Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Experimental investigation of a novel LCPV/T system with micro-

channel heat pipe array
Haiping Chen, Heng Zhang*, Mingjie Li, Haowen Liu**, Jiguang Huang
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: At present, the use of domestic and industrial solar energy is commonly divided into two parts:
Received 18 May 2017 Photovoltaic and solar thermal utilization, but due to the high cost and long recovery cycle, are limited in
Received in revised form their respective development in this field. As a high-efficiency solar energy utilization technology,
16 July 2017
photovoltaic/thermal attracts more and more attention. In this paper, a novel low concentration
Accepted 24 August 2017
photovoltaic/thermal (LCPV/T) system with micro-channel heat pipe array was proposed. The environ-
Available online 30 August 2017
mental parameters and the inlet and the outlet temperature and output power were tested in this study.
The efficiency of the system was up to 12.68% while at the same time thermal, electric and heat efficiency
Keywords:
Micro-channel heat pipe array
reached a value of 54.48%, 14.49% and 2.1% respectively, at the inlet temperature of 31
C.
LCPV/T system © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Electrical/thermal efficiency
Performance analysis

1. Introduction
Increasing availability of energy resources and the increasingly
serious environmental problems, lead to more attention being paid
to solar energy. According to the latest report, World Energy
Outlook 2016 of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the future
globally proportion of solar power generation will reach 10% in
2030, 20% in 2040, 27% in 2050 and 60% in the end of the 21st
century [1]. In the field of distributed generation, photovoltaic has a
strong advantage of time domain and geography. However, the
maximum efficiency of crystalline silicon cells is limited to 30% [2],
since residual energy turns into heat. At the same time, the tem-
perature of crystalline silicon cells rises during energy production.
The PV cells' temperature rises up to 90
C or higher (without
cooling) under the 4 times condensing conditions. It was demon-
strated that PV efficiency decreases by 0.45% for every degree rise in
temperature [3]. Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector was pro-
posed to cool the PV cells for higher efficiency energy production
and additionally hot water production. In the technical and thermal
economy, PV/T has unique advantages, since it can produce high
temperature hot water, especially under low concentration
* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: zhangchongheng@hotmail.com (H. Zhang), liu_haowen@
hotmail.com (H. Liu).
conditions.
Nowadays, air [4], water [5], refrigerant [6], and tube heat pipe
[7] are used as the common working media in PV/T collectors. Many
researchers [8e11] adopt the method of pasting thermal compo-
nents on the back of PV cells for heat treatment.
Taking engineering demonstrations or practical applications
into account, the PV/T collectors that utilize air, water, and refrig-
erant and tube heat pipe as cooling media have shortcomings, such
as low capacity of pressure bearing and antifreeze, frailty on scaling
and blocking, minor heat flux and inconsistent temperature dis-
tribution. As a new type of heat conducting element, the flat micro -
channel heat pipe array was proposed. Furthermore, due to its low
cost, combining it with the heat exchanger to form a PV/T collector,
can stave off the shortcomings of the existing collector and enhance
the reliability of the system operation.
Many researchers have conducted a series of theoretical and
experimental research on flat micro-heat pipe. Since Cotter T P. put
forward the concept of micro-heat pipe in 1984, the tube micro-
heat pipe has been significantly developed in the field of cooling
micro-electronic components. However, due to their limited heat
area and heat transfer intensity, it is inapplicable on a large scale. As
an improved version of tube micro-heat pipe, the flat micro-
channel heat pipe array has become the key technology for the
research and development on heat pipe [12].
Babin et al. [13] established a two-dimensional steady state
theoretical model for a micro-heat pipe with a single rectangular
intercept. Through experimental investigation, the factors

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.08.087
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774 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782

Nomenclature mw mass flow, L/h

Nuf Nuselt number
Acw area of the water-cooled blocks, m2 Prf Prandtl number
Aglass area of glass plate, m2 Rct1 thermal contact resistance between the evaporator
Ahp;h area of evaporator, m2 and back flat-plat,KW1
Ahp;l area of condenser, m2 Rct2 thermal contact resistance between the condenser and
APV area of PV, m2 water-cooled blocks,KW1
C geometric concentration ratio Ref Reynolds number
Ct correction coefficient Ta temperature of ambient air, K
d pipe diameter of the water-cooled blocks, m Tf the average temperature of flows, K
Econ heat flux via conduction, W Thp;h the temperature of evaporator, K
Ecov heat flux via convection between the water-cooled Thp;l temperature of condenser, K
blocks and flows, W TPV temperature of PV, K
Ecov;w heat flux via convection between PV and environment, Tr reference temperature in the standard efficiency, K
W
Ein solar energy absorbed by selective absorbing coating, Greek letters
W u ambient wind velocity,m/s
EPV PV electrical output, W aAL absorptivity of back flat-plat
Erad heat flux via radiation, W aglass absorptivity of glass plate
f turbulent resistance coefficient aPV absorptivity of absorbing coating
G solar radiation, W/m2 bPV temperature coefficient of the PV efficiency
hcov coefficient of convection heat transfer, W/(m2K) tglass transmittance of glass plate
hm heat transfer coefficient between the water-cooled d Stefan-Boltzmann constant, Wm2K4
blocks and flows,W/(m2K) ε reflectivity of absorbing coating
hrad coefficient of radiation heat transfer, W/(m2K) n kinematic viscosity, m2/s
K thermal conductivity of heat pipe, Wm1K1 hsysPV system electrical efficiency
l length of the heat sink, m lf the thermal conductivity of the fluid
Lhp length of heat pipe, m

