U t;pa ðT p
T f ÞArm ð3Þ
Following assumptions have been taken to write the
basic energy balance equations for proposed number of From Eqs. (2) and (3), one can get an expression for as
PVT–CPC collectors connected in series: h i
ðasÞ2;eff þ PF 1 ðasÞ1;eff I b þ U L2 T a þ hpf T f
(a) The PVT–CPC system is in quasi steady state. Tp ¼ ð4Þ
ðU L2 þ hpf Þ
(b) Ohmic losses in PV modules are neglected.
(c) Heat capacity of glass cover, insulation, absorber and Expressions for ðasÞ2;eff ; ðasÞ1;eff , PF 1 ; U L2 ; hpf ; U tp;a ;
solar cell materials are neglected. U tc;a and U tc;p have been given in Appendix A.
(d) There is no temperature gradient across thickness of
PV module, insulation and glass materials. 3.1.3. Energy balance for flowing water as fluid below the
absorber plate
3.1. Lower portion of the photovoltaic thermal–compound
parabolic concentrator collector
dT f
m_ f cf dx ¼ F 0 hpf ðT p
T f Þb dx ð5Þ
3.1.1. Energy balance equation for solar cell of dx
semitransparent PV module (Figs. 1a and 1b) from Eqs. (2) and (4), Eq. (5) can be rewritten as follows:
dT f
qac sg bc I b Aam ¼ ½U tc;a ðT c
T a Þ þ U tc;p ðT c
T p ÞArm þ qgm I b Aam ð1Þ m_ f cf dx ¼ bF 0 ½I b PF 2 ðasÞm;eff
U l;m ðT f
T a Þdx ð6Þ
dx
178 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184

where F 0 is the collector efficiency factor calculated by fol- And, the rate of thermal exergy from N-identical
lowing Duffie and Beckman (1991) and Tiwari (2005). PVT–CPC water collector has been solved by following
The solution of the above equation can be obtained by
Q_ xth;N ¼ m_ f cf ðT foN
T fi Þ
using initial condition i.e. ðT f jx¼0 ¼ T fi Þ as
    ðT foN þ 273Þ
PF 2 ðasÞm;eff I b
bF 0 U L;m x
m_ f cf ðT a þ 273Þln ð13Þ
Tf ¼ þ T a 1
exp ðT fi þ 273Þ
U L;m m_ f cf
 0  where m_ f = mass flow rate of water, cf = specific heat of

bF U L;m x
þ T fi exp ð7Þ water, T fi = inlet water temperature and Ta = ambient air
m_ f cf temperature.
The outlet water (as fluid) temperature at end of PV Following Eq. (4), an average N th plate temperature
module can be evaluated as (T pN ) can be written as

T fom1 ¼ T f jx¼Lrm ½ðasÞ2;eff þ PF 1 ðasÞ1;eff I b þ U L2 T a þ hpf T fN

   0  T PN ¼ ð14Þ
PF 2 ðasÞm;eff I b
F U L;m ARm ðU L2 þ hpf Þ
¼ þ T a 1
exp
U L;m m_ f cf The average flowing water temperature T fN can be deter-
 0 

F U L;m ARm mined as follows:
þ T fi exp ð8Þ
m_ f cf T foN
1 þ T fomN
T fN ¼ ð15Þ
After knowing T fom1 from Eq. (7) and following Atheaya 2
et al. (2015), the outlet water temperature of first
where T foN
1 and T fomN are the outlet water temperature at
PVT–CPC collector T fo1 is given by
(N
1)th collector of PVT–CPC water collectors and the
I b ðAF R ðasÞÞ1 ð1
K p Þ T a ðAF R U L Þ1 ð1
K p Þ
N N
temperature at the end of the PV module of N th collector
T fo1 ¼ þ of PVT–CPC water collectors, respectively.
m_ f C f ð1
K p Þ m_ f C f ð1
K p Þ
  Eq. (14) can be simplified as with help of Eqs. (10) and
ðAF R U L Þ1
þ T fi 1
ð9Þ (11) as
m_ f C f
  
