Even though Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of petroleum and petroleum based products, it is also blessed with high potential of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Untapped wind a...Even though Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of petroleum and petroleum based products, it is also blessed with high potential of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Untapped wind and solar energy sources, which are abundant throughout the kingdom, can be connected and optimally integrated into the grid through the use of smart grid technologies and the expansion of transmission facilities. Smart grid is an auto-balancing, self-monitoring power grid that accepts power from any source of fuel like oil, sun or wind and delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers. It helps to control the use of appliances in order to save energy, reduces cost and increase reliability. This paper describes the attributes of a smart grid and how these act as driving force to modernize the electrical power grid. The necessity of conservation of oil in Saudi Arabia is argued. Moreover, the vast availability of renewable energy sources like solar and wind in Saudi Arabia and advantages in utilizing these sources through smart grid technologies are advocated in this paper.展开更多
The work presents a parametric analysis of the performance of a solar-driven thermoelectric system to dehumidify air and produce fresh water. The system is combined with a solar distiller humidifying ambient air to en...The work presents a parametric analysis of the performance of a solar-driven thermoelectric system to dehumidify air and produce fresh water. The system is combined with a solar distiller humidifying ambient air to enhance distillate output to meet the specified fresh water needs for a residential application. The presented system is a totally renewable energy-based system taking advantage of the clean solar energy. A model is developed to simulate the air dehumidification process using TEC (thermoelectrically cooled) channels. An optimization problem for setting system operational parameters is formulated to meet the fresh water requirement of 10 liters per day for a typical residential application in the Lebanese coastal humid climate. Using five TEC channels of length of 1.2 m and area of 0.07 - 0.05 m^2 integrated with 1.2 m^2 solar distiller is capable of meeting the water demand, where the air mass flow rate introduced to each TEC channel is optimally set at 0.0155 kg/s. The optimal electrical current input to the TEC modules from the photovoltaic solar panels varied depending on the month and is set at 2.2 A in June, 2.1 A in July and 2.0 A in August, September and October per each TEC module.展开更多
PV (photovoltaic) solar panels generally produce electricity in the 6% to 12% efficiency range, the rest is being dissipated in thermal losses. To recover this amount, hybrid photovoltaic thermal systems (PV/T) ha...PV (photovoltaic) solar panels generally produce electricity in the 6% to 12% efficiency range, the rest is being dissipated in thermal losses. To recover this amount, hybrid photovoltaic thermal systems (PV/T) have been devised. These are devices that simultaneously convert solar energy into electricity and heat. It is thus interesting to study the PV/T system as part of a closed loop single phase water CDU (coolant distribution unit) in laminar forced convection. In particular, the analysis was conducted on the optimal cooling performance of the thermal part, testing polynomial channel profiles of varying order (from zero to fourth) for channels of a real industrial module heat sink, under the following conditions: ideal flux of 1,000 W/m2 on one side, insulation on the opposite side, periodic conditions on the remaining sides, fully developed thermal and velocity profile in laminar flow of water. Through the use of a genetic algorithm, we have optimized the shape of the channel's sidewalls in terms of heat transfer maximization. In terms of Nusselt number, results show that fourth order profiles are the most efficient. When limits to allowable pressure loss and module weight are introduced, these bring generally to a lower efficiency of the system than the unconstrained case.展开更多
In this paper, a theoretical-economic study was carried out based on the operation and construction of different types of equipments that use solar energy to carry out the distillation process. The conclusions drawn f...In this paper, a theoretical-economic study was carried out based on the operation and construction of different types of equipments that use solar energy to carry out the distillation process. The conclusions drawn from the analysis aimed to determine what is necessary for the optimal design of an experimental distillation module that allows bioethanol with specific features to be obtained, for the area of Tehuantepec in Mexico. This study took the experiments carried out by various authors and extracted information relevant to the selection of the parameters and variables of the proposed distiller according to their efficiency and construction costs.展开更多
