. A three-dimensional numerical model of the coupling of photovoltaic (PV) with a heat spreader is carried out. A thermal model is developed and solved numerically with ANSYS software. The effect of coupling the heat spreader with the PV and heat spreader dimensions on PV cooling and performance is studied. Also, the effect of solar radiation, wind speed, and ambient temperature on the performance of PV/heat spreader system is considered. The results are validated with the previous results found in the literature. Moreover, the temperature distribution on the PV and heat spreader is presented. The results show that the optimum dimension for heat spreader for PV dimensions of 125×125 mm was 10 mm thickness and 0.3 m2 Area. The cell temperature decreases by 15 oC when PV/heat spreader is used. Also PV module average power output and efficiency of the PV are increased by 9% coupling the PV with the heat spreader. |