1 Ib ð1
K Nk
1 Þ
T fN ¼ ðAF R ðasÞÞm1 þ ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1
2 m_ f cf ð1
K k Þ
3.2. N-number PVT–CPC water collectors  
Ta ð1
K Nk
1 Þ
þ ðAF R ðasÞÞm1 þ ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1
In this case, PVT–CPC water collectors are connected in m_ f cf ð1
K k Þ
series as mentioned earlier. The outlet water temperature at i
first PVT–CPC collector given by Eq. (9). It becomes the þð1 þ K m ÞT fi K Nk
1 ð16Þ
inlet temperature of second PVT–CPC water collector
and so on up to the N th PVT–CPC water collector (TfoN). From Eq. (15), one can obtain the expression of average
Now T fo1 is inlet of second water collector and similarly absorber plate temperature (T PN )
T foN
1 is the inlet of N th collector. Similarly, the outlet fluid h
Ib
temperature T fomN at end of N th collector’s PV module. The T PN ¼  ðasÞ2;eff þ PF 2 ðasÞ1;eff
U L2 þ F 0 hpf
expression for TfoN and T fomN in the present case has been  
derived by following Shyam et al. (2015) and one can get F 0 hpf ð1
K Nk
1 Þ
þ ðAF R ðasÞÞm1 þ ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R ðasÞÞ1
the following 2m_ f cf ð1
K k Þ

Ta F 0 hpf

I b ðAF R ðasÞÞmN T a ðAF R U L Þ1 þ U L2 þ ðAF R U L Þm1

T fomN ¼ þ þ T foN
1 K m ð10Þ ðU L2 þ F 0 hpf Þ 2m_ f cf
m_ f C f m_ f C f 
ð1
K N
1 Þ
þð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1 k
I b ðAF R ðasÞÞ1 ð1
K p Þ
N
ð1
K k Þ
T foN ¼
m_ f C f ð1
K p Þ 0
F hpf
þ ð1 þ K m ÞK Nk
1 T fi ð17Þ
T a ðAF R U L Þ1 ð1
K p Þ
N ðU L2 þ F 0 hpf Þ
þ þ T fi K Nm ð11Þ
m_ f C f ð1
K p Þ
After getting T PN , it is need to find the expression of
Expressions for ðAF R U L Þ1 , ðAF R ðasÞÞ1 and K p have been average solar cell temperature (T CN )
given in Appendix A.
With help of Eq. (10), the rate of useful thermal energy ðasÞ1;eff I b þ U tc;a T a þ U tc;p T PN
T CN ¼ ð18Þ
gain from partially N-PVT–CPC water collector has been U tc;a þ U tc;p
calculated by following equation
From Eq. (16), one can also find the expression of aver-
Q_ uth;N ¼ m_ f cf ðT foN
T fi Þ ð12Þ age solar cell temperature (T CN )
 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184 179
 n
Ib U tc;p Condition II: For N = 1, the above equation is valid for
T CN ¼ ðasÞ1;eff þ ðasÞm;eff
U tc;p þ U tc;a ðU L2 þ F 0 hpf Þ the expression derived by Deepali Atheaya et al. (2015)
 
F 0 hpf ð1
K Nk
1 Þ for single PVT–CPC water collector.
þ ðAF R U L Þm1 þ ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1
2m_ f cf ð1
K k Þ
 Now, from Eq. (20), the temperature dependent electri-
Ta U tc;p
þ U tc;a þ fU L2 cal efficiency of PV modules of N PVT–CPC water collec-
U tc;p þ U tc;a ðU L2 þ F 0 hpf Þ
( ))# tor is following as
F 0 hpf ðAF R U L Þm1 þ
þ N
1 Þ gmN ¼ sg bc gcN ð22Þ
2m_ f cf ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1 ð1
K k
ð1
K k Þ

