Numerical Investigation of Cavity Geometry and Tilt Angle Effects on Cooling and Electrical Efficiency of PV-PCM Systems

Abstract

This research investigates numerically the impact of cavity geometry and tilt angle on the thermal and electrical performances of PV-PCM systems. Two configurations of semi-elliptical cavities, elongated and wide, are studied at two tilt angles of 10° and 30° using the enthalpy-porosity approach in the ANSYS Fluent code. The results show that increasing the tilt angle leads to significant improvements in natural convection within the PCM, leading to improved melting time, temperature uniformity and cooling efficiency. Of the four cases examined, the elongated cavity at 30° induced tilt (case 2) had the best thermal performance, with an average temperature reduction of approximately 8.6 K, compared to the least effective configuration. The melting ratio improved by almost 21%, showing a marked improvement in the heat transfer and phase change characteristics. The electrical efficiency improved from 10.38 to 10.95%, which is a relative improvement of 5.5%. The above results indicate the strong coupling between cavity geometry and inclination angle and PV solar energy temperature control and higher efficiency potential of optimized PV-PCM configurations greater photovoltaic efficiency. Future work will include verification through experimentation of this study and consider the investigation of other cavity configurations and PCM materials which can improve system performance.