Applied Thermal Engineering最新文献

{"title":"Efficient thermal management of PEM fuel cells using cascaded multi-layer phase change materials: Analysis of series and parallel configurations","authors":"Mohamed Boujelbene ,&nbsp;Hakim S. Sultan Aljibori ,&nbsp;Marrwa S. Ghanim ,&nbsp;Jasim M. Mahdi ,&nbsp;Raad Z. Homod ,&nbsp;Nidhal Ben Khedher","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite their potential as a sustainable energy technology, the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in sub-freezing conditions remains a critical challenge due to the risk of ice formation and performance degradation. This study introduces a new passive thermal management technique using strategically arranged multi-layer phase change materials (PCMs) to address this challenge. A numerical model was developed to evaluate the thermal behavior across various PCM configurations, incorporating one, two, and three layers arranged both in parallel and series with distinct melting points ranging from 55 to 65 °C. The results show that multi-layer PCM configurations provide significant improvements over the single-layer baseline. The parallel three-layer arrangement extended the thermal management duration by 48.8 % compared to the single-layer system, maintaining PEMFC temperatures above 55 °C for over 12 h in an ambient at −20 °C. This configuration also demonstrated superior temperature stability, with a temperature differential of only 3 °C. The series three-layer design achieved a 39 % increase in duration but maintained the same 3 °C temperature differential. The novelty of this work lies in the systematic analysis of parallel and series PCM layer configurations, each designed for specific operating conditions. These passive solutions can effectively manage the energy demand of PEMFCs during cold startup, overcoming the limitations of conventional methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"270 ","pages":"Article 126294"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simulation of single-phase and subcooled flow boiling in manifold microchannel heat sinks with micro-pin-fin wall","authors":"Zihuan Ma,&nbsp;Yuantong Zhang,&nbsp;Chengyu Hu,&nbsp;Nanjing Hao,&nbsp;Xiaoping Yang,&nbsp;Jinjia Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Subcooled flow boiling in manifold microchannel (MMC) heat sinks holds significant potential for high-flux thermal management in microelectronics. However, further investigation into novel micro-pin-fin wall is necessary to dissipate heat flux more effectively. In this paper, MMC heat sinks with one row, staggered two rows, and three rows micro-pin-fin wall were designed based on conventional rectangular manifold microchannel (RMMC), identified as PMMC1, PMMC2, and PMMC3, respectively. Numerical simulations of these MMC heat sinks were performed under single-phase and two-phase conditions using chtMultiRegionSimpleFoam and a custom solver that couples subcooled flow boiling in fluid with conjugate heat transfer in solid. The results indicate that in single-phase flow, PMMCs can achieve higher heat transfer efficiency with lower pressure drop than RMMC. PMMC3 reduces the average chip temperature by up to approximately 9 K and decreases the pressure drop by as much as 23.3 %. In subcooled flow boiling, PMMC2 demonstrates the best cooling performance, reducing the chip temperature by up to 9 K. In contrast, at low mass flux, the heat transfer performance of PMMC3 is nearly equivalent to that of RMMC due to blockage of the channels by excessive bubbles. All configurations have excellent temperature uniformity under various conditions, with the maximum temperature difference not exceeding 3 K. The presence of micro-pin-fins in PMMCs increases the number of nucleation sites, advancing the onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), particularly in PMMC3. These findings not only provide scientific guidance for the structural optimization and performance enhancement of MMC heat sinks but also offer a feasible path for engineering applications in the field of thermal management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126297"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143724772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combustion characteristics of solid fuel ramjets with multi-ring diaphragms","authors":"Ya Chang ,&nbsp;Zhiwen Wu ,&nbsp;Zhe Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiming Cheng ,&nbsp;Ningfei Wang ,&nbsp;Xiao Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Solid fuel ramjets (SFRJs) are air-breathing propulsion systems that utilize solid fuel for combustion, offering simplicity and efficiency. Since last century, SFRJs have drawn much interest due to their extended flight vehicle range, but the difficulty of combustion realization limits their application for propulsion systems. This paper proposes a novel multi-ring diaphragm configuration in the afterburning chamber to improve the combustion performance of SFRJs. Various afterburning chamber configurations including none, single, double, and triple diaphragms are compared. The exhaust plume shape and combustion efficiency, along with the particle size distribution and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the condensed-phase combustion products, are measured experimentally. The internal flow field and thrust performance are analyzed numerically. The experimental results show that the <em>C*</em> based average combustion efficiency increases with 5.30%, 23.71%, and 26.50% (compared to the original configuration without a ring diaphragm) respectively as the number of diaphragms increases from 1 to 3. Simulation results reveal that enhancing mixing in this configuration is achieved by inducing complex vortex structures and enhancing turbulence through the