See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/303359082

NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF TRANSIENT THERMAL

BEHAVIOUR ON SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC THERMAL (PV/T) HYBRID SYSTEM

Article · April 2016

CITATIONS READS

0 395

1 author:

Senthil Kumar Ranganathan

SA Engineering College
11 PUBLICATIONS 39 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Senthil Kumar Ranganathan on 09 July 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Senthil Kumar et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

Research Paper
NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF
TRANSIENT THERMAL BEHAVIOUR ON SOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAIC THERMAL (PV/T) HYBRID SYSTEM
R. Senthil Kumar1, a*, N. Puja Priyadharshini2, b and E. Natarajan3, c
Address for Correspondence
1,3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, Chennai-25, India.
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KCG College of Technology, Chennai-97, India
ABSTRACT
In this paper, a comprehensive numerical model is developed and simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
technique so as to analyse the heat transfer and temperature distribution on each layer of the forced air cooled solar PV/T
system under transient conditions. The numerical model comprises of bottom air cooling layer and diverse layers of solar
panel such as glass, EVA, PV cell and tedlar. The discrete ordinates (DO) model is employed to apply the solar load in the
numerical computation. The experiment is conducted on clear sunny days of Year 2015 and the tentatively measured
temperatures are contrasted with the temperatures determined by the simulation studies and comparative graphs are plotted.
The root mean square and R-squared values are obtained for top glass, PV cell, tedlar and outlet air temperatures and found
that the simulated temperatures are in good agreement with the experimental results.
KEYWORDS: PV/T System; CFD Simulation; Temperature Distribution; Heat Transfer;
1. INTRODUCTION variation on PV cells and temperature along
One fifty million kilometres from earth, our sun is thickness side were simulated [16]. Thin film flexible
109 times the diameter of the Earth. It has a diameter photovoltaic module thermal analysis is simulated via
of 1.392 million kilometres and a surface temperature CFD [17]. The PV module effects based on incident
of 5,778 K and a core temperature of 15.7 million solar radiation and ambient temperature is studied by
Kelvin. It has enormous potential to supply the the use of numerical methods [18]. Photovoltaic
energy needs of the earth. Solar Photovoltaic thermal air collector is numerically simulated to
Thermal (PV/T) hybrid Systems produces solar evaluate the thermal and electrical parameters and
irradiation into electrical energy and low grade found good agreement with experimental measures
thermal energy. Usually these system utilizes fluid [19]. In the present work a comprehensive numerical
(water or air) to extract the thermal energy from the model is developed and simulated using
solar photovoltaic panels. Solar based energy is the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique so as
most vital wellspring of renewable energy. The to analyse the heat transfer and temperature
photovoltaic panels utilize the solar energy and distribution on each layer of the forced air cooled
convert it into electrical energy. But regrettably solar PV/T system under transient conditions. The
solely a fraction of the incident solar irradiation is CFD simulation results are validated with
converted into electrical energy and the remaining experimental results. The root mean square error and
energy is lost by means of reflection and heating [1]. R-squared values are evaluated for top glass, PV cell,
The solar energy converted into heat energy rises the tedlar and outlet air temperatures.
photovoltaic cell temperature, which hence leads to 2. EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS
drop in its electrical efficiency. Increase in The experiment was conducted under two different
photovoltaic cell temperature reduces open circuit modes. Mode1: Without cooling of PV panel, Mode
voltage of PV panel that prompts decrease in the 2: PV panel is cooled by forced air. The experiment
electrical efficiency [2]. Accordingly decay in the was conducted from 8am to 4pm on a sunny day of
execution of a PV module can be minimized on the Year 2015. The electrical and mechanical
off chance that it is worked at moderately lower specifications of solar panel used in this study is
temperatures, which can be accomplished by shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
removing out the additional heat energy, allied with Table 1. Electrical specifications of Solar panel
it. The heat energy allied with the photovoltaic Name Value
module can be carried away by streaming a fluid Peak Power, Pmax 150 W
above or below to that of PV module. The extracted Rated Voltage, Vmp 17.50 V
heat energy is utilized for various purposes. The
Rated Current, Imp 8.57 A
photovoltaic thermal system was first proposed by
Kern et.al and described the efficiency of the Open Circuit Voltage, Voc 21.50 V
photovoltaic thermal system is enhanced by the use Short Circuit Current, Isc 9.42 A
of cooling fluids such as air and water [3]. From that
point forward, numerous examination bunches have Table 2. Mechanical specifications of Solar panel
done more definite experiments in photovoltaic Name Value
thermal systems [4–12]. Creative models and Module Dimensions 1485 x 655 x 34±2 mm
Frame Anodized Aluminium
methodologies of the PV/T systems are introduced
Front Material Tempered Glass 3mm
[13,14]. The performance of photovoltaic module
Type of Cells Polycrystalline
under various mounting geometries are analysed. No. of Cells 36
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique is Weight 9.75 Kgs
used to evaluate the cell temperature and five
parameters electrical model is used to evaluate the 3. CFD SIMULATION
electrical parameters. Finally, the performance of PV Computational fluid dynamics is a set of numerical
module is evaluated based on cell temperature and techniques and algorithms to evaluate and analyze
electrical parameters [15]. A 3D model of PV module the problems related to fluid flow and heat transfer.
is analysed and the thermal parameters are evaluated In this study, the CFD simulation of solar
by using finite element technique. Temperature
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/306-310
 Senthil Kumar et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

