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Performance assessment of a serpentine tube PVT system using Cu and TiO2 nanofluids: an experimental study

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Abstract

A high photovoltaic (PV) panel temperature causes a reduction in the terminal voltage that results in low output power. Therefore, the extraction of heat from PV panels is a very important and crucial area to enhance the electrical power output. A PVT (Photovoltaic-Thermal) is a combined version of photovoltaics and solar thermal collector to generate electrical and thermal energies. Despite its popularity, the thermo-electrical performance of water-based PVT systems is not up to the mark because of the poor thermal conductivity of water. The present work experimentally investigates the concentration and MFR (mass flow rate) variations of copper (Cu) and titanium oxide (TiO2) nanofluids on the performance of a hybrid PVT system. The developed model is deployed to examine the performance of the PVT system for the weather conditions of Ghaziabad city (India). The research outcomes show how the PVT with Cu/water nanofluid exhibits a better thermo-electrical performance as compared to the PVT with TiO2/water nanofluid and water cooling. The results also show that using Cu/water nanofluid (1 vol %) as a coolant improved the PVT electrical efficiency by 5.98% concerning the basefluid. At a higher MFR, the average PV panel temperature is reduced that results in better cooling of the PVT system. At 0.03 kg/s MFR, a reduction in 17.18 °C temperature in the PV panel enhances the thermo-electrical efficiency by 2.58% and 5.43%, respectively.

Graphical abstract

  • The present paper investigates the thermo-electrical performance of serpentine tube-based PVT collector with Cu/water and TiO2/water nanofluid.

  • The influence of nanofluid type and concentration on PV temperature (TPV), electrical efficiency (ηel), thermal efficiency (ηTh), and overall efficiency (ηPVT) are evaluated experimentally.

  • The energy balance equations of PVT collectors with nanofluid are derived from analyzing the impact of operating parameters.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Area of collector [m2]

c p :

Heat capacity of fluid [J/kg−1 K−1]

d :

Nanoparticle diameter [m]

D in :

Inner tube diameter [m]

D out :

Outer tube diameter [m]

F :

Coefficient of friction, dimensionless

G :

Incident solar radiation [W/m−2]

h :

Air heat transfer coefficient [W/m−2.K−1]

H :

Conductive heat transfer coefficient [W/m−2.K−1]

L c :

Tube length [m]

m :

Mass flow rate of fluid [kgs−1]

N u :

Nusselt number, dimensionless

P :

Packing factor of the cell

Pe :

Peclet number, dimensionless

Pr :

Prandtl number, dimensionless

Re :

Reynolds number, dimensionless

T :

Temperature [K]

V f :

Volume flow rate [m3sec−1]

v w :

Wind speed [msec−1]

W :

Distance from tube to tube [m

air:

Layer of air

Ab:

Absorber layer

bf:

Base fluid

cell:

Photovoltaic cell

g:

Glass cover

ins:

Insulation layer

nf:

Nanofluid

pv:

Photovoltaic module

t:

Tube

th:

Thermal

α :

Absorptance

ρ :

Density [kg.m−3]

ɳ 0 :

Efficiency at STC [%]

ɳ el :

Electrical efficiency [%]

ɳ PVT :

Overall efficiency [%]

β 0 :

Temperature coefficient of efficiency

λ :

Thermal conductivity [Wm−1 K−1]

ɳ Th :

Thermal efficiency [%]

δ :

Thickness [m]

υ :

Viscosity of fluid [Pa.s]

ϕ :

Volume fraction of nanoparticles

MFR:

Mass flow rate

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

PCM:

Phase change material

PVT:

Photovoltaic thermal system

PV:

Photovoltaic

HTC:

Heat transfer coefficient

MFR:

Mass flow rate

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

PCM:

Phase change material

PVT:

Photovoltaic thermal system

PV:

Photovoltaic

HTC:

Heat transfer coefficient

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Sourav Diwania, Rajeev Kumar & Sudhir Kumar Singh

  2. Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, KIET Group of Institutions, Delhi-NCR, Ghaziabad, India

    Sourav Diwania, Rajeev Kumar & Sudhir Kumar Singh

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India

    Gagandeep Singh Dua

  4. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Modinagar, India

    Pavan Khetrapal

Authors
  1. Sourav Diwania
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  2. Rajeev Kumar
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Correspondence to Sourav Diwania.

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Technical Editor: Ahmad Arabkoohsar.

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Diwania, S., Kumar, R., Singh, S.K. et al. Performance assessment of a serpentine tube PVT system using Cu and TiO2 nanofluids: an experimental study. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 44, 71 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-022-03366-5

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