Numerical study of the hybrid photovoltaic thermal collector with ribs

The thermal photovoltaic hybrid solar collector is a useful device that can be used to increase the heat transfer fluid temperature by extracting the heat from the stored solar energy that is not converter by the solar cells in electricity. In this work, a two-dimensional numerical study of the turbulent mixed convection in the hybrid system PV/T, which consists of photovoltaic monocrystalline PV cells and a rectangular ribbed Aluminum duct in contact with the lower surface of the PV module, for analyzed the effects of the Reynolds number (in range 4000-20000) and the ribs shapes on flow structure and improvement of the heat transfer rate has been carried out. A comparison was made between the shapes of the ribs arranged according to the angel $\beta$ with three configurations (square for $\beta=90^{\mathrm{o}}$, triangle for $\beta=45^{\mathrm{o}}$ and $45^{\mathrm{o}}\lt \beta\lt 90^{\mathrm{o}}$). The results show that the optimum angle of inclination of the rib for good cooling of the PV cells and for high performance of the system is $7\mathrm{S}^{\circ}$. These results can be used for efficient and optimal design of hybrid PV/T water solar collectors.