GUO Wei, HE Chunguang, HAN Wei, et al. Experimental and theoretical study on photovoltaic cells cooling using phase change materials based on Y-shaped fins[J]. Thermal power generation, 2025, 54(5): 54-63.
GUO Wei, HE Chunguang, HAN Wei, et al. Experimental and theoretical study on photovoltaic cells cooling using phase change materials based on Y-shaped fins[J]. Thermal power generation, 2025, 54(5): 54-63. DOI: 10.19666/j.rlfd.202410216.
Photovoltaic power generation makes full use of the advantages of solar energy
which is green
clean
widely distributed
and abundantly available. However
the efficiency of photovoltaic(PV) modules often decreases as the operating temperature increases
severely affecting system performance. To address this issue
this paper experimentally investigates the cooling effect of phase change materials(PCM) with Y-shaped fins on PV cells. The study focuses on analyzing the effect of structural parameters such as the branching angle
position length
and length ratio of the Y-shaped fins on the system's thermoelectric performance. The results show that
comparing with the system without fins
the system with Y-shaped fins has an average increase of 0.37% in photoelectric conversion efficiency
and the average melting rate of paraffin increased by 21.52%. The position length has the greatest impact on the melting rate. When the branching angle is 60°
the length ratio is 2
and the position length is 0
the Y-shaped fin can achieve the best temperature uniformity inside the cavity. By coupling Y-shaped fins with PCMs for PV cell cooling
this research aims to address practical application challenges such as uneven melting
internal temperature stratification
excessive local temperatures
and hotspots caused by the poor thermal conductivity of PCMs.