U tc;p F 0 hpf Further, with the help of Eq. (21), the rate of usable
þ  ð1 þ K m ÞK N
1 T fi ð19Þ
2ðU tc;a þ U tc;p Þ U L2 þ F 0 hpf k
electrical energy gain or exergy from N-identical PVT–
CPC water collector has been solved by this equation
The analytical expression for the temperature dependent
electrical efficiency of solar cells of a number (N) of PVT– X
N

CPC water collectors has been evaluated by following Q_ xel;N ¼ Arm I b gmN ð23Þ
1
expression
 
gcN ¼ g0 1
b0 ðT cN
T 0 Þ ð20Þ Exergy of partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector
system will be calculated based on second law of thermody-
where, g0 is efficiency at standard test condition, T 0 ¼ 25 °C, namics. Two categories of exergy have been included into
T cN is the average solar cell temperature of N th PVT–CPC overall exergy: one is an electrical exergy and second is a
water collector and b0 is temperature coefficient of solar thermal exergy. With the help of Eqs. (13) and (23), an
cell efficiency. overall exergy can be calculated as follows
Further, with the help of Eq. (18), the above equation
can be rewritten following as: Q_ xu;N ¼ Q_ xth;N þ Q_ xel;N ð24Þ

2 2 2 2  n o 3 3 33
U tc;p
sg ac bc Aam
þ U L2 þF 0h ð as Þ þ PF 1 a c s g b Aam
þ
6 6 6 6
Arm
n
pf 2;eff c
o
Arm
7 7 77
6 6 6 6 7 7 77
6 6 6 6 U tc;p F 0 hpf
PF 2 ðasÞ2;eff þ PF 2 PF 1 ac sg bc AAam Am F rm 7 7 7 77
6 6 6 6 2m_ f cf ðU L2 þF 0 hpf Þ 7 77
6 6 6 rm
7 77
6 6 6 I 6 6 þð1 þ K m Þ
7 7
7 77
6 6 6 b6 7 77
6 6 6 6 n nh i oo 7 7 7 77
6 6 6 6 Ac F rc ðasÞ A F U 7 7 7 77
c;eff þ PF 2 ðasÞ2 þ PF 2 PF 1 ac sg bc ð Aam Þ ð1
Þ
A
6 6 1 6 77
c rc L;c
6 A m F rm _ 7
6 6
g0 61
b0 6U tc;p þU tc;a 6 6 4 N
1 
rm m c
f f
5 7
T 07
7 7
77
6 6 6 1
K k 7 77
6 6 6 1
K k 7 77
6 6 6  7 77
6 6 6 n N
1 o 7 77
6 6 6 þT U þ U tc;p U L2 þ 0
U tc;p F hpf
ðAF R U L Þm1 þ ð1 þ K m ÞðAF R U L Þ1 1
K k
1
K k 7 77
6 6 6 a tc;a U L2 þF 0 hpf f f ð L2
0h
pf Þ
7 77
6 6 6 2 m_ c U þF 7 77
6 6 6   7 77
4 4 4 0
U tc;p F hpf ð1þK m ÞK kN
1 5 55
þT fi 2ðU L2 þF 0 hpf Þ
gcN ¼ 2 2 8 933
>
> 1 þ ð1 þ K m Þ: >
6 6   <
>  >>
=77
6 g0 b0 I b 6 U tc;p U tc;p F 0 hpf 1

Ac F Rc U L;c
: 77
6 1
6 s g b Aam
þ 0h PF 1 s g b Aam
þ 2m_ f cf ðU L2 þF hpf Þ
PF 1 PF 2 s g b A m F Rm m_ c 77
4 tc;p 4 > > 55
f f
ðU þU Þ þF
tc;a c A rm U L2 pf c A rm 0 c
>  >
>
: 1
K kN
1 >
;
1
K k

ð21Þ

4. Methodology
Above equation can be discussed for the following limiting
conditions: In order to compute the temperature dependent
Condition I: For Aam = Arm, and I(t) = Ib, the electrical efficiency of PV module and an overall thermal
above equation reduces to the expression derived by energy and exergy for partially covered N-PVT–CPC water
Shyam et al. (2015) for PVT collectors connected in collectors connected in series, following methodology has
series. been adopted:
180 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184