According to the requirements of a solar dish-Brayton system,a centrifugal compressor stage with a minimum total pressure ratio of 5,an adiabatic efficiency above 75% and a surge margin more than 12% needs to be desig...According to the requirements of a solar dish-Brayton system,a centrifugal compressor stage with a minimum total pressure ratio of 5,an adiabatic efficiency above 75% and a surge margin more than 12% needs to be designed.A single stage,which consists of impeller,radial vaned diffuser,90° crossover and two rows of axial stators,was chosen to satisfy this system.To achieve the stage performance,an impeller with a 6:1 total pressure ratio and an adiabatic efficiency of 90% was designed and its preliminary geometry came from an in-house one-dimensional program.Radial vaned diffuser was applied downstream of the impeller.Two rows of axial stators after 90° crossover were added to guide the flow into axial direction.Since jet-wake flow,shockwave and boundary layer separation coexisted in the impeller-diffuser region,optimization on the radius ratio of radial diffuser vane inlet to impeller exit,diffuser vane inlet blade angle and number of diffuser vanes was carried out at design point.Finally,an optimized centrifugal compressor stage fulfilled the high expectations and presented proper performance.Numerical simulation showed that at design point the stage adiabatic efficiency was 79.93% and the total pressure ratio was 5.6.The surge margin was 15%.The performance map including 80%,90% and 100% design speed was also presented.展开更多
The entransy theory, which can be used to optimize the heat transfer network of a solar power tower system (SPTS) and im- prove its energy efficiency, was introduced in this paper. Firstly, the irreversibility of th...The entransy theory, which can be used to optimize the heat transfer network of a solar power tower system (SPTS) and im- prove its energy efficiency, was introduced in this paper. Firstly, the irreversibility of the heat transfer processes in a SPTS was analyzed and the total entransy dissipation equation of a SPTS was derived. Then, two types of optimization problems (reduc- ing the total circulating flow rate or the total heat-exchanging area) of a SPTS were solved with conditional extremum model based on the formulas of total entransy dissipation. Finally, the entransy dissipation-based optimization principle was applied to a simple SPTS without re-heater and a complex SPTS with a re-heater. The results showed that under the chosen calculation conditions the minimum total thermal conductance was 19306.03 W K-~ for a SPTS without re-heater when the total heat ca- pacity rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF) was 3200 W K-1. The minimum total thermal conductance was about 7.9% lower than the value predicted based on the typical outlet temperature of a receiver. This meant that the total heat exchange area or initial investment could be effectively reduced under the prescribed total HTF circulating flow rate. We also studied the variation trends of the two optimized results including minimum total HTF heat capacity rate and minimum total thermal conductance. The minimum total HTF heat capacity rate decreased with the given total thermal conductance, the minimum total thermal conductance decreased first and then increased with the given total HTF heat capacity rate. We also found that for a SPTS with a re-heater, the mixing temperature and the mixing position of HTF had significant effects on the two types of optimization problems.展开更多
Significant propellant mass saving can be obtained with the use of complex multiple intermediate flyby maneuvers for conventional propulsion systems,and trip time also decreases for a portion of the proper solar sail ...Significant propellant mass saving can be obtained with the use of complex multiple intermediate flyby maneuvers for conventional propulsion systems,and trip time also decreases for a portion of the proper solar sail missions.This paper discusses the performance of gravity assist(GA)in the time-optimal control problem of solar sailing with respect to sail lightness number and the energy difference between the initial and final orbit in the rendezvous problem in a two-body model,in which the GA is modeled as a substantial change in the velocity of the sailcraft at the GA time.In addition,this paper presents a method to solve the time-optimal problem of solar sailing with GA in a full ephemeris model,which introduces the third body’s gravity in a dynamic equation.This study builds a set of inner constraints that can describe the GA process accurately.Finally,this study presents an example for evaluating the accuracy and rationality of the two-body model’s simplification of GA by comparison with the full ephemeris model.展开更多
A large capacity storing solar energy as latent heat in a close-cycle is essentially important for solar thermal fuels. This paper presents a solar thermal molecule model of a photo-isomerizable azobenzene(Azo) molecu...A large capacity storing solar energy as latent heat in a close-cycle is essentially important for solar thermal fuels. This paper presents a solar thermal molecule model of a photo-isomerizable azobenzene(Azo) molecule covalently bound to graphene. The storage capacity of the Azo depending on isomerization enthalpy(ΔH) is calculated based on density functional theory. The result indicates that the ΔH of Azo molecules on the graphene can be tuned by electronic interaction, steric hindrance and molecular hydrogen bonds(H-bonds). Azo with the withdrawing group on the ortho-position of the free benzene shows a relatively high ΔH due to resonance effect. Moreover, the H-bonds on the trans-isomer largely increase ΔH because they stabilize the trans-isomer at a low energy. 2-hydroxy-4-carboxyl-2′,6′,-dimethylamino-Azo/graphene shows the maximum ΔH up to 1.871 e V(107.14 Wh kg^(-1)), which is 125.4% higher than Azo without functional groups. The Azo/graphene model can be used for developing high-density solar thermal storage materials by controlling molecular interaction.展开更多
