| Work Detail |
Iraqi researchers have used computational fluid dynamics to simulate the operation of a 100 W panel with ground cooling. The proposed technique reduced the panel temperature by up to 28% and the power generation increased by up to 6.5%.
A group of Iraqi scientists have investigated the use of terrestrial energy to cool photovoltaic panels and have discovered that this solution could lead to a significant reduction in the modules operating temperature.
The researchers simulated a configuration with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) algorithms. CFD is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to analyze problems involving fluid flows.
“After reviewing previously published scientific articles, the lack of research on the use of cooled air from the ground to cool photovoltaic panels is evident,” explains the group. “Most previous studies have focused on using cooled water from the ground for this purpose, which may not be feasible in many regions, especially desert areas. “The current study addresses this gap by focusing on the use of refrigerated air circulating through underground pipes to cool photovoltaic panels.”
The CFD was simulated using Ansys Fluent 2023 R1 software, taking into account variables such as axial position, turbulent energy, axial velocity, turbulent viscosity, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production due to mean velocity shear. They also assumed that the system has a steady-state method for fluid flow and heat transfer and that the air flow is turbulent.
“The photovoltaic panel measures 100 cm in length and 60 cm in width, with a maximum output power of 100 W. The ground surface, 12 m long, 3 m wide and 3.6 m high, was modeled like a rectangular area,” the team explained when describing the installation. “Two PVC pipes of 10 cm diameter each were designed, which were buried underground and integrated into the geothermal system to improve heat absorption.”
The photovoltaic panel was based on monocrystalline silicon, a glass cover, an aluminum frame and an ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant. A similar system, without soil cooling, was created for reference.
Both the experimental and control setups were simulated to operate for ten hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the city of Kirkuk, northern Iraq. At noon, a peak solar radiation of 950 W/m2 was recorded, while the lowest value, 360 W/m2, was recorded at 17:00. The air temperature peaked at 45°C at 13:00.
“The results demonstrate a notable improvement in photovoltaic performance with the implementation of the cooling system,” say the scientists. “Specifically, the temperature dropped from 53.8 ºC to approximately 42.8 ºC at 1:00 p.m. “This represents a significant improvement, as the temperature was reduced by approximately 28% compared to the photovoltaic case.”
The simulation also showed that the PV-ground case consistently outperformed the PV-only case. The air-cooled configuration improved power generation by 6.5% compared to the PV configuration, and its maximum power was 88 W.
“At 8:00, the maximum efficiency was 16.53% in the PV-ground case and 16.14% in the PV-only case. At 13:00, the efficiency decreased to 15.49% and 14.54% in the photovoltaic-underground and photovoltaic-solitary cases, respectively,” the researchers explain.
The results were presented in “ Photovoltaic panel cooling using ground source energy: CFD simulation ,” published in Results in Engineering . The research team consisted of academics from the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Petroleum, Al-Kitab University and the Northern Technical University. |