diaphragms. Ultimately, the ring diaphragm structure has proven to be an efficient design feature for enhancing mixing and combustion, making it suitable for optimizing afterburner chambers in SFRJs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126265"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the impact of groundwater flow on multi-lateral, U-Type, advanced geothermal systems","authors":"Christopher S. Brown,&nbsp;Gioia Falcone","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New innovative methods of extracting thermal energy from geothermal systems are required to ensure heat decarbonisation to meet net zero targets. This paper investigates advanced geothermal systems (also referred to as U-type deep borehole heat exchangers); more specifically, their application in settings with deep regional groundwater flow. Past work has focused on single-lateral systems, with few if any exploring the role regional groundwater flow has on multi-lateral systems. Numerical models were developed on OpenGeoSys software targeting the lateral sections which connect two vertical wellbores. Long-term simulations of 20 years were performed to understand how perpendicular, co-current or counter-current groundwater flow can impact the performance of a single or multi-lateral advanced geothermal systems.</div><div>At a depth of 2 km, with a geothermal gradient of 30°C /km, results indicate that a 1 km single lateral section could extract 110 kW more heat when groundwater flow of a Darcy Velocity of 1e-6 m/s is perpendicular to the wellbore in comparison to a purely conductive geological setting. Counter- and co-current flow only have a minor impact on the thermal performance. Similarly, for a multi-lateral system consisting of 9-laterals there was an increase in performance from 746 kW in a conductive setting to 1.2 MW when perpendicular groundwater flow is present. Overall, advanced geothermal systems with groundwater flow perpendicular to lateral sections can be beneficial to performance. It should also be noted that multi-lateral systems can extract more heat than single lateral systems; however, they are likely to be more costly.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126269"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143680976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving heat dissipation characteristics of concurrent flow through a novel mini- and micro-channel stacked double-layer heat sink","authors":"C.J. Ho ,&nbsp;Jr-Wei Liao ,&nbsp;Bo-Lin Chen ,&nbsp;Saman Rashidi ,&nbsp;Wei-Mon Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the practical applications, it is important to reduce the temperature gradient and pressure drop in mini- and micro-channel heat sinks. In the present investigation, the numerical study is conducted to provide a new design of the mini- and micro-channel stacked double-layer heat sink with the pure water as the coolant. The study discusses whether the mini- and micro-channel stacked double-layer heat sink can provide a higher heat dissipation effect than the single-layer micro-channel heat sink. The three-dimensional velocity field in the channel is calculated by the pseudo-vorticity-velocity method, and the finite volume method is used to discrete the mathematical formulas. The relevant parameters and their ranges in the numerical simulation are used as follows: the inlet temperature is<span><math><mrow><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>in</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span> = 34 °C; the single-layer channel’s range of Reynolds number is 500 ∼ 2000 (equivalent to the total flow 12.19 ∼ 52.05 <span><math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi><mi>m</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></math></span>/min), the heat fluxes imposed to bottom of the heat sink are 25, 50 and 75 W/<span><math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi><mi>m</mi></mrow><mn>2</mn></msup></mrow></math></span>, and the ratios of flow rate for the heat sink are 0.5, 1.0, 1.3, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0. From the numerical simulation results, it is found that when mini- and micro-channel stacked double-layer heat sink uses pure water/pure water as the coolants, the pressure drop decreases by 87.74 % at the ratio of flow rate of 3.0, and when the ratio of flow rate is 0.5, and the total flow rate is 38.77 <span><math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi><mi>m</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></math></span>/min, the overall heat transfer coefficient increases by 16.56 % compared with the single-layer heat sink. The figure of merit index ratio has a maximum value of 2.0795 when the total flow rate is <span><math><mrow><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>uc</mi></mrow></msub><mo>+</mo><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>lc</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>sl</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo></mrow></math></span> 52.05 cm³/min and the flow rate ratio is 3.0, and a minimum value of 1.4455 can be achieved when the total flow rate is <span><math><mrow><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>uc</mi></mrow></msub><mo>+</mo><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>lc</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mover><mi>Q</mi><mo>̇</mo></mover><mrow><mi>sl</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo></mrow></math></span> 12.19 cm³/min and the flow rate ratio is 0.5.