influencing the operating performance were analyzed. H.M.S [14].
studied the flat-plate tube heat pipe solar collectors and optimized
some parameters that affect the thermal performance of the col-
lector in the same way. Bingzhi Zhang et al. [15] used TRNSYS
software to simulate the performance of flat heat pipe PV/T under
different cycle flow and then carried out experiments to validate
the results. It was indicated that the highest electrical efficiency of
the system reached 15.69% and the total efficiency could reach
67.5%. By Longshu Hou et al. [16] a micro heat pipe array (MHPA)
technology was developed to regulate the working temperature by
retrofitting the PV panel into the PV-thermal (MHPA-PV/T) collec-
tor. The electrical efficiency was relatively stable at approximately
13% compared with thermal efficiency. The total efficiency of the
MHPA-PV/T collector for the entire year fluctuated between 30%
and 50%.Pei Gang et al. [17] proposed a novel heat pipe photovol-
taic/thermal (PV/T) system that could simultaneously supply elec-
trical and thermal energy. Compared with a traditional water-type
PV/T system, this system can be used in cold regions without
becoming frozen.
Guiqiang Li et al. [18] proposed a novel PV-TE system based on
the flat plate micro-channel heat pipe. The mathematic model was
build and the performance under different ambient conditions was
analyzed. The results indicated that the new PV-TE had a higher
electrical output and cost effective performance. H. Jouhara et al.
[19] developed a novel flat heat pipe design. This was utilized as a
building envelope and thermal solar collector with and without
(PV) bonded directly to its surface. The design of the new solar
collector has been validated through full scale testing in Cardiff, UK,
where solar/thermal, uncooled PV and PV/T tests were carried out
on three identical systems, simultaneously. The tests illustrated a
solar/thermal energy conversion efficiency of approximately 64%
for the collector without PV and 50% for the system with the PV
layer on it.
TingTing Zhu et al. [20] proposed a novel Compound Parabolic
Concentrator (CPC) solar air collector with flat micro-heat pipe
arrays. The thermal performance investigation was conducted
theoretically and experimentally. Experiment results show that the
average efficiency was approximately 61% at a volume flow rate of
320 m3/h, with a radiation of 799 W/m2 (ambient temperature of
28.8
C). The instantaneous efficiency reached 68%, depending on
the solar radiation, air volume flow rate, and ambient temperature.
In addition, the time constant of the collector was approximately
14.8 min, with an air volume flow rate of 260 m3/h.
Meysam Moradgholi et al. [21] selected heat pipe (thermosy-
phon type) to absorb the excessive heat from solar PV cells. The
results indicated that the photovoltaic/thermal system produced an
average of 7.7% power more compared to the photovoltaic system
and approximately, its thermal efficiency was 45.14%. In addition,
the proposed state-of-art resulted in a substantial temperature
drop in the panel (up to 15
C). Zhangyuan Wang et al. [22] pro-
posed the heat pipe BIPV/T system with metal wires filling the
space between the finned heat pipes and insulation. Through
experimental investigation, the tank water temperature could
reach the maximum of 53.83
C and the maximum thermal effi-
ciency was calculated at 44.04% with the simulated solar radiation
of 300 W/m2 and water flow rate of 200 L/h. Likewise, the
maximum electrical efficiency was calculated at 7.9%. S. Man-
ikandan et al. [23] taken the energy and exergy analysis of a solar
annular thermoelectric generator (SATEG) considering Thomson
effect in conjunction with Peltier, Joule and Fourier heat conduc-
tion. The results shown that the power output and overall exergy
efficiency of the SATEG are 1.92W and 5.02% respectively and are
0.52% and 0.40% higher than that of solar flat plate thermoelectric
generator (SFTEG).
 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782
Increasing the uniformity of the surface temperature distribu-
tion of crystalline silicon cells can improve the electrical efficiency
of PV/T [24]. Due to the flow of the cooling medium, a significant
temperature gradient occurs in the PV cells. Based on the advantage
of the temperature uniformity, combining the flat plate micro-
