HEAT PIPE INTEGRATION IN SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC/THERMAL (PV/T) SYSTEMS: A REVIEW OF DESIGN SYSTEM AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
Main Article Content
Mochammad Resha
The integration of heat pipe technology into Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) systems presents a significant advancement for enhancing overall energy conversion efficiency by simultaneously generating electricity and recovering thermal energy. This review paper systematically examines the design, operational principles, performance, and future outlook of heat pipe-integrated PV/T systems. Heat pipes, as highly efficient passive two-phase heat transfer devices, effectively mitigate the critical issue of efficiency loss in PV modules caused by elevated operating temperatures. By utilizing internal evaporation-condensation cycles, they rapidly extract waste heat from PV cells, thereby lowering cell temperature, increasing electrical output, and enabling the recovery of useful thermal energy for applications such as water and space heating. The review categorizes and analyzes various heat pipe configurations, including conventional designs, Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs), and Pulsating Heat Pipes (PHPs), highlighting their respective advantages in terms of integration ease, long-distance heat transport, and high heat flux management. Despite their promising potential, key technological challenges such as thermal contact resistance, material compatibility, structural integrity, and economic viability are identified as barriers to widespread adoption. Future research directions emphasize the need for innovations in advanced materials (e.g., nanofluids), hybrid systems with Phase Change Materials (PCMs), optimized design through computational modeling, and the development of standardized testing protocols. Ultimately, heat pipe-integrated PV/T systems are poised to play a crucial role in the renewable energy transition, offering a compact, efficient, and sustainable solution for co-generation of electrical and thermal power.
Faghri, A. (2012). "Review and Advances in Heat Pipe Science and Technology." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. December 2012; 134(12): 123001, https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4007407
Maydanik, Yu.F., Chernysheva, M.A. and Pastukhov, V.G. (2014) Review: Loop Heat Pipes with Flat Evaporators. Applied Thermal Engineering, 67, 294-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.03.041
CRC Press. Peterson, G. P. (1994). An Introduction to Heat Pipes: Modeling, Testing, and Applications.
John Wiley & Sons. Reay, D. A., Kew, P. A., & McGlen, R. J. (2013). Heat Pipes: Theory, Design and Applications.
Dubey, S., Tay, A. A. O., & Tiwari, G. N. (2013). Analysis of PV/T air collector with serpentine flow. Solar Energy, *98*(Part C), 365–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2013.10.003
Incropera, F. P., DeWitt, D. P., Bergman, T. L., & Lavine, A. S. (2007). Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Rosen, M. A., & Dincer, I. (2001). Exergy analysis of solar thermal collectors. Solar Energy, 71(3), 223-231.
Skoplaki, E., & Palyvos, J. A. (2009). On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic module electrical performance: A review of efficiency/temperature coefficients. Solar Energy, 83(5), 614-624.
Tyagi, V. V., Kaushik, S. C., & Pandey, A. K. (2012). Renewable Energy Systems: Thermal Management and Energy Efficiency. McGraw Hill Education.
Zhao, P., Lu, L., & Liu, Y. (2015). Performance analysis of a heat pipe PV/T collector. Energy Conversion and Management, 91, 285-293.
Zondag, H. A., De Vries, D. W., Van Zolingen, R. J., & Van Steenhoven, A. A. (2002). The thermal and electrical yield of a PV-thermal collector. Solar Energy, 72(2), 113-125.
Gungor, A., Kilic, M., & Kurtbas, I. (2017). Experimental investigation of a flat plate solar collector integrated with a loop heat pipe. Energy Conversion and Management, 142, 19-27.
Zohuri, B. (2018). Thermal management of microelectronic systems: From concepts to technologies. Springer.
Aavid Thermacore Corporation. Available online:https://www.boydcorp.com/thermal/two-phase-cooling/loop-heat-pipes.html(accessed on 18 October 2021).
