Performance augmentation of photovoltaic solar chimneys using asphalt material

Abstract

In this study, an experimental model of a photovoltaic (PV) solar chimney (SC) was built and study the extent to which the asphalt material, being a phase-change material, affects its performance electrical and thermal. Results were taken for the two systems: The photovoltaic solar chimney which contains phase change material (SCPV-PCM), and the photovoltaic solar chimney which does not contain phase change material (SCPV). The finding demonstrated that the PCM affects the SCPV electrical and thermal performance; the results were as follows: The electrical power for the SCPV-PCM system increased during the day and its highest value at noon was 384.34 W, and then it began to decrease. The SCPV system had a higher power at the end of the test, 73.24 W, due to the lower temperature of the PV panel. The highest electrical efficiency was for the SCPV-PCM system at the beginning of the test, reaching the highest value of 13.12%, then it decreased at the end of the test to be less than the SCPV system at 5:00 pm. The thermal efficiency of the SCPV-PCM arrangement is lesser than the arrangement that does not contain PCM, reaching its highest value at noon, which was 57.1% for the SCPV system. The total efficiency of the SCPV-PCM system is lesser than the SCPV system from the beginning of the test until 3:30 pm approximately, reaching its highest value of 68.05% at noon.