A Computational Analysis of Air-Cooled Heat Sinks Designs for PV Solar Panel Cooling With Different Fin Numbers

Abstract

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels is highly sensitive to operating temperatures, with increased temperatures leading to a significant decline in electrical output and overall performance. Despite extensive research into thermal management solutions for PV panels, there remains a gap in optimizing passive cooling systems, particularly air-cooled heat sinks, to achieve effective heat dissipation. This study addresses the challenge by conducting a detailed computational analysis of air-cooled heat sinks with varying fin configurations to enhance the thermal regulation of PV panels. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations, this work evaluates the influence of fin number and spacing on airflow dynamics and heat dissipation efficiency. Key findings from ANSYS Postprocessor simulations indicate that heat sinks with a higher number of fins improve heat dissipation, with the 11-fin configuration demonstrating the highest temperature drop of 38.44 K. Comparatively, the base model (nine fins, 0.05 m fin spacing) exhibited a maximum temperature of 331.46 K and a mean velocity of 1.58 m/s. A parametric study of finless designs showed a lower mean temperature of 321.28 K, but with significantly reduced airflow velocity. Intermediate designs, such as the six-fin and seven-fin heat sinks, also demonstrated improved thermal performance over the finless model but were outperformed by the 11-fin configuration. This study contributes to the ongoing efforts to optimize passive cooling for PV solar panels by demonstrating the critical impact of fin number on heat sink effectiveness. The findings offer valuable insights into the design of more efficient cooling mechanisms, potentially enhancing both the performance and longevity of PV systems.