Numerical analysis of a multi-channel active cooling system for densely packed concentrating photovoltaic cells

The efficiency of concentrating photovoltaic cells (CPVs) is highly affected by the cell temperature. The main problems for the cooling devices are insufficient heat dissipation and uneven heat distribution. In this study, a novel cooling manifold with multi-channels for densely packed CPVs were proposed and numerical investigated. The effects of coolant type, inlet flow rate and channel dimensions on the cooling performance of the manifold heat sink device were examined. The influence of solar irradiance was also investigated at four solar terms in Shenzhen, China. The results show that great cooling performance and temperature distribution uniformity can be achieved by the novel cooling manifold. Thermal resistance of the studied manifold is also lower than those reported in the literature.