channel heat pipe array and PV cells, can homogenize the heat
flux distribution for the high electrical output.
Therefore, in this paper the concept of a novel LCPV/T system
was developed, including the PV cells, the flat plate micro-channel
heat pipe array, the water-cooled blocks, electronic valve, flow-
meter, water tank, automatic meteorological station and the data
acquisition system. The electricity and the thermal exergy perfor-
mance were analyzed by a series of outdoor experimental data.
All in all, micro-channel heat pipe and array were rarely used in
the previous research on low concentration PV/T module, and the
effect of different tilt angles and different operating conditions on
the performance of the system was seldom explored. Therefore, in
this paper the concept of a novel LCPV/T system was developed
including the PV cells, the flat plate micro-channel heat pipe array,
the water-cooled blocks, electronic valve, flowmeter, water tank,
automatic meteorological station and the data acquisition system.
The electricity and the thermal exergy performance were in
analyzed by a series of outdoor experimental data under different
conditions.
2. System description
The novel PV/T module is illustrated in Fig. 1. The PV were
attached to the upper surface of the evaporator of micro-channel
heat pipe array, while 3 water-cooled blocks were attached to the
lower surface of the condenser side by side. A Compound Parabolic
Concentrator (CPC) gathered sunbeam on the PV surface. Then the
heat from the PV was conducted through the evaporator to the
condenser. Simultaneously the flowing fluid in the water-cooled
blocks cooled the condenser. To enhance the heat transfer, insu-
lating aluminum (237 W/(m$K)) as the backplane of the PV was
used instead of the conventional Tedlar-PET-Tedlar (TPT, 0.614 W/
(m$K)).
In this paper, the condenser of the LCPV/T system is illustrated in
Fig. 2. The geometric ratio of flat-plate CPC is 4. The uniformity of
the light distribution on the PV surface is higher than conventional
CPC as the elimination of secondary reflections and light compen-
sation measures were applied in the design. This way, the elec-
tricity efficiency improved significantly. In addition, dual-axis
tracking was used to make sure the PV/T module always remains in
direct sunlight.
Fig. 1. Diagram of PV/T structure.
775
Fig. 2. Diagram of LCPV/T structure.
Condenser mirror for the composite parabolic condenser, the
installation of the lower end of the mirror opening distance of
156 mm, the upper end of 624 mm.The structure can be eliminated
in the case of partial reflection of the case to achieve 4 times the
purpose of concentrating. The other mirror is also installed with the
vertical direction. An 18
dip angle plane mirror is used to achieve
light compensation, which in turn makes the radiation distribution
on the upper surface of the panel even more uniform. By reflecting
some light to the edges of PV-modules, light compensation can
improve the uniformity of irradiation and temperature of the PV-
modules. Table 1 shows the acceptance surface distance, the
plane mirror inclination angle and other parameters of the accep-
tance surface of the CPC with light compensation when the con-
centration ratio is 4 [25].
3. Thermodynamic model
PV/T module was mainly composed of micro-channel heat pipe
array and water-cooled blocks. The water-cooled blocks were
adhered to the condensation section, which enhances the heat
transfer process between the heat pipe and the working fluid.
Additionally, it improves the thermal efficiency of the system. In
this paper, the effect of fluid flow inside heat pipe on heat transfer
was considered. The working fluid evaporated in the evaporation
section by absorbing the heat from the solar panel. Then it released
the heat to the water-cooled blocks in condensation section and
finally returned to the evaporation section by gravity. This structure
ensures that the temperature of the panel can be reduced, while the
temperature between each panel in series connection is balanced.
The heat transfer model of the system is represented by the thermal
resistance network method as presented in Fig. 3.
According to the energy conservation law, the equation of en-
ergy balance can be expressed as below,
Ein ¼ EPV þ Erad þ Ecov þ Econ (1)
where Ein is the total amount of solar energy absorbed by the
system, which is expressed as below,