photovoltaic thermal system is analyzed by using 3.3 Boundary Conditions and Setup
ANSYS Fluent tool under transient conditions. The Appropriate boundary conditions were impressed on
sequential technique performed in thermal simulation the computational domain, as per the physics of the
of solar PV/T system are geometric modelling, grid problem. Inlet boundary condition was specified as
generation, boundary conditions setup and solution velocity inlet condition. Outflow boundary condition
results. was applied at the outlet. Wall boundary conditions
3.1 Computational Domain were used to bound fluid and solid regions. In
The three-dimensional computational domain of solar viscous flow models, at the wall, velocity
PV/T system was modelled using ANSYS geometric components were set to zero in accordance with the
modelling tool. Computational domain of no-slip and impermeability conditions that exist
photovoltaic thermal system used in the numerical there. A solar insolation is applied at the top surface
simulation is shown in the Fig. 1. The Table 3 shows of the glass. The bottom and side surfaces of the solar
the geometrical dimensions of solar PV/T system PV/T system are defined as wall with zero heat flux
used in the CFD simulation. condition to effect insulated conditions. The time step
Table 3. Geometrical dimensions of PV/T System and number of time steps used in the simulation
Name Dimensions study is 600 secs and 54 respectively. The various
Glass Layer 1.2 x 0.527 x 0.003 material properties used in CFD analysis is shown in
EVA Layer 1.2 x 0.527x 0.0005 Table 5.
Table 5. Material properties used in CFD analysis
PV Cell Layer 1.2 x 0.527 x 0.0003
Thermal Specific Heat
Tedlar Layer 1.2 x 0.527 x 0.0005 Density
Material Conductivity Capacity
(kg/m3)
Air path Layer 1.2 x 0.527 x 0.03 (W/m.K) (J/kg.K)
Top Glass 2 500 2450
EVA 0.311 2090 950
PV Cell 130 677 2330
Tedlar 0.15 1250 1200
4. VALIDATION
Numerical analysis is based on some assumptions.
Due to these presumptions, numerical investigation
in some cases yields more prominent difference.
Therefore, a proper error analysis of the numerical
results is needed with the experimental measures
before applying the numerical simulation for further
analysis. In this work the simulated results are
Figure 1. Computational domain of PV/T system validated with the experimental results and the Root
3.2 Grid Generation Mean Square (RMS) errors and R-Squared value is
The grid generation is performed by using ANSYS calculated using following equations [20].
ICEM CFD. The good quality mesh is achieved by
employing hexahedral elements of fine size and patch 1 m 2
conforming technique. The number of nodes and
RMSE1   di
m i=1
(1)
elements are found to be 752136 and 712800
respectively. The final grid generation output of
2
PV/T domain is shown in the fig 2. Grid generation 1 m  di 
settings used in the present simulation is shown in the RMSE 2   
m i=1  Yi 
(2)
Table 4.
2
 
