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Experimental study of natural convection heat transfer from a nonuniformly heated flat plate simulating PV panel

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Abstract

In view of the characteristic of Photovoltaic (PV) conversion, an experimental study has been conducted to investigate the natural convection heat transfer from a flat plate. In order to simulate the real PV cells, three electrical heating circuits were employed to achieve a linear nonuniform heat flux boundary condition. The major parameters, such as the gradient parameter of heat flux k, tilt angle θ and heat flux qw were introduced to analyze their influence on heat transfer ability. Both the local temperature distribution and the overall trend of Nusselt number have been presented. Comparing with the uniform thermal boundary condition, the results show that the local convection heat transfer coefficient is fluctuated at the positions where heat flux has changed. When gradient parameter of heat flux increases, the difference of local convection heat transfer coefficient at the top of the plate between tilt angle θ = 0° and 90° becomes smaller. Moreover, it is observed that the gradient parameter of heat flux has a promotion effect on average convection Nusselt number at larger tilt angle, but the effect becomes complex as tilt angle is smaller. Finally, a correlation combining all significant factors has been put forward to estimate the natural convection heat transfer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Shuang-Ying Wu & Lan Xiao

  2. College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Shuang-Ying Wu, Ying-Ying Wu, Lan Xiao & Zhen Yang

Authors
  1. Shuang-Ying Wu
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  2. Ying-Ying Wu
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  3. Lan Xiao
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  4. Zhen Yang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuang-Ying Wu.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Youngsuk Nam

Shuang-Ying Wu received his M.S. degree in College of Power Engineering from Chongqing University, Chongqing, P. R. China, in 1994, obtained his Ph.D. degree in Engineering Thermophysics from Chongqing University in 2004, and worked as a Visiting Scholar from June 2008 to June 2009 in Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Florida International University, USA. Currently, he is a Professor at Chongqing University. His major interests are heat transfer, thermodynamics, energy conversion and saving, etc.

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Wu, SY., Wu, YY., Xiao, L. et al. Experimental study of natural convection heat transfer from a nonuniformly heated flat plate simulating PV panel. J Mech Sci Technol 32, 423–432 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-1243-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-1243-5

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