Ein ¼ CGAglass aglass þ APV aPV tglass CG þ Aglass  APV tglass CGaAL
(2)
where C is concentration ratio, G is solar radiation intensity, Aglass
equals the area of the glass plate and APV is the area of the solar
cells.
776 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782

Table 1
Parameter values of CPC with light compensation.

Concentration Number of Number of Total energy Received Light intensity The maximum The minimum Received average Non-uniformity
ratio source received of source energy of source (W/ received light received light deviation of light of acceptance
light light (W) (W) m2) intensity (W/m2) intensity (W/m2) intensity surface

4 100000 99469 499.2 489.10 800 3738.2 2181.2 0.1374 0.263

Fig. 3. Schematic of the heat transfer network of the CPV/T system.

The system power output value is given by:

.
EPV ¼ Ein ½1  bPV ðTPV  Tr Þ (3) Econ ¼ Ahp;h Tpv  Thp;h Rct1 (10)

where bPV is the temperature coefficient of the solar cells efficiency, where Thp;h is the evaporation section temperature of the micro-
TPV is temperature of the solar cells and Tr represents reference channel heat pipe array.
temperature. The thermal conductivity inside the micro-channel heat pipe
The system electrical efficiency is given by: array is defined as below:

EPV

hsysPV ¼ (4)
Econ ¼ KLhp Thp;h  Thp;l (11)
Aglass CG

Erad is radiation heat transfer of cells with atmosphere, which is where K is thermal conductivity of the micro-channel heat pipe
expressed as below, array, Lhp is effective length of the micro-channel heat pipe array

 and Thp;l is the condensation section temperature of the micro-
Erad ¼ hrad APV TPV  Tsky (5) channel heat pipe array.
The heat transfer between the condensation section of micro-
where hrad is radiation heat transfer coefficient. It can be defined by channel heat pipe array and water-cooled blocks is expressed as
the following equation. below,



.
hrad ¼ εd Tsky þ TPV Tsky þ TPV (6) Econ ¼ Ahp;l Thp;l  Twc Rct2 (12)

where Tsky is atmosphere temperature. It can be defined as, where Twc is wall temperature of water-cooled blocks.
The heat in the water-cooled block is finally carried out by the
Tsky ¼ 0:0552Ta (7) flow in the water-cooled block, which can be expressed as follows:

Ecov equals convection heat transfer of cells with environment,


which is expressed as below, Ecov;w ¼ Econ ¼ hm Twc  Tf Acw (13)

Ecov ¼ hcov APV ðTPV  Ta Þ (8) where Tf is average temperature of the fluid. hm is the convective
heat transfer coefficient between water-cooled block and working
where hcov equals convection heat transfer coefficient. It can be
fluid. With Nuf ¼ hlm d; hm can be expressed as
defined by the following equation. f

hcov ¼ 5:7 þ 3:8u (9) Nuf $lf

hm ¼ (14)
Due to the energy conservation law, the rest of the energy enters d
into the system through heat conduction. There are many different It is known that Nu is a function of Re and Pr in turbulent state,
calculation methods for thermal conductivity Econ. The thermal which is Nu ¼ f ðRe; PrÞ.
conductivity between the cells and micro-channel heat pipe array According to Gnielinski formula, Nuf can be expressed by the
can be expressed as, following equations [26,27],
 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782 777

 Table 2
"  23 # Known quantities involved thermodynamic model.
ðf =8Þ Ref  1000 Prf d
Nuf ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
  1þ  Ct (15) Known quantities Numerical Unit
1 þ 12:7 f =8 Prf  1 l
C 4
AP 1704*156*3 mm2
mw APV 1560*156*3 mm2
Ref ¼ (16) Tsol 5760 K
9*105 pdn

where Ct is modified coefficient and f is the Darcy resistance co-

efficient of turbulent flow in the tube. Ct and f can be defined by the
following equations,

 0:01
Prf
Ct ¼ (17)
Prw

2
f ¼ 1:82lgRef  1:64 (18)

Based on the first law of thermodynamics, the experimental

data were analyzed and thus the equations of photovoltaic/thermal
power and photovoltaic/thermal efficiency can be expressed as
follows,

EPV ¼ Um $Im (19)

where EPV is the photovoltaic power, Um is the maximum of voltage

and Im is the maximum of current,
Fig. 4. LCPV/T experimental apparatus.
 
Qth ¼ mc Tw;out  Tw;in (20)

where Qh is the thermal power, m is the mass flow of water, c is the

specific heat of water, and Tw,in and Tw,out are the inlet and outlet
temperature of system respectively,

EPV Um $Im
he ¼ ¼ (21)
CGAPV CGAPV

where he is the electrical efficiency, C is the concentration ratio, G is

the solar radiation intensity and APV is the areas of solar panel.
Fig. 5. Water cycle subsystem.
 
Q mc Tw;out  Tw;in
hth ¼ th ¼ (22) _ ¼ C$j $G$APV
CGAP CGAP Esol s (26)

where hth is the thermal efficiency and AP is the areas of heat where Esol is the solar radiation exergy,
collector.
Due to the differences between the electric and thermal power E_el
xel ¼ (27)
quality, the exergy efficiency which has close relation to the second C$js $G$APV
law of thermodynamic was used in this paper to evaluate the
performance of LCPV/T.
E_Q
The equations of photovoltaic/thermal exergy power and xt ¼ (28)
C$js $G$AP
photovoltaic/thermal exergy efficiency are expressed as below,
where xel and xt are the efficiency of photovoltaic and thermal
E_el ¼ Um $Im (23)
exergy respectively. The known quantities are shown in the Table 2.
Where Eel is the photovoltaic exergy power [28], T0 , Tw;out , Tw;in , Um and Im are measured in the experiment.

