Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modelling of floating photovoltaic cooling system with loop thermosiphon

Abstract

The increasing of photovoltaic (PV) panel operating temperature affects the efficiency and durability life of systems. This study aims to investigate the cooling system for floating PV system using computational fluid dynamic (CFD). The loop thermosiphon was applied to the bottom surface of PV at the various irradiance of the sun. Thermosiphon device is a passive heat exchanger which based on the natural convection phenomenon. The transient approximation with all fluid’s properties as a function of temperature (piecewise-linear) in the ANSYS-Fluent 17.0 software was used to analyze the buoyancy effect in loop thermosiphon. The temperature distribution of PV cells was observed in this work. The results showed that the loop thermosiphon circulated a fluid flow in the pipes and dissipated heat from PV module. The thermosiphon-cooling system decreases the operating temperature of PV cells and can contribute to the output energy from PV without the necessity of an external energy such as a pump.