Browsing by Author "Lai, Chi-Ming"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Management Performance of MEPCM Modules for PV Applications
(2013-08-01)
Tanuwijava, Abednego Oscar
;
Ho, Ching Jenq
;
Lai, Chi-Ming
;
Huang, Chao-Yang
;
機械工程學系
The efficiency of photovoltaic modules decreases as the cell temperature increases. It is necessary to have an adequate thermal management mechanism for a photovoltaic module, especially when combined with a building construction system. This study aims to investigate via computational fluid dynamics simulations the heat transfer characteristics and thermal management performance of microencapsulated phase change material modules for photovoltaic applications under temporal variations of daily solar irradiation. The results show that the aspect ratio of the microencapsulated phase change material layer has significant effects on the heat transfer characteristics and the overall thermal performance of the two cases examined with different melting points (26 degrees C and 34 degrees C) are approximately the same.
Performance assessment of a BIPV integrated with a layer of water-saturated MEPCM
(2013-12-01)
Ho, C. J.
;
Jou, Bor-Tyng
;
Lai, Chi-Ming
;
Huang, Chao-Yang
;
機械工程學系
The use of a water-saturated microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) layer as a passive thermal management medium for a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) was modeled by CFD numerical simulation to explore the effects of different MEPCM melting points and MEPCM layer thicknesses on the thermal and electrical performance. The well-designed BIPV can hopefully remain at a relatively low temperature during peak sunshine hours due to the absorption of latent heat during the phase change of the MEPCM layer, which reduces the decrease in electric generation efficiency caused by the increase in temperature due to solar radiation, thereby enhancing the electric generation efficiency. The results showed that a BIPV integrated with a MEPCM layer produced a significant improvement in the thermal and electrical performance compared to an untreated PV module. Under local summer climatic conditions, a melting point of 30 C and a 3-cm-thick MEPCM (using paraffin as the core material) layer are recommended for the thermal management medium. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.