Thermal resistance analysis of trapezoidal concentrated photovoltaic-Thermoelectric systems

Abstract

In a direct thermal coupling of a concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric (CPV-TE) system, copper plate sandwiched between the PV and the TE module provides uniform temperature distribution on the hot side of the TE module. Herein, a trapezoidal copper plate is introduced into the CPV-TE system. The purpose of introducing the trapezoidal copper plate is to enhance the heat transfer from the PV to the TE module, and to reduce both insulation and copper materials usage. Thermal resistance models of both the novel trapezoidal and conventional CPV-TE systems are developed. The performances are evaluated through determining the influences of Thomson effect, thermal paste and length of thermoelements on the systems. The results reveal that the novel systems are superior to the conventional systems. Moreover, for both the conventional and novels systems, Thomson heat has insignificant influence on the performance of the systems. Furthermore, short length thermoelements should be used in the systems. Finally, to avoid significant increase in the thermal resistance, thickness of thermal paste should be as small as possible.