Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Performance of a Crossed Compound Parabolic Concentrator with PV Cell

Li, W., Paul, M.C. , Sellami, N., Mallick, T.K. and Knox, A.R. (2016) Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Performance of a Crossed Compound Parabolic Concentrator with PV Cell. In: 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malaga, Spain, 11 - 13 Jul 2016,

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Abstract

Crossed compound parabolic concentrator (CCPC) is a solar energy device used to increase the photovoltaic (PV) cell electrical power output. CCPC’s thermal and optical performance issues are equally important for a PV cell or module to work under a favourable operating condition. However, most work to-date is emphasised on its optical performance paying a little attention to the thermal characteristics. In this contribution, we investigate the thermal performance of a CCPC with PV cell at four different beam incidences (0o, 10o, 20o, 30o and 40o). Initially, experiment is performed in the indoor PV laboratory at the University of Exeter with 1kW/m2 radiation intensity. 3D simulations are carried out to first validate the predicted data and then to characterise the overall performance. Results show that the temperature in the PV silicon layer is the highest at 0o and 30o, with the top glass cover of CCPC having the lowest temperature at all the incidences. The temperature and optical efficiency profiles at the various incidences predicted by simulation show very good agreement with the measurements, especially at 0o incidence. This study provides useful information for understanding the coupled optical-thermal performance of the CCPC with PV cell working at various conditions.

Item Type:Conference Proceedings
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Knox, Professor Andrew and Li, Dr Wenguang and Paul, Professor Manosh
Authors: Li, W., Paul, M.C., Sellami, N., Mallick, T.K., and Knox, A.R.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Authors
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher
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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
614241Scalable Solar Thermoelectrics and Photovaltaics (SUNTRAP)Andrew KnoxEngineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/K022156/1ENG - ENGINEERING ELECTRONICS & NANO ENG