35 st
1000 jan-1 PVT-CPC collector
Ib-Jan Ib-June rd
jan-3 II
900 Ta-Jan Ta-June mf=0.012 kg/s, jan-6
th
II
30

Ambient air temperature, Ta ( C)

st
N=6, june-1 PVT-CPC collector
Solar beam intensity, Ib (W/m )
2

800 80 rd

Average flowing water temperature ( C)

PV module area=25% june-3 II
th

o
700 25 june-6 II
70
600
20
60
500
15 50
400

300 10 40

200

o
5 30
100
20
0 0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
10
Time of the day
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fig. 3. Hourly variation of Beam radiation and ambient air temperature Time of the day (hr)
for a typical day in month of January and June.
Fig. 5a. Hourly variation of average flowing water temperature, T f for
Table 1 partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in month
Values of design parameters of N-PVT–CPC water collector system, used of January and June.
in analytical computation.
Ar ¼ 1 m2 U tc;p ¼ 5:58 W/m2 °C
Arm ¼ 0:25 m2 U tp;a ¼ 4:8 W/m2 °C st
jan-1 PVT-CPC collector
Arc ¼ 0:75 m2 PF 1 ¼ 0:3782 mf=0.012 kg/s, jan-3
rd
II
th
Aa ¼ 2 m2 PF 2 ¼ 0:9512 N=6, jan-6
st
II
PV module area=25% june-1 PVT-CPC collector
Aam ¼ 0:5 m2 PF c ¼ 0:9842 80
Average absorber plate temperature ( C)

rd
june-3 II
Aac ¼ 1:5 m2 hpf ¼ 100 W/m2
o

th
june-6 II

F 0 ¼ 0:9680 hi ¼ 5:7 W/m2 70

F rc ¼ 0:8693 m2 h0i ¼ 5:8 W/m2

60
F rm ¼ 0:8110 m2 ho ¼ 9:5 W/m2
K g ¼ 0:816 W/m °C q = 0.84 50
Lg ¼ 0:003 m sg ¼ 0:95
K i ¼ 0:166 W/m °C, ac ¼ 0:9 40
Li ¼ 0:100 m bc ¼ 0:89
K p ¼ 6 W/m °C, ap ¼ 0:8 30
Lp ¼ 0:002 m cf ¼ 4179 J/kg K
U L1 ¼ 3:47 W/m2 °C m_ f ¼ 0:012 kg/s 20

U L;m ¼ 7:87 W/m2 °C FF ¼ 0:8

10
U tc;a ¼ 9:17 W/m2 °C go ¼ 0:15
U Lc ¼ 4:7 W/m2 °C Tube diameter = 0.0125 m 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Fig. 5b. Hourly variation of average absorber plate temperature, T p for

st
jan-1 PVT-CPC collector partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in month
rd
mf=0.012 kg/s, jan-3 II
jan-6
th
II
of January and June.
N=6, st
june-1 PVT-CPC collector
100 PV module area=25% rd
june-3 II
th
Outlet water temperature, TfoN ( C)

june-6 II
90
Step 1: The climatic data’s namely beam radiation and
o

80 an ambient air temperature on horizontal surface for a

70 typical day for New Delhi have been obtained from
60
IMD, Pune, India. The beam radiation has been calcu-
lated at 30° north latitude by using Li and Jordon for-
50
mula. The hourly variation of beam radiation and
40 ambient air temperature have been shown in Fig. 3.
30 Step 2: Eqs. (11) and (16) have been used to evaluate the
20
outlet and average water temperature at N th PVT–CPC
water collector by using MATLAB 2010a. The same
10
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 program can be used for any number of collectors.
Time of the day (hr) Step 3: Eqs. (12) and (13) have been used to evaluate the
Fig. 4. Hourly variation of outlet water temperature, TfoN for partially
rate of useful thermal energy gain and thermal exergy of
covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in month of the N-PVT–CPC water collectors connected in series
January and June. through MATLAB program. The values of design
 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184 181