 
4 T0 1 T0 4 4. Experimental system
js ¼ 1  $ þ $ (24)
3 Tsol 3 Tsol
The experimental apparatus of the novel LCPV/T system with
Where EQ is the thermal exergy power, micro-channel heat pipe array illustrated in Fig. 4, was built in
" # Beijing and includes the following 4 basic parts.
  Tw;out
E_Q ¼ m_w $c$ Tw;out  Tw;in  T0 $ln (25)
Tw;in 4.1. Water cycle subsystem

where jS is the coefficient of radiation exergy, Tsol is constant and As showed in Fig. 5, the subsystem was composed of inlet tank,
equals to 5760 K, and T0 is the ambiance temperature, water pump, electric control valve (used to control the flow), flow
778 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782

Table 3
Parameters involved in LCPV/T module.

Parameter Numerical Unit

the size of CPC 850*570 mm2

the size of compensation lens 850*10 mm2
concentration ratio 4
Reflectivity of CPC 0.93
the size of PV 1700*226*4 mm3
the area of PV 1560*156 mm2
thickness of aluminum backplane 0.2 mm
thickness of glass plate 3.2 mm
transmittance of glass plate 0.947 mm
EVA thickness (3 layers) 0.9
battery coverage rate 0.63
micro-channel heat pipe 1710*80*3 mm3
the water-cooled blocks 80*40*10/48 mm3

meter and insulation tank. The water in the inlet tank passes
through the electric control valve, the flow meter and the PV/T
module to the insulation tank.

4.2. LCPV/T module

The LCPV/T module mainly composed of CPC, PV module and

micro-channel heat pipe array. The parameters involved in the Fig. 7. Measurement and control subsystem.
LCPV/T module are presented in Table 3.
Table 4.
4.3. Electrical measurement subsystem
4.5. Experimental uncertainty
As showed in Fig. 6, the subsystem was composed of maximum
power point tracking (MPPT) controller, current voltmeter, battery To increase the accuracy of experimental results, the experi-
and load. The maximum power point output of the PV module can mental data which may cause error was made uncertainty analysis.
be ensured by the MPPT controller. Batteries (lead-acid, Panasonic) The direct testing parameters include m; G; Tw;out Tw;in ; Um ; Im :
were used to store the electrical energy of the PV. The load con- The uncertainty of thermal efficiency hth can be determined by:
sisted of six DC lamps of 40W power each.

vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 2  2  2 !2
u vh vh vh vh
Dhth ¼ t Dm þ DG þ DTw;out þ DTw;in
vm vG vTw;out vTw;in

4.4. Measurement and control subsystem where Dhth ; DG; DTw;out ; DTw;in are the uncertainty of
hth ; G; Tw;out ; Tw;in responsibly.
As showed in Fig. 7, the subsystem was composed of data The uncertainty of solar electrical efficiency hel can be deter-
acquisition and control system, Pyranometer, Ammeter, Voltmeter mined by:
and thermocouple. The parameters of the devices are presented in

Fig. 6. Electrical measurement subsystem.

 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782 779

Table 4
The parameters of the devices.

Test equipment Measuring range Precision Production site

Total radiometer/CMP6 0-2000 W/m2 ±1% Netherlands, Kipp&zonen Co.

Flowmeter/LZDC-15/J1/F/R1/M5 30-300L/h ±2.5% Ningbo, China, Dongchi measurement and control technology Co. Ltd.
Electronic valve/SKD62U 0.04e0.6 m3/h ±1% SIEMENS Co.
MPPT/Tracer4215BN ±1% Beijing Epsolar Technology Ltd.
IV Curve tester/IVT-30-1000 10-1000 V 0.1e30 A ±1% Kewell Power Ltd.
Data acquisition module/ADAM5000TCP/5017P/5018P ±0.1% Advantech (China) Technology Co. Ltd.
Thermocouple(TT-T-30-sle) 200e260
C ±0.4%

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2  2  2
vh vh vh
Dhel ¼ DG þ DUm þ DIm
vG vUm vIm

where Dhel ; DG; DUm ; DIm are the uncertainty of hel ; G; Um ; Im

responsibly.
Through calculation, the maximum uncertainty of thermal ef-
ficiency and solar electrical efficiency is found to be 14.7% and 9.9%,
respectively.

