Numerical Investigation of Inlet Positioning Effects on the Performance Efficiency of Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal Systems with Reversed Circular Flow Jet Impingement Cooling

Abstract

The research investigates a dual-function photovoltaic thermal (PVT) cooling approach that employs an innovative reversed circular flow jet impingement system. PVT systems often exhibit uniform temperature distribution, thereby reducing the electrical and thermal performance. Conventional cooling designs cannot ensure homogeneous heat removal. While previous studies have explored the design of jet impingement geometries, the influence of inlet positioning remains largely unexplored. This research fills a gap by examining the effects of symmetric and asymmetric inlet positioning on jet impingement on PVT performance. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted in COMSOL Multiphysics at three irradiance levels (800, 900, and 1000 W/m²) while varying the Reynolds number from 1463.81 to 4415.51. The system was evaluated based on performance, examining thermal and electrical efficiencies, overall efficiency, and outlet air temperature. Enhanced performance metrics resulted from increased Reynolds number, which improved convective heat transfer and decreased PV surface temperatures. The asymmetric inlet configuration proved superior to symmetric setups across all test conditions, delivering up to 0.4% electrical efficiency gains and 2.5% thermal efficiency improvements, resulting in overall efficiency gains of up to 3% and reaching a peak overall efficiency of 92.48% under 1000 W/m² conditions. The outlet temperature trends showed that the asymmetric design extracted heat more effectively, confirming its advanced thermal transfer properties. The research demonstrates that asymmetric inlet placement is an effective passive strategy for enhancing the performance of hybrid PVT systems under high levels of sunlight.