st 190
jan-1 PVT-CPC collector st
rd Pv module area=25% 1 PVT-CPC collector
mf=0.012 kg/s, jan-3 II 180 nd
th 2 II
N=6, jan-6 II 170 rd
110 PV module area=25%
st
june-1 PVT-CPC collector 3 II
rd
160 th
june-3 II 4 II
Average solar cell temperature ( C)

th 150 th
100 june-6 II 5 II
o

140 th
90
6 II

TfoN, max ( C)
130

o
80 120
110
70 100

60 90
80
50 70
40 60
50
30 40
0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.010 0.012
20
Mass flow rate (kg/s)
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr) Fig. 7b. Hourly variation of outlet water temperature, T foN with different
values of mass flow rate, for partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector
Fig. 5c. Hourly variation of average solar cell temperature, T c for for a typical day in month of June.
partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in month
of January and June. parameters of partially covered N-PVT–CPC water col-
lectors have been given in Table 1.
Step 4: After knowing an average water temperature,
0.14 120
Eqs. (17) and (19) have been used to obtain average
0.13
110
plate and solar cell temperature at N th PVT–CPC water
Electrical efficiency (in fraction)

100
jan- η collectors connected in series.
Solar cell temperature ( C)

0.12 90 Step 5: For known solar cell temperature, an electrical

jan- Tc
june- η 80 efficiency of solar cells and PV modules at N th PVT–
0.11 june- Tc
70 CPC water collectors connected in series have been com-
mf=0.012 kg/s,
0.10 N=6,
60 puted by Eqs. (21) and (22) respectively.
PV module area=25% 50 Step 6: Further, Eqs. (23) and (24) have been used to
0.09 40 compute the rate of useful electrical energy and overall
o

30 exergy of the system for known electrical efficiency of

0.08
20 PV modules.
0.07 10
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
5. Results and discussion
Time of the day (hr)

Fig. 6. Hourly variation of electrical efficiency and solar cell temperature For numerical computations of N-PVT–CPC water col-
for partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in lectors connected in series, climate and design parameters
month of June.
are given in Fig. 3 and Table 1. Now in Fig. 4, the hourly
variation of outlet water temperature (TfoN) for a typical
200
st
190 PV module area=25% 1 PVT-CPC collector January
180 2
nd
II 120 at 13.00 hr, mf=0.012 kg/s
June
170 rd
3 II
160 th 110
150 4 II
th
140 5 II 100
th
130
TfoN,max ( C)

6 II
90
o

120
110
TfoN,max ( C)

80
100
o

90 70
80
70 60
60
50 50
40
30 40
20
0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.010 0.012 30

Mass flow rate (kg/s) 20

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Fig. 7a. Hourly variation of outlet water temperature, T foN with different No. of collectors
values of mass flow rate, for partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector
for a typical day in month of January. Fig. 8. Variation of maximum outlet water temperature with varying
number of collectors at fixed mass flow rate.
182 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184

day in January and June has been shown for different num- st
jan-1 PVT-CPC collector
rd
jan-3 II
ber of PVT–CPC water collector. It has been observed that 5.0 mf=0.012 kg/s, jan-6
th
II
st
beyond six collector, water temperature reaches beyond N=6,
PV module area=25%
june-1 PVT-CPC collector
rd
4.5 june-3 II
100 °C. It is further to be noted that the increment in water

