Performance evaluation of single multi-junction solar cell for high concentrator photovoltaics using minichannel heat sink with nanofluids

High concentrated photovoltaic systems (HCPV) have demonstrated the potential to achieve high conversion power over conventional photovoltaic panels (PV) especially for areas with high solar irradiance. However, the multi-junction (MJ) solar cells may be subjected to damage if the temperature exceeds 110 degrees C as recommended by the manufacturer. Hence, in this paper, the overall performance of a 1 cm(2) MJ solar cell with a mini-channel heat sink subjected to high concentration ratio (500 x to 2000 x) is investigated to find improved method of reducing the cell temperature. The impact of using water, Al2O3/water, and SiO2/water on the effectiveness of heat transfer, temperature distribution on the MJ solar cell, and performance evaluation criteria are studied. Also, the evaluation of the HCPVT system performance is presented. A 3D computational modelling is performed and the experimental measurements for the thermal conductivity are constructed for the different fluids and entered in the simulation. Nanofluids maintain the maximum solar cell temperature at 95.25 degrees C and 67.1 degrees C at Reynolds number (Re) of 8.25 and 82.5 respectively and a concentration ratio of 2000 X. The overall efficiency of the system increases by 3.82% at Re of 8.25 and a concentration ratio of 500 x by using SiO2/water at 5%.