  m   m  m  
m   X i Yi     X i   Yi 
  i=1   i=1  i=1  
R-Squared =  2 2 
 m 2  m   m 2  m  
  m  X i    X i    m  Yi    Yi   
  i=1  i=1    i=1  i=1   
(3)
Where, di is the deviation between the ith measured
and the predicted values, Xi is the ith predicted value,
Yi is the ith measured value and m is the number of
data points.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The outcomes obtained from the experimental
measures and CFD simulation of PV/T system are
exhibited in this section. The experiment is carried
Figure 2. 3D Grid generation of solar PV/T domain
Table 4. Grid generation settings
out from 8 am to 4 pm and readings are noted in
every 1-hour interval for with and without cooling.
Name Value
The CFD simulation is carried out for solar
Element Hexahedral photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) system under transient
Method Patch Conforming conditions. The comparative graphs are plotted to
Relevance Centre Fine show and estimate the experiment and CFD
Number of Nodes 752136 simulated values for with and without cooling PV/T
Number of Elements 712800 system. Fig. 3 shows the hourly variation of top glass
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/306-310
 Senthil Kumar et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology
surface temperature of PV/T system from 8 am to 4
pm. The experimental top glass surface temperature
with cooling ranges from 34.2C to 56.7C. The
simulated top glass surface temperature with air
cooling ranges from 34.9C to 60.6C. Whereas for
without cooling it varies from 41.2C to 61.8C. It is
clear from the comparison of graph that top glass
surface temperature is higher in without cooling solar
panel than in with forced air cooling solar
photovoltaic panel. The RMSE1, RMSE2 and R-
squared value for top glass temperatures are
calculated by using equations (1), (2) and (3),
respectively. It is found that there is a good
agreement between the experimental and the
simulated results of top panel temperatures with a
value of RMSE1 = 2.85, RMSE2 = 0.06 and the R-
squared value = 0.98.
Figure 3. Top glass temperature
Fig. 4 shows the hourly variation of PV cell layer
surface temperature of PV/T system from 8 am to 4
pm. The experimental PV cell surface temperature
with cooling ranges from 34.4C to 57.0C. The
simulated PV cell surface temperature with air
cooling ranges from 35.0C to 60.9C. Whereas for
without cooling the cell surface temperature varies
from 42.1C to 62.8C. From the comparative graphs
it is clear the cell temperature is reduced in case of
air cooling and also it is very close to glass
temperature. The RMSE1, RMSE2 and R-squared
value for PV cell layer temperatures are 2.7, 0.05 and
0.97 respectively. The error result shows the
simulated results are in good agreement with the
experimental results.
Figure 4. PV Cell temperature
Fig. 5 shows the hourly variation of tedlar surface
temperature of PV/T system from 8 am to 4 pm. The
tedlar surface temperature with air cooling ranges
from 34.5C to 58.2C. The simulated tedlar surface
temperature with air cooling ranges from 35.2C to
61.9C. Whereas for without cooling it varies from a
range of 42.2C to 63.9C. From the comparison
graph it is clear that the tedlar surface temperature is
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/306-310
E-ISSN 0976-3945
higher in without cooling solar panel than in with air
cooling solar panel.
Figure 5. Tedlar temperature
It is found that there is a closer agreement between
the experimental and the simulated results of tedlar
temperatures with a value of RMSE1 = 2.7, RMSE2 =
0.05 and the R-squared value = 0.98. Also from Fig.
3, 4 and 5, it is observed, the cell temperature is lie in
between top glass and tedlar temperature. Moreover,
all layer of the PV/T system is initially low due to
poor solar radiation, when time of the day increases,
the solar radiation increases, due to this the top glass,
PV cell and tedlar surface temperature is also
gradually increased. The top glass, PV cell and tedlar
layer temperature will attain a peak value at 12 noon.
Fig. 6 shows the hourly variation of ambient
temperature, air inlet and outlet air temperature of
PV/T system from 8 am to 4 pm. The ambient
temperature varies from a least value of 30.1C at 8
am to an extreme value of 36.17C at 1 pm. The inlet
air temperature for cooling PV/T system ranges from
31.3C to 37.7C. The experimental air outlet
temperature varies from a least value of 33.5C at 8
am to an extreme value of 44.8C at 12 pm. The CFD
