IJBTT

Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Baffles on Improving the Performance of a Hybrid Photovoltaic / Thermal Flat-Plate Air Solar Collector

Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Baffles on Improving the Performance of a Hybrid Photovoltaic / Thermal Flat-Plate Air Solar Collector
	© 2025 by IJETT Journal
	Volume-73 Issue-7
	Year of Publication : 2025
	Author : Yao Kombate, Kokou N’wuitcha, Yendouban Kolani, Komlan Déla Donald Aoukou, Koffi Gagnon Apedanou, Bernard Obese
	DOI : 10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I7P120

How to Cite?
Yao Kombate, Kokou N’wuitcha, Yendouban Kolani, Komlan Déla Donald Aoukou, Koffi Gagnon Apedanou, Bernard Obese, "Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Baffles on Improving the Performance of a Hybrid Photovoltaic / Thermal Flat-Plate Air Solar Collector," International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, vol. 73, no. 7, pp.254-268, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I7P120

Abstract
The hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) solar collector is a cogeneration system that produces electricity and heat simultaneously. The performance of the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal air solar collector is limited by the low convection heat transfer coefficient between the absorber plate and the air in circulation. The addition of baffles in the air duct improves the coefficient and therefore the performance of the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar collector. The performance of the hybrid photovoltaic-thermal air collector is affected by the layout and shape of the baffles. In this study, a two-dimensional dynamic regime thermal model was developed to evaluate the performance of two distinct photovoltaic solar configurations: an air-cooled flat-plate hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar collector and an air-cooled flat-plate hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar collector with rectangular baffles, in order to investigate the effect of cooling on the solar photovoltaic module. All the mathematical equations obtained were discretised using the finite difference method. The implicit alternating directions scheme was used for the heat transfer equations within the fluid. The resulting system of algebraic equations is solved using Thomas’ algorithm in the FORTRAN environment. The model is validated by comparing the numerical and experimental results from the literature. The results showed that the maximum electrical efficiency of the photovoltaic module increased from 13.04% to 14.39% for the air-cooled PVT hybrid collector without baffles and from 13.04% to 14.74% for the air-cooled PVT hybrid collector with baffles. This represents an increase of 1.70% in electrical efficiency, an average gain of 40.18% in thermal efficiency, an overall exergy of 16.90% and an entropy of 1.60 W/K. The numerical results provide valuable insight into optimizing the design and operating conditions.

Keywords
Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar collector, Modelling, Electrical efficiency, Thermal efficiency, Baffles, Exergy.

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