Study on thermal performance of phase change materials in photovoltaic system

¹ College of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
² Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Energy Cleaning Utilization and Development, Xiamen, China

^* Corresponding author: ttaojiangshui@163.com

Abstract

The thermal performance of solar cells plays an important role in the energy use of solar photovoltaic power generation. The surface temperature of solar cells is a key factor affecting the power generation efficiency. The use of phase change materials in solar cells can increase the thermal storage capacity and weaken the temperature fluctuation under the action of solar radiation, achieving the purpose of improving the system power generation performance. The aim of this paper is to investigate the phase change materials and their thermal performance for solar cell modules through simulations and experiments. In the experimental study, six types of binary composite phase change materials were prepared by selecting two of lauric acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid and tetradecanol in a 1:1 ratio. In the thermal performance tests of the phase change materials, the phase change temperature and latent heat of phase change were measured by the thermogravimetric method using a TGA/DSC simultaneous thermal analyser, and the thermal conductivity was measured by the probe method using a thermal conductivity meter. In the simulation study, a numerical model of the phase change heat transfer is developed, coupling the phase change material to the cell components and performing heat transfer analysis. The results are helpful to the selection of phase change materials that are beneficial for reducing the temperature of solar photovoltaic panels and to explore the effect of radiation levels on the materials.