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126282"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Production capacity of enhanced coaxial borehole heat exchangers in horizontal wells through forced seepage","authors":"Peng Li,&nbsp;Guanghui Zhao,&nbsp;Zhifeng He,&nbsp;Yuzhe Jia,&nbsp;Zheng Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Borehole Heat Exchangers (BHEs), which meet the requirement of extracting heat without extracting groundwater, represent a resource-friendly approach in geothermal energy exploitation. However, the production capacity of conventional BHEs is low, which seriously hinders the application of BHE technology. In this paper, an innovative solution was provided to enhance the heating capacity of the BHE system greatly. For a horizontal well in hydrothermal geothermal reservoirs, an Enhanced-Coaxial Borehole Heat Exchanger (E-CBHE) was established, and the improvement measures included drilling a branch well, installing an Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) and packers to construct a dual-loop system. One was a primary circulation of working fluid inside the CBHE, and the other was an auxiliary circulation of groundwater within both the borehole and geothermal reservoirs. Then, the production capacity of the E-CBHE system was evaluated, and the effects of formation, wellbore and operating parameters on the E-CBHE were discussed. Under the conditions of this study, the net heat extraction power of the E-CBHE reached up to 2031.15 kW after 120 days of operation, which was an increase of 581.91 % compared to a conventional CBHE. The delivery capacity of the ESP is the key parameter in enhancing the E-CBHE system. It is found that both the heat-transfer capability of the formation and the heat-carrying efficiency of the CBHE were significantly improved by driving forced seepage of groundwater with the ESP. The results provide new insights and data for developing geothermal energy efficiently and sustainably.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"270 ","pages":"Article 126284"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143685701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimization of thermal resistance and thermal deformation in high heat-load zone of blast furnace cooling staves","authors":"Haifeng Chen,&nbsp;Yuling Zhai,&nbsp;Hao Huang,&nbsp;Zhouhang Li,&nbsp;Hua Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Blast furnace longevity is critically limited by the degradation of cooling staves in high heat-load zones, where excessive thermal deformation and inefficient heat dissipation accelerate structural failure. Proper temperature control of these staves is essential to mitigate such issues. The total thermal resistance from furnace gas to the environment consists of fixed and optimizable components. While the fixed thermal resistance is inherent to the furnace design, the optimizable convective resistance between working fluids and tube walls remains a key target for improvement, as conventional cooling methods (e.g., water in smooth tubes) struggle to balance heat extraction efficiency with mechanical durability under extreme thermal loads. Here, numerical simulations investigate the thermal performance of four configurations: water, CuO/water nanofluid, and Al₂O₃/water nanofluid in smooth or internally-ribbed tubes. Compared to the baseline (water in smooth tubes), the synergistic combination of 5 vol% Al₂O₃/water nanofluid and internally-ribbed tubes reduced optimizable thermal resistance by 72.03% and maximum thermal deformation by 17.58%, while increasing the heat transfer coefficient by 169.11%. These improvements stem from two mechanisms: (1) rib-induced asymmetrical vortices and swirling flows that disrupt thermal boundary layers and enhance fluid mixing, and (2) nanoparticle-driven conductive pathways that augment heat transfer via liquid-nanoparticle interactions. The results demonstrate a promising strategy to address the longstanding challenge of cooling stave degradation in blast furnaces, directly linking reduced thermal resistance to lower wall temperatures and suppressed deformation—critical factors for extending furnace lifespan.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126292"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ignition probability prediction method based on Lagrangian flame particle tracking","authors":"Yuanyun Xiang ,&nbsp;Yuyang Wu ,&nbsp;Sunyu Zhou ,&nbsp;Wei Li ,&nbsp;Yingwen Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A low-order ignition probability prediction method for practical engineering applications was developed using the discrete phase model (DPM) within the commercial software Fluent, combined with parallel user-defined function (UDF). The flow and mixture characteristics of the combustor were evaluated using the Lagrangian flame particle model. In addition, a kernel initialization method based on phenomenological analysis was proposed to model the energy deposition phase of the ignition process. Then, the prediction method was applied to obtain the spatial distribution of ignition probability for a typical bluff-body burner. Results indicate the following: (1) Two typical phenomena are associated with ignition failure during the ignition probability prediction process, from which the critical ignition progress factor (CIPF) for any combustor configuration can be determined; (2) Gradually increasing the number of flame particles in the initial kernel, increases the mean ignition progress factor (MIPF) and the ignition probability at the ignition position. The parameters of the initial kernel can be determined by applying the rule in conjunction with experimental data from characteristic ignition positions. (3) The spatial distribution of ignition probability for the bluff-body burner is predicted qualitatively, effectively capturing the key characteristics of the experimental results. This prediction method provides a new approach for optimizing combustor ignition in engineering