5. Analysis and discussion of the testing results

In this paper, the performance of the system was analyzed by

variable control method. According to the different heat pipe tilt
angle different fluid flow and different inlet temperature, the
testing results of the system were measured. Some ideal assump-
tions were adopted for the experimental system, since particular
variables cannot be accurately controlled or measured.
Fig. 9. Inlet and outlet temperature and flow rate.
1) The temperature of the panel was assumed to be equal to the
average temperature (through the four point) of the backplane.
2) The MPPT controller was always at the maximum power point
and was not affected by the load and the battery.
3) The entire system was in a heat-insulated state and did not have
any heat exchange with the environment.

5.1. Hourly performance of the system

To study the performance of the LCPV/T system, environmental

data (the total radiation intensity, wind speed, the environment
temperature) were tested in a typical day. The environmental pa-
rameters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are illustrated in Fig. 8.
Throughout the day, the solar irradiation intensity initially

Fig. 10. The temperature of the back of three solar panels.

increased and then decreased. The maximum intensity reached

Fig. 8. Environmental parameters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
894 W/m2 at approximately 1:00 p.m. and the minimum was
316 W/m2 at 5 p.m. The change of environment temperature was
identical to that of irradiation, which fluctuates in the range of
308.29e311.26 K. The change of wind speed was not observable, in
addition was constant at 2 m/s.
In the case of setting constant flow conditions, the parameters
such as inlet, outlet temperature and system flow are presented in
Fig. 9.
The micro-channel heat pipe array used in the experiment has
the advantages of good frost resistance, improved heat transfer
780 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782

outlet temperature, the inlet temperature and the environment

temperature. The greater the difference between the outlet, the
inlet and the environment temperature is, the higher the thermal
exergy efficiency value is. Under constant inlet and environment
temperature, the change trend of heat exergy efficiency was similar
to that of outlet temperature, which initially increased and then
decreased.
Considering cost estimation, the factors influencing the elec-
trical and thermal output performance of the system were analyzed
in detail. The output performance depends on the working condi-
tions of the heat pipe and the cooling process of the system.
Therefore, the analysis focuses on changing the tilt angle of the heat
pipe and the circulating flow. By calculating the electrical and
thermal efficiency, to measure the overall performance of the sys-
tem, it was further optimized according to the results.