Overall thermal energy gain (kWh)

th
june-6 II
4.0
temperature decreases with increase of numbers of collec-
tor due to higher heat losses as expected. Figs. 5a and 5b 3.5

show the hourly variation of average water ðT f Þ, plate 3.0

ðT p Þ and solar cell temperatures ðT c Þ for different number 2.5

of collectors at constant mass flow rate ðm_ f ¼ 0:012 kg=sÞ 2.0
for month of January and June. It is clear from these fig- 1.5
ures that T foN < T f , T P , T c and also various temperature
1.0
in June is higher as per our expectation.
0.5
Fig. 6 shows the hourly variation of average solar cell
temperature ðT c Þ and electrical efficiency of PV module 0.0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
ðgm Þ. This gives that an electrical efficiency (gm ) decreases Time of the day (hr)
with increase in average solar cell temperature ðT c Þ for
Fig. 9b. Hourly variation of overall thermal energy for partially covered
both month. It is due to higher thermal energy losses at N-PVT–CPC water collector for a typical day in month of January and
higher temperature. At higher operating temperature, there June.
is collisions between electrons in depletion layer of solar
cell.
mf=0.012 kg/s, N=6
Effect of mass flow rate on maximum outlet water tem- 4.0
jan
perature has been shown in Figs. 7a and 7b which show 3.5 june
that maximum outlet water temperature (TfoN,max)
decreases with increase of mass flow rate. In this case, with 3.0
Overall exergy (kWh)

decrease of TfoN,max, thermal losses also decreases. It is also 2.5

due to the rate of heat transfer from absorber plate to
2.0
water increases with increase in mass flow rate hence outlet
water temperature decreases. Further, for a given sixth col- 1.5
lectors, there is a drop of 101 °C of maximum outlet water
1.0
temperature (TfoN,max) with increase of mass flow rate from
0.002 to 0.012 kg/s. In this situation, other fluids with 0.5

higher boiling temperature can be used for power genera- 0.0

tion with more number of collectors connected in series. 0 25 50 75 100

Effect of number of collectors on maximum outlet water PV covered portion (in percentage)
temperature has been shown in Fig. 8. It can be observed Fig. 10a. Daily overall exergy with varying PV covered portion, 25%,
that maximum outlet temperature (TfoN,max) increases with 50%, 75% and 100%, for partially covered N-PVT–CPC water collector for
increasing the number of collectors as reported by Shyam a month of January and June.

st
jan-1 PVT-CPC collector mf=0.012 kg/s, N=6 jan
rd
jan-3 II 30
0.75 th june
jan-6 II
Overall thermal energy gain (kWh)

mf=0.012 kg/s,
0.70 st
N=6, june-1 PVT-CPC collector
rd 28
0.65 PV module area=25% june-3 II
th
0.60 june-6 II
0.55 26
Overall exergy (kWh)

0.50
0.45 24
0.40
0.35 22
0.30
0.25
20
0.20
0.15
18
0.10
0.05
0.00 16
0 25 50 75 100
-0.05
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 PV covered portion (in percentage)
Time of the day (hr)
Fig. 10b. Daily overall thermal energy gain with varying PV covered
Fig. 9a. Hourly variation of overall exergy for partially covered N-PVT– portion, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, for partially covered N-PVT–CPC
CPC water collector for a typical day in month of January and June. water collector for a month of January and June.
 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184 183

