Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors that simultaneously generate electricity and heat have promise for sustainable energy production. However, their performance depends strongly on four key design parameters. These are: panel aspect ratio, serpentine tube pitch, solar intensity, and coolant flow rate. This study optimized these design parameters for a household serpentine-tube PV/T collector using energy and exergy analysis to enhance electrical and thermal efficiencies. Response surface methodology was employed to model the complex relationships between these parameters and the electrical and thermal efficiency responses. Increasing the panel aspect ratio from 0.125 to 8 resulted in 1.99 and 12.10 % improvements for electrical and thermal energy efficiencies along with 1.99 and 26.36 % improvements for electrical and thermal exergy efficiencies. Larger serpentine pitch from 80 to 400 mm decreased all four efficiencies. Higher radiation intensity from 200 to 1000 W/m2 reduced electrical efficiency by 8.36 % but increased thermal efficiency 75.33 %. Increasing the coolant flow rate from 0.1 to 1.4 L/min raised thermal and electrical efficiencies by 167.8 % and 12.4 %, respectively. Single-objective optimization yielded maximum electrical and thermal energy efficiencies of 11.8 % and 63.2 %, while multi-objective optimization gave lower responses. The study provides new insights into design trade-offs between electrical and thermal performance using comprehensive modeling and optimization. The model and methodology can guide significant PV/T design improvements.
The present study involves experimental analysis of the modified Closed Wet Cooling Tower (CWCT) based on first and second law of thermodynamics, to gain a deeper knowledge in this important field of engineering in Iraq. For this purpose, a prototype of CWCT optimized by added packing under a heat exchanger was designed, manufactured and tested for cooling capacity of 9 kW. Experiments are conducted to explore the effects of various operational and conformational parameters on the towers thermal performance. In the test section, spray water temperature and both dry bulb temperature and relative humidity of air measured at intermediate points of the heat exchanger and packing. Exergy of water and air were calculated by applying the exergy
... Show MoreThe effect of refrigerant injection techniques on the performance of heat pump system based on exergy analysis was studied theoretically. Three refrigerant injection techniques were used; the first was achieved by injected vapour in volume ratios from 1 to 7% in the accumulator. The second was injection liquid refrigerant in the discharge line with the aid of Liquid Pressure Amplification (LPA) pump, with volume ratios from 1 to 10%. The third was a hybrid injection with volume ratios of injected vapour and liquid varied from 1 to 3% and 1 to 10%; respectively. The following improvements in cycle performance were observed. For vapour injection technique, the best ratio of injection was 5%, the exergy destruction reduced
... Show MoreA time series analysis can help to observe the behavior of the system and specify the system faults. In addition, it also helps to explain the various energy flows in the system and further aid in reducing the thermodynamic losses. The intelligent supervisory LabVIEW software can monitor the incoming data from the system by using Arduino microcontroller and calculates the important parameters. Energy, exergy, and anergy analysis present in this paper to investigate the system performance as well as its components. To accomplish this, a 4-ton vertical split air conditioner based on vapor compression refrigeration cycle charged with refrigerant R-22 was modified for experimental analysis. The results showed that during 540
... Show MoreAn energy and exergy thermodynamic analysis using EES program was done for a domestic refrigerator working with R-134a using vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The analysis deals with the system component, i.e. compressor, condenser, evaporator and the expansion device. The analysis depends on the entropy generation minimization approach to improve the refrigerator performance by exploring the optimum design points. These design points were derived from three different theories governing the entropy generation minimization using exergy analyzing method. These theories were first applied to find the optimum balance between the hot inner condenser area and the cold inner evaporator area of the refrigerator and between
... Show MoreUtilizing phase change materials in thermal energy storage systems is commonly considered as an alternative solution for the effective use of energy. This study presents numerical simulations of the charging process for a multitube latent heat thermal energy storage system. A thermal energy storage model, consisting of five tubes of heat transfer fluids, was investigated using Rubitherm phase change material (RT35) as the. The locations of the tubes were optimized by applying the Taguchi method. The thermal behavior of the unit was evaluated by considering the liquid fraction graphs, streamlines, and isotherm contours. The numerical model was first verified compared with existed experimental data from the literature. The outcomes re
... Show MoreSolar photovoltaic (PV) has many environmental benefits and it is considered to be a practical alternative to traditional energy generation. The electrical conversion efficiency of such systems is inherently limited due to the relatively high thermal resistance of the PV components. An approach for intensifying electrical and thermal production of air-type photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems via applying a combination of fins and surface zigzags was proposed in this paper. This research study aims to apply three performance enhancers: case B, including internal fins; case C, back surface zigzags; and case D, combinations of fins and surface zigzags; whereas the baseline smooth duct rep