CFD Analysis on Solar Photovoltaic Thermal Collector System with Various Tube Geometry

Sippu Kumar; S.S. Pawar

doi:10.69968/ijisem.2026v5i2216-229

Authors

Sippu Kumar Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University, Bhopal
S.S. Pawar Registrar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University, Bhopal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69968/ijisem.2026v5i2216-229

Keywords:

PV/T Collector, Tube Geometry Optimization, Thermal Management, Heat Transfer Analysis, CFD Simulation

Abstract

The present study aims to reduce excessive temperature in photovoltaic (PV) modules by optimizing the cooling tube geometry in a photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) collector. CATIA V5 was used to create a three-dimensional steady-state thermal model. A glass cover, a PV layer positioned between EVA layers, a Tedlar back sheet, an absorber plate, a cooling tube, and insulation are all part of the computational domain. Three tube geometries—U-tube, 3-pass tube, and rectangular wave-shaped tube—were analyzed for heat transfer performance. ANSYS Fluent was used to model the thermo-fluid behaviour using the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure-velocity coupling and the finite volume approach. With a mass flow rate of 0.012 m/s and an input temperature of 30 °C, water was used as the working fluid under 1000 W/m² of solar radiation. Results show that tube geometry significantly influences temperature distribution and heat transfer. Among the configurations, the 3-pass tube (Case 2) achieved the lowest PV temperature and an outlet water temperature of 51.06 °C with a heat transfer rate of 1057.11 W, indicating improved thermal management and collector performance.

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