Numerical Study of the Efficiency of a Solar Panel with Heat Sinks

Authors

  • Jorge Andrés Sierra Del Rio Department of Mechanical Engineering - GIIAM, Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo, Medellín, Colombia
  • Yustin Roman Ardila Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia
  • Alejandro Ruiz Sánchez Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia
  • Edwin Correa Quintana Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia
  • D. Sanin-Villa Department of Mechanical Engineering - GIIAM, Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo, Medellín, Colombia
  • C. Arrieta González Engineering Faculty, Research Group-Ingeniería en Energía-GRINEN, Universidad de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia
  • M. Luna-Del Risco Engineering Faculty, Research Group-Ingeniería en Energía-GRINEN, Universidad de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.15.4.4352

Keywords:

Solar energy, CFD, Sink, Efficiency, Photovoltaic

Abstract

The electrical efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels depends on their temperature. One of the significant problems consists in the overheating due to the total radiation energy, the ambient temperature, and the low capacity to dissipate this thermal energy. To improve the efficiency of solar panels, a numerical study was carried out using the ANSYS-Fluent 2021 commercial software in which the heat transfer between a solar panel with and without heat sinks was modelled, determining the incidence of fins in power generated by the photovoltaic cell. For the development of the study, initially, the theoretical calculation of the heat transfer and the generated power that occurs in the cell with and without a heat sink was carried out. Therefore, numerical simulation was conducted to analyse the effect of the geometry of the heat sink on the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells; different arrangements of rectangular fins were taken, varying their height (10 mm, 25 mm, and 50 mm). For the model’s configuration, boundary conditions corresponding to physical phenomena such as solar radiation and forced convection were considered. Results show an increase on the solar PV panel efficiency of 0.36%, 0.72%, and 1.07% for the height heat sinks of 10 mm, 25 mm, and 50 mm compared to the commercial PV solar panel without heat dissipation, respectively

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Author Biographies

Jorge Andrés Sierra Del Rio, Department of Mechanical Engineering - GIIAM, Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo, Medellín, Colombia

jorgesierra@itm.edu.co

Yustin Roman Ardila, Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia

yustinroman188676@correo.itm.edu.co

Alejandro Ruiz Sánchez, Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia

alejandroruiz9433@correo.itm.edu.co

Edwin Correa Quintana, Department of Mechatronics Engineering - MATyER, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia

edwincorrea8630@correo.itm.edu.co

D. Sanin-Villa, Department of Mechanical Engineering - GIIAM, Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo, Medellín, Colombia

d.saninvi@pascualbravo.edu.co

C. Arrieta González, Engineering Faculty, Research Group-Ingeniería en Energía-GRINEN, Universidad de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

carrieta@udemedellin.edu.co

M. Luna-Del Risco, Engineering Faculty, Research Group-Ingeniería en Energía-GRINEN, Universidad de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

mluna@udemedellin.edu.co

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Published

2023-02-16

How to Cite

Jorge Andrés Sierra Del Rio, Yustin Roman Ardila, Alejandro Ruiz Sánchez, Edwin Correa Quintana, D. Sanin-Villa, C. Arrieta González, & M. Luna-Del Risco. (2023). Numerical Study of the Efficiency of a Solar Panel with Heat Sinks. CFD Letters, 15(4), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.15.4.4352

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