5.2. The influence of tilt angle on system performance

Fig. 11. Variety of the electrical, thermal and exergy efficiency.
A heat exchange cycle process includes the evaporation of the
working fluid in the evaporation section then the condensation in
performance and more symmetrical temperature performance. The the condensation section and finally recirculation. The tilt angle
change trends of solar panel with time are illustrated in Fig. 10, at between heat pipe and horizontal direction influences the recir-
the same time the temperature between the panels was almost the culation speed and heat exchange intensity. Small tilt angle causes a
same, the error was approximately 1% and the uniform tempera- minor recirculation speed, affecting the cooling process of solar
ture can improve the system performance. panels. Large tilt angle blocks the capillary recirculation process. In
According to the data obtained from the data acquisition system, the experimental process, the other variables were constant. Four
the electrical, thermal efficiency and the electrical, thermal exergy tilt angles (30
, 45
, 60
, 80
) were selected to compare and analyze
efficiency calculated by thermodynamic model are illustrated in the system thermal and electrical output performance. In the
Fig. 11. aggregated experimental data, values that met the above criteria
According to the first law of thermodynamics, the electrical ef- were selected and arranged. The relationship between system
ficiency initially decreased and then increased through time thermal, electrical, thermal exergy and electrical exergy efficiency
(Fig. 11). The temperature of solar panels rises as the environment are illustrated in the Fig. 12.
parameter value (Irradiation intensity, water temperature, envi- The curve in Fig. 12 presents the relationship between system
ronment temperature) increases. Because of enhanced irradiation efficiency and tilt angle. The system operated in constant flow (32L/
effect, the panel temperature rises with concentrating. Electrical h), irradiation intensity (420 W/m2) and inlet water temperature
efficiency was inversely proportional to the temperature of the (31
C). The abscissa of the curve indicates the tilt angle of heat pipe
panel and the efficiency decreased (the minimum value reached and the ordinates indicate thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency,
10.22%). After 13:00, by the environment parameters decrease, the thermal exergy efficiency and electrical exergy efficiency respec-
temperature of the panel decreased and efficiency increased. tively. According to the curve, it was concluded that:
Thermal efficiency follows a different curve trend compared to
electrical efficiency, thus it initially increased, then decreased and 1) The electrical efficiency rises by increasing the tilt angle, but the
finally increased. At noonday, the environment temperature and change trend gradually decelerates. Large tilt angle enhances
irradiation intensity reached maximum and thermal efficiency was the flow of the working fluid in the heat pipe, improves the heat
up to 54.48%. Excessive irradiation caused heat input increase, the exchange process in the condensation section, reduces the
temperature of the PV panel raised and the heat transfer temper-
ature difference improved. Thus, the heat transfer process was
strengthened and the thermal efficiency improved. During the af-
ternoon, heat transfer performance and thermal efficiency
decreased by the irradiation intensity decrease. However, at 4:00 or
5:00 p.m., thermal efficiency suddenly increased, due to the higher
descending rate of irradiation intensity compared to the rate of
temperature difference changing during heat transfer and thermal
efficiency has rebounded.
Based on the second law of thermodynamics, electrical exergy
efficiency has the same trend with electrical efficiency. Its
maximum value was 14.49%, while the minimum was 11.01%.
Thermal exergy efficiency was different to thermal efficiency, since
it initially increased and then decreased progressively, with a
maximum and minimum value of 2.1% and 0.8% respectively. In the
exergy analysis, energy quality was the main desideratum. The
temperature of hot water was low, thus thermal exergy efficiency
was significantly lower than thermal efficiency. In addition, ther-
mal exergy efficiency corresponded to the relationship between the Fig. 12. The Variety of electricity, thermal and exergy efficiency that related to the
pipes angle.
 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782
temperature of the solar panels, and increases the electrical
efficiency. However, the heat exchange process was limited by
the maximum heat transfer intensity in the condensation sec-
tion and the heat transfer capacity between the panels and heat
pipes. The maximum electric efficiency was 15.11% higher than
the minimum.
2) The change trend of electrical exergy efficiency was similar to
that of electrical efficiency. Considering partial energy in solar
energy can be utilized, the electrical exergy efficiency was (1/jS)
times the electrical efficiency. Ambient temperature is constant
and change trends are similar. Due to the same reason, the
electrical efficiency reaches a maximum of 11.97% at the angle of
80
. The maximum electric efficiency is 15.20% higher than the
minimum.
3) The thermal efficiency increases initially and then decreases
when the tilt angle is increasing. At the angle of 65
, thermal
efficiency reached a maximum of 54.15%. As the tilt angle be-
tween heat pipe and horizontal direction increased, the recir-
culation of working fluid in the condensation section is
strengthened under the influence of gravity. More heat is
removed in time and the thermal efficiency increased. However,
when the angle increased further, the two-phase flow affected
each other in the heat pipes, resulting in a slight decrease in
thermal efficiency. Corresponding thermal efficiency value at
the maximum inclination was still at a high level. The maximum
electric efficiency was 3.3% higher than the minimum.
4) The change trend of thermal exergy efficiency was identical to
that of the thermal efficiency. The thermal exergy efficiency
initially increased and then decreased with the tilt angle
increasing. However, the difference between the values of
thermal and thermal exergy efficiency was large and there was
no rate relationship. This occurred since the available partial
energy is related to the product of the logarithm of the differ-
ence between the outlet water temperature, the inlet water
temperature and ambient temperature. As the angle increases,
heat exchange improves and outlet temperature increases. With
the angle to further increase, the water temperature slightly
decreased due to the heat exchange limitation. The quality of
heat was low; thus, the thermal efficiency reaches a maximum
of 1.84%, which was 9.81% higher than the minimum.
5.3. The influence of flow rate on system performance
The system flow was related to the heat exchange performance
of the water-cooled block. Too small flow will cause the outlet
