Using composite of phase change materials and aluminum wires to optimize thermal and electrical efficiencies of photovoltaic module

The aim of this research is optimizing electrical and thermal efficiencies of a photovoltaic (PV) module integrated with phase change materials (PCMs) and Aluminum (AL) wires. Composites of glycerol and beeswax (GLBW) and the mixture of GLBW with paraffin (GLBWP) are presented as new PCMs. PCMs are applied in PV module to regulate its temperature. Aluminum wires are added to GLBWP composite to increase its thermal conductivity. Response surface methodology (RSM) is used to analyze the dependent variables which are the thermal and electrical efficiencies (eta(th) and eta(e)) and the optimum condition of the PV/AL-GLBWP system is achieved. The chosen independent factors of the cooling system are glycerol volume fraction in GLBW (A=0-100% volume), GLBW volume fraction in GLBWP (B=0-50% volume), and AL mass in GLBWP (C=0-50g). Cold water is used to decrease the temperature of the PV module through a heat exchanger embedded in the PCM container. The results show that the composite of glycerol, beeswax and paraffin makes the PCM, which put out more thermal and electrical efficiencies than pure paraffin. Results indicate that for the system with no cooling, eta(th) and eta(e) are 53.27% and 9.05%, respectively. The addition of AL wire to PCMs noticeably increases the performance of cooling system. The values of thermal and electrical efficiencies are predicted at the highest point, which are 97.67% and 12.98%, respectively, at 75% GLBW, 37.5% GLBWP, and 37.5 g AL wire.