Engineering thermodynamics

Annual Optimal Performance Analysis of Micro Heat Pipe PV/T under Different Angles in Northwest China

  • LIU Xiaomin ,
  • WU Qingbai ,
  • LI Jinping ,
  • Vojislav NOVAKOVIC
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  • 1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
    2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Supporting Technology of Northwest Low-Carbon Towns, Lanzhou 730050, China
    3. Gansu Key Laboratory of Complementary Energy System of Biomass and Solar Energy, Lanzhou 730050, China
    4. Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute, Lanzhou 730050, China
    5. Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway

Online published: 2025-03-04

Supported by

The funding support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST project number 2019YFE0104900), the Research Council of Norway (NRC project number 304191-ENERGIX), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51676094), the Key S&T Special Projects of Gansu Province (22ZD6WA056), the Key R&D Program of Gansu Province (23YFGA0035), the Key S&T Special Projects of Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute (2024ZD-01), Construction Science and Technology Project of Gansu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development (JK2022-50).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025

Abstract

The exploitation of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems, which facilitate concurrent conversion of solar radiation into electrical and heat energies, presents substantial potential in the solar-abundant northwestern zone of China. This investigation endeavors to evaluate the efficacy of a micro heat pipe (M-HP) PV/T system via exhaustive experimental analysis conducted in Lanzhou. To improve the performance of M-HP-PV/T system, a comparison was made between the optimal angles for each day and the entire year. The system inside greenhouse exhibited an average photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) and thermal conversion efficiency (TCE) of 12.32% and 42.81%. The system of external environment registered average PCE and TCE values of 12.99% and 21.08%. To further understand the system’s operational results, a mathematical model was constructed through the integration of experimental data, exhibiting good agreement between the simulated outcomes and empirical observations. The average solar irradiance of daily optimum angle was 728.3 W/m2; the annual optimum angle was 29° with an average solar irradiance of 705.6 W/m2. The average annual total powers at the optimal angle outside the greenhouse and inside the greenhouse were 448.0 W and 398.7 W. The average annual total efficiencies at the optimal angle outside the greenhouse and inside the greenhouse were 40.8% and 56.9%. The total power in the greenhouse was lower by 49.3 W, while total efficiency in the greenhouse was higher by 16.1%.

Cite this article

LIU Xiaomin , WU Qingbai , LI Jinping , Vojislav NOVAKOVIC . Annual Optimal Performance Analysis of Micro Heat Pipe PV/T under Different Angles in Northwest China[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2025 , 34(2) : 400 -412 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-025-2082-9

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