Fig. 13. The Variety of electricity, thermal efficiency that related to the system flow
rate.
781
water temperature to improve and decrease the electrical effi-
ciency. Too large flow will cause insufficient heat exchange process
and lead to poor heat dissipation. In the experimental process, the
other variables were constant, four flow rates (16, 25, 32, 60L/h)
were selected to compare and the thermal and electrical output
performance of the system was analyzed. The relationships be-
tween system thermal, electrical, thermal exergy and electrical
exergy efficiency are illustrated in Fig. 13.
The curve in the Fig. 13 represents the relationship between
system efficiency and flow rate. The system operates in constant
angle (45
), irradiation intensity (420 W/m2) and inlet water tem-
perature (31
C).
The abscissa of the curve indicates the flow rate and the ordi-
nates respectively indicate the thermal, electrical, thermal exergy
and electrical exergy efficiency. According to the curve:
1) The electrical efficiency increased by increasing the flow rate,
but the change trend gradually decelerates. The electrical effi-
ciency was almost stable when the flow rate was large. At flow
rate of 60L/h, the electrical efficiency reached a maximum of
11.57%. The large flow rate enhanced the heat exchange process
in the water-cooled blocks, reduced the temperature of the solar
panels and increased the electrical efficiency. The maximum
electric efficiency was 24.14% higher than the minimum, so the
increase of the flow rate had a significantly improving effect on
electrical efficiency. However, excessive flow of working fluid
affects the heat exchange process and the increase rate of
electrical efficiency was decelerated.
2) The change trend of electrical exergy efficiency is similar to that
of electrical efficiency. Considering partial energy in solar en-
ergy can be used, the electrical exergy efficiency was (1/jS)
times the electrical efficiency. Ambient temperature was con-
stant and the change trends were identical. Due to the same
reason, the electrical efficiency reached a maximum of 12.45% at
a flow rate of 60L/h. The maximum electric efficiency was
24.25% higher than the minimum.
3) Thermal efficiency initially increased and then stabilized by
increasing the flow rate. As the flow rate increased, the
convective heat transfer was strengthened in the water-cooled
blocks, the outlet water temperature decreased, and the tem-
perature difference in the condensation section and the recir-
culation flow increased. Thus, the thermal efficiency of the
system improved, reaching a maximum of 55.6%. However, by
further increasing the flow rate, thermal efficiency stabilizes due
to the limitation of recirculation speed. In the curve, the
maximum electric efficiency was 29.01% higher than the
minimum.
4) The change trend of thermal exergy efficiency was opposite to
thermal efficiency. Thermal exergy efficiency decreased by the
flow rate increase. This occurs because the available partial
energy is related to the product of the logarithm of the differ-
ence between, the outlet water temperature, the inlet water
temperature and ambient temperature. When the ambient
temperature and inlet water temperature were stable, the par-
tial energy available depends on the outlet water temperature.
Thus, thermal exergy efficiency decreases as the flow rate in-
creases. In the curve, the maximum of thermal exergy efficiency
was 2.24% and the minimum was 0.96%. Thermal exergy effi-
ciency was much less than thermal efficiency.
6. Conclusions
This paper discusses the novel LCPV/T system and its efficiency
and exergy efficiency. Through experimental verification, system
electrical efficiency was almost 10% when it is running all day, up to
782 H. Chen et al. / Renewable Energy 115 (2018) 773e782
12.68%. Thermal efficiency is about 50%, up to 54.48%.
As the irradiation intensity initially increases and then decreases
within a day, the electrical efficiency initially decreases and then
increases, due to the change trend of the temperature of the solar
panels. Unlikely the thermal efficiency initially increases, then de-
creases and finally increases again, due to the change trends of the
water temperature and the irradiation intensity. The change trend
of the electrical exergy efficiency was similar to that of electrical
efficiency, reaching a maximum of 14.49%. The thermal exergy ef-
ficiency initially increases and then decreases and the maximum
was 2.1%. In the experiment, each panel has a uniform temperature
distribution and the temperature difference between each panel
was minor, with an error within 1%. Based on the experimental
investigations, the following conclusions were deduced:
1 When the irradiation intensity was 420 W/m2 and the flow rate
was constant at 32L/h, the system electrical efficiency increased
by increasing the tilt angle, but the change trend gradually
decelerated. At an angle of 80
, the electrical efficiency reached a
maximum of 11.12%. The change trend of electrical exergy effi-
ciency was similar to the electrical efficiency. The electrical
exergy efficiency was (1/jS) times the electrical efficiency by a
maximum of 11.97%. The thermal efficiency initially increased
and then decreased by increasing the tilt angle(the performance
was different with wickless heat pipe and wire-meshed heat
pipe [7]). At an angle of 65
, thermal efficiency reaches a
maximum of 54.15%. The change trend of thermal exergy effi-
ciency was similar to the thermal efficiency. However, the
quality of heat is low and the thermal efficiency reached a
maximum of 1.84% at an angle of 60
.
2 When the irradiation intensity was 420 W/m2 and the tilt angle
was constant at 45
, the system electrical efficiency increased by
increasing the flow rate, but the change trend gradually decel-
erated. At a flow rate of 60L/h, the electrical efficiency reached a
maximum of 11.57%. The change trend of electrical exergy effi-
ciency was similar to the electrical efficiency. The electrical
exergy efficiency is ð1=js Þ times the electrical efficiency and the
maximum is 12.45%.The thermal efficiency initially increased
and then stabilized by increasing the flow rate and the
maximum reached 55.6%. The change trend of thermal exergy
efficiency was opposite to the thermal efficiency. The thermal
exergy efficiency decreased by increasing the flow rate. The
maximum was 2.24% at a flow rate of 16L/h.
3 In addition, the system power cannot be increased by the cor-
responding multiple under the concentration was 4. Since or-
dinary batteries are not suitable for use under high irradiation
intensity (2000 W/m2), the system efficiency was limited.
In future work, other types of silicon PV cells will also be
considered. Additionally, cost analysis of the system will be
discussed.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by Beijing Municipal Sci-
ence and Technology Project (Z151100003515002), the Funda-
mental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2016XS36).
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