Investigation of functionally graded metal foam thermal management system for solar cell
Weng Cheong Tan
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lip Huat Saw
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Correspondence
Lip Huat Saw, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, Malaysia, 43000.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFarazila Yusof
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorHui San Thiam
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorJin Xuan
Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Search for more papers by this authorWeng Cheong Tan
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lip Huat Saw
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Correspondence
Lip Huat Saw, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, Malaysia, 43000.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFarazila Yusof
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorHui San Thiam
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000 Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorJin Xuan
Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, Grant/Award Number: FRGS/1/2018/TK07/UTAR/02/4; Universiti Malaya, Grant/Award Number: ST006-2018; University of Malaya RU Grant, Grant/Award Number: ST006-2018; Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Grant/Award Number: FRGS/1/2018/TK07/UTAR/02/4
Summary
Concentrated photovoltaic cell (CPV) is a solar energy harvesting device that converts solar energy into electrical energy. However, the performance and efficiency of the CPV are heavily dependent on the temperature. Besides, nonuniformity of temperature distribution on the CPV will lead to thermal aging and affects the cycle life. Hence, an effective cooling system is required to remove excess heat generated to ensure that the CPV operates at optimum operating temperature with minimum variation of temperature. Metal foam is a new class of material that possesses huge potential for thermal management. In this study, a functionally graded metal foam is proposed for the CPV thermal management system. Computational thermal fluid dynamic analysis is conducted to investigate the effect of porosity and pore density on the flow field and thermal performance of the aluminum foam heat sink. The investigation results revealed that 10 PPI functionally graded aluminum foam heat sink with two stages of porosity gradient 0.794 and 0.682 produced the lowest pressure drop and highest thermal performance. Temperature difference of 3.9°C was achieved for a solar cell with total heat generation of 900 W under water mass flow rate of 20 gs−1.
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