To create a highly efficient photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) system and maximise the energy and exergy efficiency, this study aims to propose an innovative configuration of a PV-T system comprising wavy tubes with twisted-tape inserts. Following the validation of a numerical model, a parametric study has been conducted to assess the geometrical effects of twisted tape and wavy tubes, as well as the coolant fluid type and velocity, on the overall performance of a PV-T system, located in Shiraz, Iran. It is found that employing twisted tape improves the energy and exergy efficiency by approx. 6.3%. The best configuration yields 12.4% and 16.8% increase in energy and exergy efficiency compared to conventional PV systems. This is achieved at 15% volumetric concentration of microencapsulated phase change material slurry. The monthly variation of global horizontal irradiance in Shiraz highly affected the energy and exergy efficiency of PV-T, with July and October exhibiting the most efficient months, corresponding to 90% and 11.3%, respectively.
A twisted-fin array as an innovative structure for intensifying the charging response of a phase-change material (PCM) within a shell-and-tube storage system is introduced in this work. A three-dimensional model describing the thermal management with charging phase change process in PCM was developed and numerically analyzed by the enthalpy-porosity method using commercial CFD software. Efficacy of the proposed structure of fins for performing better heat communication between the active heating surface and the adjacent layers of PCM was verified via comparing with conventional longitudinal fins within the same design limitations of fin material and volume usage. Optimization of the fin geometric parameters including the pitch, numb
... Show MoreThe thermal and electrical performance of different designs of air based hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The circulating air is used to cool PV panels and to collect the absorbed energy to improve their performance. Four different collectors have been designed, manufactured and instrumented namely; double PV panels without cooling (model I), single duct double pass collector (model II), double duct single pass (model III), and single duct single pass (model IV) . Each collector consists of: channel duct, glass cover, axial fan to circulate air and two PV panel in parallel connection. The temperature of the upper and
... Show MoreThe melting duration in the photovoltaic/phase-change material (PV/PCM) system is a crucial parameter for thermal energy management such that its improvement can realize better energy management in respect to thermal storage capabilities, thermal conditions, and the lifespan of PV modules. An innovative and efficient technique for improving the melting duration is the inclusion of an exterior metal foam layer in the PV/PCM system. For detailed investigations of utilizing different metal foam configurations in terms of their convective heat transfer coefficients, the present paper proposes a newly developed mathematical model for the PV/PCM–metal foam assembly that can readily be implemented with a wide range of operating condition
... Show MoreIn this study, generation of elliptical gears with different teeth profiles of crowned involute, double circular arc (DCA), and combined (crowned involute with DCA) has been developed. The resulting mathematical equations have been computerized and feed to CNC end mill machine to manufacture elliptical gear models with different profiles. These models are investigated in plane polariscope to show the resulting stresses under certain load. Comparison of photo-elastic stress results shows that combined elliptical gears with DCA side as a loaded side have a minimum resulting contact stress with a reduction percentage of 40% compare with contact stresses in counterpart elliptical gear of involute profile (which is commonly u
... Show MoreExperimental tests were conducted to investigate the thermal performance (cooling effect) of water mist system consisting of 5μm volume median diameter droplets in reducing the heat gain entering a room through the roof and the west wall by reducing the outside surface temperature due to the evaporative cooling effect during the hot dry summer of Baghdad/Iraq. The test period
was Fifty one days during the months May, June, and July 2012. The single test day consists of 16 test hours starting from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. The results showed a reduction range of 1.71 to 15.5℃ of the roof outside surface temperature and 21.3 to 76.6% reduction in the daily heat flux entering the room through the roof compared with the case of not using w
Fluid-structure interaction method is performed to predict the dynamic characteristics of axial fan system. A fluid-structure interface physical environment method (monolithic method) is used to couple the fluid flow solver with the structural solver. The integration of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations is performed in the time Doman, simultaneously to the integration of the three dimensional structural model. The aerodynamic loads are transfer from the flow to structure and the coupling step is repeated within each time step, until the flow solution and the structural solution have converged to yield a coupled solution of the aeroelastic set of equations. Finite element method is applied to solve numerically
... Show More