simulated air outlet temperature varies from a least
value of 34.3C at 8 am to an extreme value of
45.5C at 12 pm. From the graphs it is observed, the
outlet air temperature is initially low due to lower
tedlar temperature. When the solar radiation
increases the panel temperature also increases. Hence
the outlet air temperature is gradually increased. Also
the air outlet temperature is always greater than that
of ambient temperature and hence it is suitable for
residential drying applications. It is also found that
there is a closer agreement between the experimental
and the simulated results of outlet air temperatures
with a value of RMSE1 = 0.9, RMSE2 = 0.02 and the
R-squared value = 0.98.
Figure 6. Ambient, air inlet and air outlet temperature
Fig. 7 shows the hourly variation of electrical
efficiency and solar intensity of PV/T system from 8
am to 4 pm. The electrical efficiency of solar panel
with cooling ranges between 11.02 - 11.98 % from 8
am to 4 pm whereas for without cooling it ranges
 Senthil Kumar et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology
between 10.16 - 11.21 %. The solar intensity varies
from 540 – 1040 W/m2 from 8 am to 4 pm.
Figure 7. Electrical efficiency and solar intensity
From Fig. 7, it is observed clearly, cooling the PV
panel using air, the electrical efficiency is
considerable increased when compared with without
cooling PV panel. Also in with air cooling PV panel
the drop in electrical efficiency from morning to
evening is very less when compared to that of
without cooling PV panel. The drop in electrical
efficiency of PV panel without cooling is found to be
a maximum drop value of 1.3 % in peak solar
radiation levels and a minimum drop value of 0.3 %
is obtained in lower solar radiation levels.
Figure 8. Top panel temperature contour
Figure 9. PV cell layer temperature contour
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/306-310
E-ISSN 0976-3945
Figure 10. Tedlar layer temperature contour
Fig. 8, 9 and 10 show the temperature contours of top
glass, PV cell and tedlar layer at 12 pm respectively.
The simulated top glass temperature varies from a
minimum value of 55.60C to a maximum value of
60.19C at 12 noon . The simulated cell temperature
varies from a minimum value of 55.60C to a
maximum value of 60.82C. The simulated tedlar
surface temperatures ranges from 55.59C to 62.81C.
From fig. 8, 9 and 10 it is clearly observed, the
maximum reduction in temperature of top glass, PV
cell and tedlar layer will takes place in the initial and
mid portion and thereafter the temperature reduction
is gradually reduced till at the end of the layers. The
temperature contours of top glass, PV cell and tedlar
is similar to each other due to the thickness of
individual layer is very less. Also the average
temperature difference between the top glass and PV
cell is 0.18C at 12 noon. Similarly, the average
temperature difference between PV cell and tedlar is
1.15C at 12 noon.
Figure 11. Top Glass transient temperature contour
Figure 11. shows the transient temperature contours
of top glass of PV panel from 8 am to 4 pm. This
contour clearly visualizes the temperature
distribution on hourly basis. The top glass surface
temperature will be low on morning and gradually
increased when the time of the day increases. The top
glass temperature attains a peak temperature in
between 12 – 1 pm. Then the temperature decreases
 Senthil Kumar et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology
gradually when the solar radiation decreases. Figure
12. shows the transient temperature contours of tedlar
of PV panel from 8 am to 4 pm. This contour clearly
visualizes the temperature distribution on hourly
basis. The tedlar surface temperature will be low on
initial timings and gradually increased when the time
of the day increases. The tedlar surface temperature
attains a peak temperature in between 12 – 1 pm.
Then the temperature decreases gradually when the
solar radiation decreases. The figure 13. shows the
transient temperature contours of outlet air
temperature of PV/T system from 8 am to 4 pm. This
contour clearly visualizes the temperature
distribution on hourly basis. The outlet air
temperature is low on morning and high on noon.
Hence, the heat recovery temperature is maximum in
between 12 – 01 pm. Moreover, in commercial PV
panel experimentally measuring the temperature of
PV cell layer is difficult since the PV cell layer is
permanently covered by EVA, tempered glass and
tedlar. Also experimentally measuring the