Lee, J.-S., Kim, S.-J., Han, W.-S., & Rhi, S.-H. (2024). Anti-Gravity 3D Pulsating Heat Pipe for Cooling Electric Vehicle Batteries. Energies, 17(10), 2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17102283
Ghazy, M., Ibrahim, E.M.M., Mohamed, A.S.A. et al. Cooling technologies for enhancing photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) performance: a state of the art. Int J Energy Environ Eng 13, 1205–1235 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-022-00491-8
Chow, T. T., Pei, G., Fong, K. F., & Li, Z. (2010). Thermal performance of a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPVT) system with heat pipe. Solar Energy, *84*(2), 253–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2009.11.007
Jafari, M., Gholamian, M., & Khorasanizadeh, H. (2015). Thermal performance of a PV/T collector integrated with heat pipe using nanofluid as working fluid. Energy Conversion and Management, *92*, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.12.042
Sardarabadi, M., Passandideh-Fard, M., & Kazemian, A. (2014). Experimental investigation of a PV/T system with water and nanofluid as working fluids. Energy Conversion and Management, *85*, 78–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.05.033
Shahsavar, A., & Sarrafi, A. (2018). A review of heat pipe PV/T systems: Research and developments. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, *82*, 1148–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.09.068
Tripanagnostopoulos, Y., & Nousia, T. (2012). Hybrid PV/T solar systems for building applications. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, *16*(5), 2998–3006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.02.010
Tyagi, V. V., Sharma, S. K., & Chen, C. R. (2012). Performance evaluation of a solar PV/T (photovoltaic/thermal) collector with and without phase change material (PCM) in cold climatic conditions. Solar Energy, *86*(6), 1957–1969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2012.03.010
Xu, T., Zhou, Z., & Chen, G. (2019). Experimental and numerical study on a heat pipe photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system with different configurations. Applied Energy, *238*, 644–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.081
Barzadeh, A., Sajadi, B., & Akbari, O. (2018). Pulsating heat pipes for solar energy applications: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 1989–2002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.037
Chow, T. T. (2010). A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology. Applied Energy, 87(12), 3659–3669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.06.037
He, W., Wang, Q., Li, J., & Pei, G. (2019). Design and performance analysis of a new concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system with micro-channel heat pipe array. Energy Conversion and Management, 199, 111977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.111977
Huang, D., Li, J., Zhang, X., Li, G., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Performance optimization of a novel building integrated photovoltaic/thermal system with micro-channel heat pipe array. Applied Thermal Engineering, 173, 115160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115160
Abdin, A. R., & Rachid, A. (2021). Bond graph modeling of a photovoltaic/thermal collector. Renewable Energy, 178, 1206-1217.
Diallo, T. M. O., Yu, M., Zhou, J., Zhao, X., & Chen, Y. (2019). Experimental investigation of a novel micro-channel heat pipe evacuated tube photovoltaic/thermal system for heat and power generation. Energy Conversion and Management, 188, 382-391.
Dölek, Ş. T., & Arslan, O. (2024). Analysis of the performance of a photovoltaic/thermal system with loop heat pipe under different climatic conditions. Solar Energy, 268, 112301.
Kang, J., Li, H., Wang, Z., & Wang, F. (2022). Performance enhancement of a building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal system with a dual-inlet air-cooled loop heat pipe. Applied Thermal Engineering, 211, 118457.
Kazem, H. A., Al-Waeli, A. H. A., Chaichan, M. T., & Sopian, K. (2022). A comprehensive review of the application of nanofluids in photovoltaic/thermal systems: Performance, challenges, and future prospects. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 161, 112375.
Wang, Y., Li, X., Wu, S., & Zhao, J. (2018). Experimental study on the thermal performance of a photovoltaic/thermal system with phase change material and loop heat pipe. Energy and Buildings, 174, 540-549.
Yu, M., Zhao, X., Zhou, J., & Chen, Y. (2020). Heat transfer characteristics of a micro-channel loop heat pipe for photovoltaic/thermal system application. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 150, 119307.
Zhao, X., Yu, M., Zhou, J., & Chen, Y. (2020). Experimental study on the overall energy performance of a novel micro-channel loop heat pipe-photovoltaic/thermal system. Energy, 205, 118059.
Butterworth-Heinemann. Zohuri, B. (2016). Heat Pipe Design and Technology: A Practical Guide. Springer.
Akbarzadeh, A. (2009). Heat pipe solar collectors. Solar Energy, *83*(10), 1673–1681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2009.07.010
Chow, T. T. (2010). A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology. Applied Energy, *87*(2), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.06.037
