A design for a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) assembly with a water-cooled heat sink was planned, constructed, and experimentally evaluated in the climatic conditions of the southern region of Iraq during the summertime. The water-cooled heat sink was applied to thermally manage the PV cells, in order to boost the electrical output of the PVT system. A set of temperature sensors was installed to monitor the water intake, exit, and cell temperatures. The climatic parameters including the wind velocity, atmospheric pressure, and solar irradiation were also monitored on a daily basis. The effects of solar irradiation on the average PV temperature, electrical power, and overall electrical-thermal efficiency were investigated. The findings indicate that the PV temperature would increase from 65 to 73 °C, when the solar irradiation increases from 500 to 960 W/m2, with and without cooling, respectively. Meanwhile, the output power increased from 35 to 55 W when the solar irradiation increased from 500 to 960 W/m2 during the daytime. The impact of varying the mass flow rate of cooling water in the range of 4 to 16 L/min was also examined, and it was found that the cell temperature declines as the water flow increases in intensity throughout the daytime. The maximum cell temperature recorded for PV modules without cooling was in the middle of the day. The lowest cell temperature was also recorded in the middle of the day for a PVT solar system with 16 L/min of cooling water.
Phase change material (PCM) is considered as one of the most effective thermal energy storage (TES) systems to balance energy supply and demand. A key challenge in designing efficient PCM-based TES systems lies in the enhancement of heat transmission during phase transition. This study numerically examines the privilege of employing twisted-fin arrays inside a shell-and-tube latent heat storage unit to improve the solidification performance. The presence of twisted fins contributes to the dominating role of heat conduction by their curved shapes, which restricts the role of natural convection but largely aids the overall heat-transfer process during solidification. The heat-discharge
Hydrogen fuel is a good alternative to fossil fuels. It can be produced using a clean energy without contaminated emissions. This work is concerned with experimental study on hydrogen production via solar energy. Photovoltaic module is used to convert solar radiation to electrical energy. The electrical energy is used for electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen by using alkaline water electrolyzer with stainless steel electrodes. A MATLAB computer program is developed to solve a four-parameter-model and predict the characteristics of PV module under Baghdad climate conditions. The hydrogen production system is tested at different NaOH mass concentration of (50,100, 200, 300) gram. The maximum hydrogen produc
... Show MoreIn this work an experimental simulation is made to predict the performance of steady-state natural heat convection along heated finned vertical base plate to ambient air with different inclination angles and configurations of fin array. Two types of fin arrays namely vertical fins array and V-fins array on heated vertical base plate are used with different heights and spaces. The influence of inclination angle of the plate , configuration of fins array and fin geometrical parameters such as fin height and fin spacing on the temperature distribution, base convection heat transfer coefficient and average Nusselt number have been plotted and discussed. The experimental data are correlated to a formula between average Nusselt number versus R
... Show MoreIn this work, a flat-plate solar air heater (FSAH) and a tubular solar air heater (TSAH) were designed and tested numerically. The work investigates the effect of increasing the contact area between the flowing air and the absorber surface of each heater and predicts the expected results before the fabrication of the experimental rig. Three-dimensional two models were designed and simulated by the ANSYS-FLUENT 16 Program. The solar irradiation and ambient air temperature were measured experimentally on December 1st 2022, at the weather conditions of Baghdad City- Iraq, at three air mass flow rates, 0.012 kg/s, 0.032 kg/s, and 0.052 kg/s. The numerical results showed the advantage in the thermal performance of
... Show MoreIn this work an experimental study is performed to evaluate the thermal performance
of locally made closed loop solar hot water system using a shell and helical coiled tube
heat exchanger as a storage tank. Several measurements are taken include inlet and outlet
temperatures of both collectors and supply water and temperature distribution within the
storage tank. This is beside the water flow rate in both collectors and load cycle. The
main parameters of the system are obtained.
This article deals with the impact of including transverse ribs within the absorber tube of the concentrated linear Fresnel collector (CLFRC) system with a secondary compound parabolic collector (CPC) on thermal and flow performance coefficients. The enhancement rates of heat transfer due to varying governing parameters were compared and analyzed parametrically at Reynolds numbers in the range 5,000–13,000, employing water as the heat transfer fluid. Simulations were performed to solve the governing equations using the finite volume method (FVM) under various boundary conditions. For all Reynolds numbers, the average Nusselt number in the circular tube in the CLFRC system with ribs was found to be larger than that of the plain abs
... Show More
In this work, a test room was built in Baghdad city, with (2*1.5*1.5) m3 in dimensions, while the solar chimneys (SC) were designed with aspect ratio (ar) bigger than 12. Test room was supplied by many solar collectors; vertical single side of air pass with ar equals 25, and tilted 45o double side of air passes with ar equals 50 for each pass, both collectors consist of flat thermal energy storage box collector (TESB) that covered by transparent clear acrylic sheet, third type of collector is array of evacuated tubular collectors with thermosyphon in 45o instelled in the bottom of TESB of vertical SC. The TESB was
... Show MoreAn experimental study was performed to estimate the forced convection heat transfer performance and the pressure drop of a single layer graphene (GNPs) based DI-water nanofluid in a circular tube under a laminar flow and a uniform heat flux boundary conditions. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluid at weight concentrations of (0.1 to 1 wt%) were measured. The effects of the velocity of flow, heat flux and nanoparticle weight concentrations on the enhancement of the heat transfer are examined. The Nusselt number of the GNPs nanofluid was enhanced as the heat flux and the velocity of flow rate increased, and the maximum Nusselt number ratio (Nu nanofluid/ Nu base fluid) and thermal performance factor
... Show MoreAn attempt was made to evaluate the PV performance of one-axis daily tracking and fixed system for Baghdad, Iraq. Two experimental simulations were conducted on a PV module for that purpose. Measurements included incident solar radiation, load voltage and load current. The first experiment was carried out for six months of winter half of year to simulate the one-axis daily tracking. The azimuth angle was due south while the tilt angle was being set to optimum according to each day of simulation. The second experiment was done at one day to simulate the PV module of fixed angles. It is found that there is a significant power gain of 29.6% for the tracking system in respect to the fixed one. The one-axis daily tracking was much more effect
... Show More