Performance of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal system utilizing water-Al2O3 nanofluid and fins

Innovative hybrid solar panels combining photovoltaic cells along with an efficient heat exchanger with attached fins to the parallel plates and water-Al2O3 nanofluid as a working fluid is presented in this work. Twenty-seven fins at the upper wall and 27 fins at the lower wall in labyrinth arrangement are used in simulations with fin lengths of 0, 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 of the flow path height. Moreover, nanosolid particles dispersed in the base fluid range as 0 <= phi <= 0.2. In addition, Reynolds number Re at the inlet was varied such that 10 Re < 80. Numerical finite element analysis using COMSOL software is utilized to investigate flow and thermal characteristics as well the overall efficiency of the hybrid system. Results show that as the Reynolds number, the length of the fin, and the volume fraction of the nanosolid particles increase, the overall efficiency increases. Moreover, increasing nanoparticle volume fraction and the fin length was found to increase the friction coefficient.