Solar cells thin films were prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a thin film, with extract of natural pigment from local flower. A concentration of 0.1g/ml of polyvinyl alcohol solution in water was prepared for four samples, with various concentrations of plant pigment (0, 15, 25 and 50) % added to each of the four solutions separately for preparing (PVA with low concentrated dye , PVA with medium concentrated dye and PVA with high concentrated dye ) thin films respectively . Ultraviolet absorption regions were obtained by computerized UV-Visible (CECIL 2700). Optical properties including (absorbance, reflectance, absorption coefficient, energy gap and dielectric constant) via UV- Vis were tested, too. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer was employed to test the samples. Thermal analysis of thin films, including melting point (Tm), onset degree, endset degree, and crystallinity% were tested by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Three dimensional morphologies of thin films were inspected by atomic force microscopy (ATM). Contact angle also was tested as an index to hydrophilicity. Results proved that the ultraviolet and FTIR absorption increase after adding the natural pigment to PVA thin film, as well as it increases with increasing concentration of natural pigment. DSC analysis revealed an increase of PVA melting point when adding 15% concentration and it decreases with a 50% concentration of pigment. AFM results show an increase in surface roughness, hence the surface bearing index of PVA thin films is inversely proportional to pigment concentration. Contact angle decreases from 46.5° for pure PVA thin film to 44. 8°, 42. 6° and 35.2° after adding (15, 25, and 50)% concentration of natural dye respectively. Optical properties were enhanced by adding the natural dye, hence energy gap decreased from 3 eV for pure PVA to 2.3 eV for the PVA with a high concentrate dye. Dielectric constant increased with increasing concentration of dye, which leads to high polarization of solar cell.
Luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) are used to enhance photoresponsivity of solar cell. The Quantumdots luminescent solar concentrator (QDLSC) consists of CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoparticles embedded in polyacrylamide polymer matrix positioned on the top surface of the silicon solar cell. This procedure improves the conversion efficiency of the bare silicon solar cell. The conversion efficiency of the solar cell has increased from 7.3% to 10.3%. this improvement is referred to the widening of the response spectral region window of the a- Si. Solar cell.
Solar energy is the most abundant renewable energy source. This energy can be converted directly into electricity using solar panels. The fixed tilt solar panels are the most practical and the most widely installed throughout the world. Optimum tilt angle calculation has the advantage that it does not use expensive solar trackers. This research calculates the seasonal optimum tilt angle of solar panels for 17 cities in Iraq and 83 cities in 83 countries distributed around the world. Solar Panel Angle Calculator program was used in calculating the optimum tilt angles from vertical. The optimum tilt angle varies between 6° and 112° throughout the year. This angle for winter, spring/ autumn and summer seasons are found to be between
... Show MoreThe performance of a solar assisted desiccant cooling system for a meeting-hall located in the College of Engineering/University of Baghdad was evaluated theoretically. The system was composed of four components; a solar air heater, a desiccant dehumidifier, a heat exchanger and an evaporative cooler. A computer simulation was developed by using MATLAB to assess the effect of various design and operating conditions on the performance of the system and its components. The actual weather data on recommended days were used to assess the load variation and the system performance during those days. The radiant time series method (RTS) was used to evaluate the hourly variation of the cooling load. Four operation modes were employed for perform
... Show MorePartial shading is one of the problems that affects the power production and the efficiency of photovoltaic module. A series of experimental work have been done of partial shading of monocrystalline PV module; 50W, Isc: 3.1A, Voc: 22V with 36 cells in series is achieved. Non-linear power output responses of the module are observed by applying various cases of partial shading (vertical and horizontal shading of solar cells in the module). Shading a single cell (corner cell) has the greatest impact on output energy. Horizontal shading or vertical shading reduced the power from 41W to 18W at constant solar radiation 1000W/m2 and steady state condition. Vertical blocking a column
... Show MoreExcess heat significantly reduces the efficiency and lifespan of electrical and optoelectronic devices. While passive radiative cooling is becoming more common, achieving active thermal control without physical reconfiguration remains challenging. Unlike conventional static absorbers, we propose a broadband plasmonic solar absorber designed to regulate energy absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region without modifying the geometrical parameters. The design utilizes a coaxial cylindrical metal-insulator-metal (MIM) configuration, combining refractory copper (Cu), silicon dioxide (SiO2), and a trilayer graphene (Gr) that allows electrical tuning in a broadband solar absorber. Simulation results show a maximum broadband absorption efficienc
... Show MoreIn this work, a new development of predictive voltage-tracking control algorithm for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFCs) model, using a neural network technique based on-line auto-tuning intelligent algorithm was proposed. The aim of proposed robust feedback nonlinear neural predictive voltage controller is to find precisely and quickly the optimal hydrogen partial pressure action to control the stack terminal voltage of the (PEMFC) model for N-step ahead prediction. The Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) implemented as a stable and robust on-line auto-tune algorithm to find the optimal weights for the proposed predictive neural network controller to improve system performance in terms of fast-tracking de
... Show MoreMicrobial fuel cell is a device that uses the microorganism metabolism for the production of electricity under specific operating conditions. Double chamber microbial fuel cell was tested for the use of two cheap electrode materials copper and aluminum for the production of electricity under different operating conditions. The investigated conditions were concentration of microorganism (yeast) (0.5- 2 g/l), solutions temperature (33-45 oC) and concentration of glucose as a substrate (1.5- 6 g/l). The results demonstrated that copper electrode exhibit good performance while the performance of aluminum is poor. The electricity is generated with and without the addition of substrate. Addition of glucose substrate
... Show MoreIn oil and gas well cementing, a strong cement sheath is wanted to insure long-term safety of the wells. Successful completion of cementing job has become more complex, as drilling is being done in highly deviated and high pressure-high temperature wells. Use of nano materials in enhanced oil recovery, drilling fluid, oil well cementing and other applications is being investigated. This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of nano materials on oil well cement properties. Two types of nano materials were investigated, which are Nano silica (>40 nm) and Nano Alumina (80 nm) and high sulfate-resistant glass G cement is used. The investigated properties of oil well cement included compressive strength, thickening
... Show More