temperature distribution on each layers of the PV
system is very difficult. Hence simulation studies are
used to predict, visualize and optimize these types of
complicated temperature distributions.
Figure 12. Tedlar transient temperature contour
Figure 13. Outlet air transient temperature contour
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/306-310
View publication stats
E-ISSN 0976-3945
6. CONCLUSION
A 3-dimensional solar photovoltaic thermal system
was modelled and analysed under transient condition
using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
techniques, in order to obtain a more detailed inside
look in the temperature distribution and fluid flows.
The air cooling of solar panel plays important role to
the temperatures profiles. In order to validate the
present CFD numerical model, results have been
compared with experimental results under similar
conditions. From the error analysis the discrepancies
between the experimental data and present
computational results is very less. Furthermore,
analysing the complex problems with the help of
CFD techniques minimize the experimental cost.
Thus, it can be concluded that the CFD model is
capable of providing reliable results both
qualitatively and quantitatively and also it is more
convenient and economic tool for further
investigations and optimization of the solar
photovoltaic thermal systems.
REFERENCES
[1] Tiwari GN, Mishra RK, Solanki SC. Photovoltaic modules
and their applications: A review on thermal modelling. Appl
Energy 2011;88:2287–304.
[2] Tayyib M, Theobald J, Peter K, Odden JO, Sætre TO.
Accelerated light-induced defect transformation study of
elkem solar grade silicon. Energy Procedia 2012;27:21–6.
[3] Kern EC, Russell MC. Combined photovoltaic and thermal
hybrid collector systems. Proc 13th IEEE Photovolt Spec
1978:1153–7.
[4] Florschuetz LW. Extension of the Hottel-Whillier model to
the analysis of combined photovoltaic/thermal flat plate
collectors. Sol Energy 1979;22:361–6.
[5] Hendrie SD. Evaluation of combined photovoltaic/thermal
collectors. Proc Silver Jubil Congr Atlanta 1979;3:1865–9.
[6] Raghuraman P. Analytical Predictions of Liquid and Air
Photovoltaic/Thermal, Flat-Plate Collector Performance. Sol
Energy Eng 1981;103:291–8.
[7] Tripanagnostopoulos Y, Nousia T, Souliotis M, Yianoulis P.
Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar systems. Sol Energy
2002;72:217–34.
[8] He W, Chow TT, Ji J, Lu J, Pei G, Chan LS. Hybrid
photovoltaic and thermal solar-collector designed for natural
circulation of water. Appl Energy 2006;83:199–210.
[9] Chow TT, He W, Ji J, Chan ALS. Performance evaluation of
photovoltaic-thermosyphon system for subtropical climate
application. Sol Energy 2007;81:123–30.
[10] Chow TT, He W, Ji J. An experimental study of facade-
integrated photovoltaic/water-heating system. Appl Therm
Eng 2007;27:37–45.
[11] Dubey S, Tiwari GN. Thermal modeling of a combined
system of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar water heater. Sol
Energy 2008;82:602–12.
[12] Dubey S, Sandhu GS, Tiwari GN. Analytical expression for
electrical efficiency of PV/T hybrid air collector. Appl Energy
2009;86:697–705.
[13] Chow TT. A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar
technology. Appl Energy 2010;87:365–79.
[14] Amrizal N, Chemisana D, Rosell JI. Hybrid photovoltaic-
thermal solar collectors dynamic modeling. Appl Energy
2013;101:797–807.
[15] Xing W, Zhou J, Feng Z. Effects of mounting geometries on
photovoltaic module performance using CFD and single-
diode model. Sol Energy 2014;103:541–9.
[16] Zhou J, Yi Q, Wang Y, Ye Z. Temperature distribution of
photovoltaic module based on finite element simulation. Sol
Energy 2015;111:97–103.
[17] Chou T-L, Shih Z-H, Hong H-F, Han C-N, Chiang K-N.
Thermal Performance Assessment and Validation of High-
Concentration Photovoltaic Solar Cell Module. IEEE Trans
Components, Packag Manuf Technol 2012;2:578–86.
[18] Usama Siddiqui M, Arif AFM, Kelley L, Dubowsky S. Three-
dimensional thermal modeling of a photovoltaic module
under varying conditions. Sol Energy 2012;86:2620–31.
[19] Sarhaddi F, Farahat S, Ajam H, Behzadmehr A. Exergetic
performance assessment of a solar photovoltaic thermal
(PV/T) air collector. Energy Build 2010;42:2184–99.
[20] Bhattarai S, Oh J-H, Euh S-H, Krishna Kafle G, Hyun Kim D.
Simulation and model validation of sheet and tube type
photovoltaic thermal solar system and conventional solar
collecting system in transient states. Sol Energy Mater Sol
Cells 2012;103:184–93.