THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Bojan D. Perović

,

Jelena Lj Klimenta

,

Dragan S. Tasić

,

Joan L. G Peuteman

,

Dardan O. Klimenta

,

Ljiljana N. Anđelković

MODELING THE EFFECT OF THE INCLINATION ANGLE ON NATURAL CONVECTION FROM A FLAT PLATE: THE CASE OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE

ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this paper is to show how the inclination angle affects natural convection from a flat-plate photovoltaic module which is mounted on the ground surface. In order to model this effect, novel correlations for natural convection from isothermal flat plates are developed by using the fundamental dimensionless number. On the basis of the available experimental and numerical results, it is shown that the natural convection correlations correspond well with the existing empirical correlations for vertical, inclined, and horizontal plates. Five additional correlations for the critical Grashof number are derived from the available data, three indicating the onset of transitional flow regime and two indicating the onset of flow separation. The proposed correlations cover the entire range of inclination angles and the entire range of Prandtl numbers. This paper also provides two worked examples, one for natural convection combined with radiation and one for natural convection combined with forced convection and radiation. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR33046]
KEYWORDS
empirical correlation, flat plate, fundamental dimensionless number, inclination angle, natural convection, PV module
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2014-08-21
PAPER REVISED: 2015-11-26
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2016-03-14
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2016-04-09
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI140821059P
CITATION EXPORT: view in browser or download as text file
THERMAL SCIENCE YEAR 2017, VOLUME 21, ISSUE Issue 2, PAGES [925 - 938]
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Modeling the effect of the inclination angle on natural convection from a flat plate: The case of a photovoltaic module

© 2024 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence