The impact of cavity in finned thermal collector on PVT performance using Al2O3 nanofluid

• Investigates impact of water/Al2O3 nanofluid concentration and collector geometry. • Optimal 2% nanofluid concentration enhances efficiency by 0.17. • Trapezoidal collectors achieve the highest efficiency of 12.85% with 1% Al₂O₃ concentration. • Parallelogram geometry offers competitive outcomes due to its unique shape. • ANOVA analysis confirms the significant impact of nanofluid concentration and geometry on thermal efficiency. • Recommendations for enhancing renewable energy system efficiency. The ever-increasing demand for effective energy conversion systems fuels the exploration of new designs in photovoltaic-thermal systems. In this research, the challenge of improving the performance of these systems is addressed using Al 2 O 3 nanofluid as a coolant and cavity fin designs. The innovation of this study is the comprehensive analysis of trapezoidal and parallelogram fin shapes with varying concentrations of Al 2 O 3 nanofluid, which has not been studied in the framework of photovoltaic-thermal systems. Through computational fluid dynamics simulations, this study shows that trapezoidal fins at a 1% concentration of Al 2 O 3 nanofluid result in 12.85% electrical efficiency, while parallelogram fins at a 2% concentration achieve 18.11% thermal efficiency. The fins' geometry and nanofluid concentration are essential in the efficiency of photovoltaic-thermal systems. The optimized design of cavity fins and the choice of nanofluid concentration significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency. This research helps advance the design and operation of photovoltaic-thermal systems and enhances the understanding of sustainable energy technology advancements. These findings can help us understand the relationship between the properties of nanofluid and fin geometry, which is of great importance in increasing the efficiency of solar energy systems.