Electrical power, energy efficiency, and acoustic performance investigations of a hydrogen-fueled micro-thermal photovoltaic system with a tesla valve-shaped micro-combustor

A Micro-Thermal Photovoltaic (MTPV) system with a Tesla-shaped micro combustor is proposed and studied to enhance thermal performance, electrical power output, energy efficiency, and acoustic performance. The present study focuses on three key parameters: (1) inlet velocity, (2) inlet equivalence ratio, and (3) combustion channel dimensions. We introduce a novel method to analyze the thermal performance of the MTPV system by integrating combustion, heat transfer, space radiation diffusion, and the photovoltaic effect numerically. Additionally, to prevent blow-off in the micro combustor, we incorporate a Tesla valve-shaped design. The reverse direct flow configuration is shown to lead to better electrical power and energy efficiency compared to the direct forward flow configuration. Furthermore, optimal electrical power output and energy efficiency are achieved under stoichiometric conditions. Under a reverse flow of 6 m/s, the energy efficiency of the combustion channel with an inner diameter (D8) of 2 mm reaches 8.36 %, surpassing that of D8 with an 8 mm diameter by 2.36 %. This highlights the positive impact of increasing the combustion channel diameter on varying both electrical power output and energy efficiency. The transmission loss of the Tesla-shaped micro combustor initially experiences an increase followed by a subsequent decrease under direct forward flow. In contrast, under the reverse flow, the transmission loss is higher by 44.68 dB and 18.85 dB compared to that under direct flow, specifically at 20 Hz and 4500 Hz. Consequently, the acoustic performance under reverse flow is notably superior to that under direct flow, particularly at high inlet frequencies and low inlet frequencies.