Simulation of Turbulent Natural Convection in Photovoltaic Solar Panels Based on the Spalart–Allmares (SA) Turbulence Model

Abstract

In this study, the efficiency of air velocity on solar panels during cooling was studied based on temperature and solar radiation in the environment where the panels are located. When the panels cool down, the temperature of the rear panel decreases and, accordingly, the idle voltage of the panels increases. Currently, the most significant losses in panels are associated with an increase in the temperature of the panels, depending on solar radiation and outdoor temperature. The article presents mathematical modeling of turbulent natural air convection in a heated photovoltaic solar panel. The considered problem, despite its relative simplicity, contains all the main elements characteristic of currents near the wall caused by buoyancy forces. A significant disadvantage of the algebraic Reynolds-Averaged Navier—Stokes (RANS) turbulence models for solving this problem is that for them it is necessary to set the transition point from the laminar to turbulent mode from the experiment. Therefore, the work uses the modern Spalart—Allmares (SA) turbulence model, which has a high rating in the NASA database. In order to verify the model, the obtained results are compared with known experimental data. It is shown that the SA model describes the turbulence zone well. The paper shows that an additional force arises as a result of the temperature gradient, which plays an important role in describing turbulent natural convection. The results show good agreement with the experimental data.