In this paper, the heat transfer enhancement in a solar parabolic trough receiver tube with porous insert and non-uniform heat flux condition was investigated. A new optimization method, which couples genetic algorith...In this paper, the heat transfer enhancement in a solar parabolic trough receiver tube with porous insert and non-uniform heat flux condition was investigated. A new optimization method, which couples genetic algorithm(GA) and computational fluid dynamics(CFD) based on Socket communication, was proposed to optimize the configuration of porous insert. After the acquisition of the optimal porous inserts, some performance evaluation criterions such as synergy angle, entransy dissipation and exergy loss were introduced to discuss the heat transfer performance of the enhanced receiver tubes(ERTs) with optimal and referenced porous inserts. The results showed that, for a large range of properties of porous insert(including porosity and thermal conductivity) and Reynolds number, the heat-transfer performance of ERT with porous insert optimized by GA is always higher than that of the referenced ERTs. Better heat-transfer performance can further improve the solar-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency and mechanical property of the solar parabolic trough receiver. When some porous materials with high thermal conductivity are adopted, ERT can simultaneously obtain perfect thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance by using the same optimized porous insert, which cannot be achieved by using the referenced porous insert. In the view of those introduced evaluation criterions, using the optimized porous insert can obtain better synergy performance and lesser irreversibility of heat transfer than using the referenced porous insert. Entransy dissipation per unit energy transferred and exergy loss rate have equivalent effects on the evaluation of irreversibility of heat transfer process. These evaluation criterions can be used as optimization goals for enhancing the comprehensive performance of the solar parabolic trough receiver.展开更多
A novel hybrid solar concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (CPV/T) system with beam splitting technique is presented. In this system, a beam splitter is used to separate the concentrated solar radiation into two parts: o...A novel hybrid solar concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (CPV/T) system with beam splitting technique is presented. In this system, a beam splitter is used to separate the concentrated solar radiation into two parts: one for the PV power generation and the other for thermal utility. The solar concentrator is a flat Fresnel-type concentrator with glass mirror reflectors. It can concentrate solar radiation onto solar cells with high uniformity, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of solar cells. The thermal receiver is separated to the solar cells, and therefore, the thermal fluid can be heated to a relatively high temperature and does not affect the performance of solar cells. A dimensionless model was developed for the performance analysis of the concentrating system. The effects of the main parameters on the performance of the concentrator were analyzed. The beam splitter with coating materials Nb2O3 /SiO2 was designed by using the needle optimization technique, which can reflect about 71% of the undesired radiation for silicon cell(1.1m < 3m) to the thermal receiver for thermal utility. The performance of this CPV/T system was also theoretically analyzed.展开更多
Small molecule organic solar cells (OSCs) with the structure of indium tin oxide (1TO)/molybdenum trioxide (MOO3) (5 nm)/rubrene (x nm)/fullerene (C70) (y nm)/2, 9-dimethyl-4, 7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthro...Small molecule organic solar cells (OSCs) with the structure of indium tin oxide (1TO)/molybdenum trioxide (MOO3) (5 nm)/rubrene (x nm)/fullerene (C70) (y nm)/2, 9-dimethyl-4, 7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (BCP) (6 nm)/aluminum (A1) (150 nm) are fabricated. The thickness of active layer for the devices is investigated in details. The results show that the optimum thicknesses of rubrene layer and C70 layer are 30 nm and 25 nm, respectively. The degradation of the device is also investigated. The result indicates that the open-circuit voltage (Voo) does not change, while the short-circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) decrease continuously with time. The degradation can be attributed to the oxygen in ambient diffusing and infiltrating into the active materials and reacting with C70 in cells, which can result in the increase of interfacial series resistance.展开更多
The low band gap polymer based on benzodithiophene(BDT)-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene(TT)backbone,PBDT-TS1,was synthesized following our previous work and the bulk heterojunction(BHJ)material comprising PBDT-TS1/PC71BM was o...The low band gap polymer based on benzodithiophene(BDT)-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene(TT)backbone,PBDT-TS1,was synthesized following our previous work and the bulk heterojunction(BHJ)material comprising PBDT-TS1/PC71BM was optimized and characterized.By processing the active layer with different additives i.e.1,8-diiodooctane(DIO),1-chloronaphthalene(CN)and 1,8-octanedithiol(ODT)and optimizing the ratio of each additive in the host solvent,a high PCE of 9.98%was obtained under the condition of utilizing 3%DIO as processing additive in CB.The effect of varied additives on photovoltaic performance was illustrated with atomic force microscopy(AFM)and transmission electron microscope(TEM)measurements that explained changes in photovoltaic parameters.These results provide valuable information of solvent additive choice in device optimization of PBDTTT polymers,and the systematic device optimization could be applied in other efficient photovoltaic polymers.Apparently,this work presents a great advance in single junction PSCs,especially in PSCs with conventional architecture.展开更多
