Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Using a Heat Sink Integrated with Nano-PCM on the PV Cell Temperature

This work was a simulation study of cooling feasibility for a 570 x 670 mm solar cell rated at 50 W, evaluated using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1. First, the effect of the number of flat fins on the cell temperature was examined. Next, to determine the optimal number of fins, the impact of three fin cross-sections—flat, triangular, and T-shaped—was investigated. Following the selection of the optimum cross-section, the effect of adding a nano-PCM mass to the heat sink was studied. Several masses were analyzed by varying the height of the nano-PCM mass container, with dimensions of 20, 30, and 40 mm. Once the optimum tank height was identified, the feasibility of using water to cool the nano-PCM mass was assessed. Regarding the results, although the lowest cell temperature was achieved with 10 flat fins, eight flat fins yielded a similar temperature. Therefore, the number of fins was fixed at 8, which reduced the cell temperature to 52.6°C, a 10% improvement. Subsequently, using triangular-section fins instead of flat ones reduced the maximum temperature to 50.8°C, representing an 11.8% improvement. Supporting the heatsink with a 40 mm-thick container filled with nano-PCM further reduced the cell temperature to 44.67 °C (by 22.5%). Finally, the lowest maximum cell temperature was obtained as 37.9°C when the nano-PCM described above was cooled with water, resulting in a 34.1% improvement.