MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC-THERMOELECTRIC SYSTEM BY INTEGRATING AND OPTIMIZING PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

Integrating phase change materials (PCMs) with concentrated photovoltaic–thermoelectric (PV–TE) systems can effectively control the interface temperature between PV and TE components and improve the full solar-spectrum utilization efficiency. However, since the structure of photovoltaic–phase change material–thermoelectric (PV–PCM–TE) systems is complex and the temperatures among the components are coupled and affect each other, the photo-thermal-electric conversion characteristics under the actual physical properties need to be analyzed by a more detailed model, and the suitable operating conditions for PV–PCM–TE systems remain clear. There is still a lack of the method for improving the system performance. Therefore, a three-dimensional transient model is established herein by combining the Monte Carlo ray-tracing method and finite volume method to simulate the complex energy conversion processes of the PV–PCM–TE system. Based on this, performances of PV–PCM–TE, PV–TE, and PV systems are compared under different operating conditions, and the applicable conditions for PV–PCM–TE systems are analyzed. Then effects of key parameters of the phase change module are investigated. In the end, to further improve the system performance, a partition screening method of PCM is proposed considering the nonuniform solar radiation on photovoltaic surfaces, and the selection and layout area of PCMs are optimized. The results present that the applicable operating conditions are low concentration ratio (< 20) and low heat transfer coefficient (< 20 W·m^–2·K^–1). In terms of structural parameters, the system power generation is most significantly affected by the width. In terms of PCM physical properties, it is most affected by the PCM density, followed by latent heat. For different concentration ratios, there are different optimal melting points to achieve the highest power generation. The proposed PCM partition screening method can efficaciously control PV–TE interface temperature, and reduce photovoltaic cells’ temperature by 47°C. The system efficiency can be increased by 4.8% and 4.2% after the optimization compared with that of the single PV cell and the traditional PV–TE system, respectively.