Novel solar PV/Thermal collector design for the enhancement of thermal and electrical performances
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Authors: Rejeb, Oussama; Gaillard, Leon; Giroux-Julien, Stephanie; Ghenai, Chaouki; Jemni, Abdelmajid; Bettayeb, Maamar; Menezo, Christophe
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to develop a novel photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT) to improve the electrical and thermal efficiencies of the solar collector. The goal is to maximize the electrical power and minimize the thermal losses of the solar panel. A novel photovoltaic thermal collector is designed and tested. The new PVT collector includes: (1) An optical anti-reflective and low-emissivity coating to reduce the radiation losses; (2) A thermal resistance to reduce the conduction losses between the photovoltaic and absorber plate; and (3) A channel heat exchanger to decrease the thermal losses between the solar cells and the cooling fluid. A transient two-dimension multi-physics model for the PVT sheet-tube and the advanced PVT collector is developed. The state variable variations are predicted by the finite volume method. A comparison between the two considered hybrid collectors in terms of thermal and electrical efficiencies and temperature distribution is performed. Moreover, the impact of arrangement (antireflective and low-emissivity coating, thermal resistance between the absorber plate and the cooling fluid, enhanced exchange surface area between the flat plat exchanger and the cooling fluid) on the new PVT collector is studied and analyzed. The simulation results showed clearly the advantages of using this evolution of the PVT collector compared to the basic one. Indeed, this new PVT configuration represents a series of improvements that lead to a lower PV module and higher fluid operating temperatures. Higher electrical and thermal efficiencies for the proposed PVT (15.4%, 73%) are obtained compared to the basic PVT collector (13.7%, 58%), respectively under no loss and standard test conditions. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ediacaran-Cambrian paleogeography of Baltica: A paleomagnetic view from a diamond pit on the White Sea east coast
LITHOSPHERE
Authors: Fedorova, Natalia M.; Bazhenov, Mikhail L.; Meert, Joseph G.; Kuznetsov, Nikolay B.
Abstract
The controversial late Ediacaran to Cambrian paleogeography is largely due to the paucity and low reliability of available paleomagnetic poles. Baltica is a prime example of these issues. Previously published paleomagnetic results from a thick clastic sedimentary pile in the White Sea region (northern Russia) provided valuable Ediacaran paleontological and paleomagnetic data. Until recently, Cambrian-age rocks in northern Russia were known mostly from boreholes or a few small outcrops. A recent mining operation in the Winter Coast region exposed >60 m of red sandstone and siltstone of the Cambrian Brusov Formation from the walls of a diamond pit. Paleomagnetic data from these rocks yield two major components. (1) A single-polarity A component is isolated in similar to 90% of samples between 200 and 650 degrees C. The corresponding pole (Pole Latitutde, Plat = 20 degrees S; Pole Longitude, Plong = 227 degrees E, alpha(95) = 7 degrees) agrees with the Early Ordovician reference pole for Baltica. (2) A dual-polarity B component is identified in similar to 33% of samples, mostly via remagnetization circles, isolated from samples above 650 degrees C. The corresponding pole (Plat = 12 degrees S; Plong = 108 degrees E, alpha(95) = 5 degrees) is close to other late Ediacaran data but far from all younger reference poles for Baltica. We argue for a primary magnetization for the B component and the secondary origin of the other Cambrian poles from Baltica. This in turn requires a major reshuffling of all continents and blocks around the North Atlantic. The early stages of Eurasia amalgamation and models for the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt require revision.