et al. (2015) for N-PVT collectors connected in series. It is  For N = 1, the results are also in accordance with results
seen that the boiling temperature of water reaches more reported by Atheaya et al. (2015).
than 100 °C at eight collector for mass flow rate of
0.012 kg/s. This temperature can be further increased by
increasing more number of PVT–CPC collector by using Appendix A.
other fluid for power generation.
The hourly variation of an overall exergy and thermal Following terms are used in thermal modelling and
energy gain have been shown in Figs. 9a and 9b. It can be numerical computation for N-PVT–CPC water collectors
seen from Figs. 9a and 9b that an overall exergy system
(0.596 kW h) and thermal energy gain (3.5056 kW h) is max-  
1  
1
imum in the month of January as expected due to low heat 1 Lg 1 Lg
U tc;a ¼ þ ; U tc;p ¼ þ ;
losses. Figs. 10a and 10b show the effect of four different con- ho K g hi K g
figurations on daily overall exergy and thermal energy gain
ho ¼ 5:7 þ 3:8V ; W=m2 K; V ¼ 1 m=s;
of six collectors for a typical day of January and June. It is
2
observed that the patterns of daily overall exergy and ther- hi ¼ 5:7 W=m K;
mal energy gain are same for both weather conditions. The  
1  
1
1 1 1 1 Li
overall exergy increases gradually with increase in area of U tp;a ¼ þ þ 0þ þ ;
PV module and maximum overall exergy has been obtained U tc;a U tc;p hi hpf K i
in proposed system with fully covered by PV module. It has h0i ¼ 2:8 þ 3V 0 ; W=m2 K; V 0 ¼ 1 m=s;
been noticed that the percentage of PV module increases
then the overall thermal energy gain decreases for all four U tc;p U tc;a
U L1 ¼ ; U L2 ¼ U L1 þ U tp;a ;
configurations in both climate conditions, as expected. U tc;p þ U tc;a
It has also been observed that January month has been hpf U L2 hpf U tp;a
best suited for thermal as well as electrical energy or exergy U L;m ¼ ; U L;c ¼ ;
F 0 hpf þ U L2 F 0 hpf þ U tp;a
than June month.
U tc;p hpf
PF 1 ¼ ; PF 2 ¼ ;
6. Conclusions U tc;p þ U tc;a F 0 hpf þ U L2
hpf
Following conclusions have been made on the basis of PF c ¼ 0 ;
F hpf þ U tp;a
the present study:
Aam
ðasÞ1;eff ¼ ðac
gc Þsg bc ;
 The electrical efficiency of partially covered N-PVT–CPC Arm
water collectors connected in series decreases with the Aam
increase in number of PVT–CPC collectors. Further, ðasÞ2;eff ¼ ap s2g ð1
bÞ ;
Arm
the outlet water temperature of partially covered
N-PVT–CPC water collector connected in series ðasÞm;eff ¼ ½ðasÞ1;eff þ PF 1 ðasÞ1;eff ;
decreases with increase of mass flow rate in both climate Aac
conditions for a given number of collectors. These results ðasÞc;eff ¼ PF c ap sg ;
Arc
are in agreement with the results obtained by Shyam
Arm ¼ bLrm ; Aam ¼ bo Lam ;
et al. for N-PVT collectors connected in series.   0 
 The outlet water temperature increases with increase of m_ f cf
F U L;c Ac
Ac F Rc ¼ 1
exp ;
number of collectors in N-PVT–CPC water collectors in U L;c m_ f cf
series system.   0 
m_ f cf
F U L;m Am
 A combination of series connected 25% partially cov- Am F Rm ¼ 1
exp ;
ered by PV module N-PVT–CPC water collectors system U L;m m_ f cf
  
delivers maximum outlet water temperature at given Ac F Rc U L;c
ðAF R ðasÞÞ1 ¼ Ac F Rc ðasÞc;eff þ PF 2 ðasÞm;eff Am F Rm 1
;
constant mass flow rate for both climate conditions. m_ f cf
 25% partially covered by PV module N-PVT–CPC water   
collectors connected in series is best suited for thermal Ac F Rc U L;c
ðAF R U L Þ1 ¼ Ac F Rc U L;c þ Am F Rm U L;m 1
;
performance due to minimum heat losses and most m_ f cf
preferable and sustainable for thermal gain for both cli-  
ðAF R U L Þ1
mate conditions. K K ¼ Kp ¼ 1
;
 Fully covered by PV module N-PVT–CPC water collec- m_ f cf
tors connected in series is most suitable to meet maxi- ðAF R ðasÞÞm1 ¼ PF 2 ðasÞm;eff Am F rm ;
mum overall exergy (electrical) in both climate  
Am F Rm U L;m
conditions. The overall exergy is obtained is higher in ðAF R U L Þm1 ¼ Am F Rm U L;m ; Km ¼ 1
:
January than June. m_ f cf
184 R. Tripathi et al. / Solar Energy 123 (2016) 174–184
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