Determination of the performance improvement of a PV/T hybrid system with a novel inner plate-finned collective cooling with Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofluid
Ahmet Aydın, İ̇smail Kayri, Hüseyin Aydın
Abstract
In order to increase module efficiency in photovoltaic systems, research on passive fin cooling or active fluid cooling applications continues. It was thought that a collective cooling, which is a combination of both applications, could be more effective on the increasing electrical efficiency and so the increase of the total efficiency of the PV/T system by increasing the thermal gain. In this study, the effects of the amounts of nanoparticles on the electrical and thermal performance of the Al2O3 nanofluid in a newly designed, manufactured system which is named collective cooling system with internal direct fins were investigated in detail. Nanofluid coolants were prepared with the use of Al2O3 nanoparticles at a mass ratio of 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% and they were used in the system at constant mass flow rates. The highest panel temperature drop was observed as 17.3 °C and corresponding power increase rate was observed as 6.11% in the panel with 0.4% Al2O3-water nanofluid at 12:00. The averages of daily power increase rates for 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6% of Al2O3-water nanofluid cooling compared to the uncooled panel were 3.862%, 3.286%, 3.238% and 2.693% for the water-cooled panel, respectively. Compared to the water-cooled panel, the Al2O3-water nanofluid panel has average thermal efficiency increases of 39.77%, 28.92% and 15.92%, respectively, for 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%.