Because crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells possess the advantages of crystalline silicon solar cells such as high ef- ficiency and stable performance and those of thin film solar cells such as low cos...Because crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells possess the advantages of crystalline silicon solar cells such as high ef- ficiency and stable performance and those of thin film solar cells such as low cost and so on, it is regarded as the next genera- tion solar cell technology, which is most likely to replace the existing crystalline silicon solar cell technology. In this paper, we performed device simulation on the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell by using PCI D software. In order to make simulation results closer to the actual situation, we adopted a more realistic device structure and parameters. On this basis, we comprehensively and systematically investigated the effect of physical parameters of back surface field (BSF) layer, base and emitter, electrical quality of crystalline silicon active layer, situation of surface passivation, internal recombination and p-n junction leakage on the optoelectronic performance of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell. Among various factors affecting the efficiency of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell, we identified the three largest efficiency-affecting parameters. They are the base minority carrier diffusion length, the diode dark saturation current and the front surface recombination velocity in order. Through simulations, we found that the base is not the thicker the better, and the base minority carrier diffusion length must be taken into account when deter- mining the optimal base thickness. When the base minority carrier diffusion length is smaller, the optimal base thickness should be less than or equal to the base minority carrier diffusion length; when the base minority carrier diffusion length is larger, the base minority carrier diffusion length should be at least twice the optimal base thickness. In addition, this paper not only illustrates the simulation results but also explains their changes from the aspect of physical mechanisms. Because epitaxi- al CSiTF solar cells possess a device structure that is similar to crystalline silicon solar cells, the conclusions drawn in this pa- per are also applied to crystalline silicon solar cells to a certain extent, particularly to thin silicon solar cells which are the hot- test research topic at present.展开更多
文摘Even though Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of petroleum and petroleum based products, it is also blessed with high potential of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Untapped wind and solar energy sources, which are abundant throughout the kingdom, can be connected and optimally integrated into the grid through the use of smart grid technologies and the expansion of transmission facilities. Smart grid is an auto-balancing, self-monitoring power grid that accepts power from any source of fuel like oil, sun or wind and delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers. It helps to control the use of appliances in order to save energy, reduces cost and increase reliability. This paper describes the attributes of a smart grid and how these act as driving force to modernize the electrical power grid. The necessity of conservation of oil in Saudi Arabia is argued. Moreover, the vast availability of renewable energy sources like solar and wind in Saudi Arabia and advantages in utilizing these sources through smart grid technologies are advocated in this paper.
文摘The work presents a parametric analysis of the performance of a solar-driven thermoelectric system to dehumidify air and produce fresh water. The system is combined with a solar distiller humidifying ambient air to enhance distillate output to meet the specified fresh water needs for a residential application. The presented system is a totally renewable energy-based system taking advantage of the clean solar energy. A model is developed to simulate the air dehumidification process using TEC (thermoelectrically cooled) channels. An optimization problem for setting system operational parameters is formulated to meet the fresh water requirement of 10 liters per day for a typical residential application in the Lebanese coastal humid climate. Using five TEC channels of length of 1.2 m and area of 0.07 - 0.05 m^2 integrated with 1.2 m^2 solar distiller is capable of meeting the water demand, where the air mass flow rate introduced to each TEC channel is optimally set at 0.0155 kg/s. The optimal electrical current input to the TEC modules from the photovoltaic solar panels varied depending on the month and is set at 2.2 A in June, 2.1 A in July and 2.0 A in August, September and October per each TEC module.
文摘PV (photovoltaic) solar panels generally produce electricity in the 6% to 12% efficiency range, the rest is being dissipated in thermal losses. To recover this amount, hybrid photovoltaic thermal systems (PV/T) have been devised. These are devices that simultaneously convert solar energy into electricity and heat. It is thus interesting to study the PV/T system as part of a closed loop single phase water CDU (coolant distribution unit) in laminar forced convection. In particular, the analysis was conducted on the optimal cooling performance of the thermal part, testing polynomial channel profiles of varying order (from zero to fourth) for channels of a real industrial module heat sink, under the following conditions: ideal flux of 1,000 W/m2 on one side, insulation on the opposite side, periodic conditions on the remaining sides, fully developed thermal and velocity profile in laminar flow of water. Through the use of a genetic algorithm, we have optimized the shape of the channel's sidewalls in terms of heat transfer maximization. In terms of Nusselt number, results show that fourth order profiles are the most efficient. When limits to allowable pressure loss and module weight are introduced, these bring generally to a lower efficiency of the system than the unconstrained case.