design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126264"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143680975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of grayscale analysis in heat transfer topology optimization: A study on the impact of filter radius on numerical stability and thermodynamic performance","authors":"Maodong Qu ,&nbsp;Liao Pan ,&nbsp;Lixin Lu ,&nbsp;Jun Wang ,&nbsp;Yali Tang ,&nbsp;Xi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126280","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126280","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Topology optimization, as an efficient material distribution design method, faces challenges of numerical instability (such as checkerboard patterns, grayscale phenomena, and mesh dependency) in the field of thermal management. These issues directly affect the manufacturability and thermodynamic performance of the optimization results. This study proposes a quantitative method based on grayscale analysis, conducting frequency-domain analysis of the grayscale distribution in the optimization results through two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform. It systematically investigates the influence mechanism of the filtering radius on numerical instability issues. The research results show that the choice of filtering radius has a significant impact on the numerical stability and thermodynamic performance of the optimization results. When the filtering radius is within the range of 1 to 2 mm, it effectively reduces numerical instability issues while significantly improving the stability and accuracy of the structural performance. By defining a comprehensive metric <strong><em>S</em></strong> and conducting thermal analysis of the topology structure for different filtering radii, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated. The numerical results indicate that when the filtering radius is 1.5 mm, the optimization results achieve an ideal balance between multiple optimization indicators, including objective function value, computational cost, discretization, and grayscale rate. The objective function value is significantly improved, and heat transfer efficiency is optimized; computational cost is reasonably reduced, and the number of iterations is decreased; optimization of discretization and grayscale rate ensures the uniformity of the structure and the effectiveness of the thermal flow channels, significantly enhancing the accuracy and stability of the topology optimization results. The innovation of this study lies in quantifying the impact of the filtering radius on the optimization results through frequency-domain analysis, providing a theoretical basis for scientifically selecting the filtering radius and avoiding the subjectivity and uncertainty in the traditional methods of selecting the filtering radius. Compared with existing research, this paper not only systematically analyzes the quantitative impact of the filtering radius on numerical stability and thermodynamic performance but also validates the effectiveness of the proposed method through numerical experiments. It provides clear guidance for selecting the filtering radius in topology optimization, contributing to the application of topology optimization techniques in complex thermal management problems and improving engineering design efficiency and manufacturing quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"270 ","pages":"Article 126280"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing photovoltaic thermal module efficiency through optimized heat sink designs","authors":"Anas Ahmed ,&nbsp;A. Fouda ,&nbsp;H.F. Elattar ,&nbsp;Khaled Alnamasi ,&nbsp;Abdullah M.A. Alsharif","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126241","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126241","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Solar energy is regarded as a viable alternative to fossil fuels for electricity generation. Nevertheless, photovoltaic panels generate superfluous thermal energy during electricity production, which elevates temperature and diminishes the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. This study aims to enhance the performance of photovoltaic/thermal modules utilizing novel designs of aluminum heat sinks and forced air cooling methods. A numerical analysis is conducted using ANSYS Fluent with the Renormalization Group (RNG) k–ε turbulence model. The impact of integrating five innovative heat sink modules with solar cells and various power input ranges (20–100 W) and Reynolds numbers (4391 – 22322) on the surface cell temperature, performance, energy, and economics are investigated and presented. To evaluate the energy and financial gains, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has been selected as a case study. The results show that the innovative design of the photovoltaic/thermal module (PVT/HS-3) can considerably enhance photovoltaic/thermal system efficiency and economic feasibility compared to other heat sink module integrations. The module design provided the most effective cooling, improving the photovoltaic/thermal by 14.019 % and relatively enhanced efficiency by 70.095 %. Additionally, it reduced the maximum surface temperature of the solar cell by 30 % at an air velocity of 2.5 m/s and a power temperature coefficient of −0.5 %/^oC compared to a standard PVT system without heat sinks. Under Jeddah’s climatic conditions, the energy efficiency gain, and monetized gain reached 32,748 kWh/m²year and 3274 $/m²year, respectively, demonstrating the potential of innovative heat sink designs in solar technologies, promoting sustainability and economic efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 126241"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143696769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}