文摘In this paper, a theoretical-economic study was carried out based on the operation and construction of different types of equipments that use solar energy to carry out the distillation process. The conclusions drawn from the analysis aimed to determine what is necessary for the optimal design of an experimental distillation module that allows bioethanol with specific features to be obtained, for the area of Tehuantepec in Mexico. This study took the experiments carried out by various authors and extracted information relevant to the selection of the parameters and variables of the proposed distiller according to their efficiency and construction costs.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51010007)China Scholarship Council(CSC)
文摘According to the requirements of a solar dish-Brayton system,a centrifugal compressor stage with a minimum total pressure ratio of 5,an adiabatic efficiency above 75% and a surge margin more than 12% needs to be designed.A single stage,which consists of impeller,radial vaned diffuser,90° crossover and two rows of axial stators,was chosen to satisfy this system.To achieve the stage performance,an impeller with a 6:1 total pressure ratio and an adiabatic efficiency of 90% was designed and its preliminary geometry came from an in-house one-dimensional program.Radial vaned diffuser was applied downstream of the impeller.Two rows of axial stators after 90° crossover were added to guide the flow into axial direction.Since jet-wake flow,shockwave and boundary layer separation coexisted in the impeller-diffuser region,optimization on the radius ratio of radial diffuser vane inlet to impeller exit,diffuser vane inlet blade angle and number of diffuser vanes was carried out at design point.Finally,an optimized centrifugal compressor stage fulfilled the high expectations and presented proper performance.Numerical simulation showed that at design point the stage adiabatic efficiency was 79.93% and the total pressure ratio was 5.6.The surge margin was 15%.The performance map including 80%,90% and 100% design speed was also presented.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U1261112)the Research Project of Chinese Ministry of Education(Grant Nos.113055A,20120201130006)
文摘The entransy theory, which can be used to optimize the heat transfer network of a solar power tower system (SPTS) and im- prove its energy efficiency, was introduced in this paper. Firstly, the irreversibility of the heat transfer processes in a SPTS was analyzed and the total entransy dissipation equation of a SPTS was derived. Then, two types of optimization problems (reduc- ing the total circulating flow rate or the total heat-exchanging area) of a SPTS were solved with conditional extremum model based on the formulas of total entransy dissipation. Finally, the entransy dissipation-based optimization principle was applied to a simple SPTS without re-heater and a complex SPTS with a re-heater. The results showed that under the chosen calculation conditions the minimum total thermal conductance was 19306.03 W K-~ for a SPTS without re-heater when the total heat ca- pacity rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF) was 3200 W K-1. The minimum total thermal conductance was about 7.9% lower than the value predicted based on the typical outlet temperature of a receiver. This meant that the total heat exchange area or initial investment could be effectively reduced under the prescribed total HTF circulating flow rate. We also studied the variation trends of the two optimized results including minimum total HTF heat capacity rate and minimum total thermal conductance. The minimum total HTF heat capacity rate decreased with the given total thermal conductance, the minimum total thermal conductance decreased first and then increased with the given total HTF heat capacity rate. We also found that for a SPTS with a re-heater, the mixing temperature and the mixing position of HTF had significant effects on the two types of optimization problems.
文摘Significant propellant mass saving can be obtained with the use of complex multiple intermediate flyby maneuvers for conventional propulsion systems,and trip time also decreases for a portion of the proper solar sail missions.This paper discusses the performance of gravity assist(GA)in the time-optimal control problem of solar sailing with respect to sail lightness number and the energy difference between the initial and final orbit in the rendezvous problem in a two-body model,in which the GA is modeled as a substantial change in the velocity of the sailcraft at the GA time.In addition,this paper presents a method to solve the time-optimal problem of solar sailing with GA in a full ephemeris model,which introduces the third body’s gravity in a dynamic equation.This study builds a set of inner constraints that can describe the GA process accurately.Finally,this study presents an example for evaluating the accuracy and rationality of the two-body model’s simplification of GA by comparison with the full ephemeris model.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars(Grant No.51425306)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51273144,51373116,51573215&51411140036)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City(Grant No.14JCZDJC37900)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University(Grant No.NCET-13-0403)
文摘A large capacity storing solar energy as latent heat in a close-cycle is essentially important for solar thermal fuels. This paper presents a solar thermal molecule model of a photo-isomerizable azobenzene(Azo) molecule covalently bound to graphene. The storage capacity of the Azo depending on isomerization enthalpy(ΔH) is calculated based on density functional theory. The result indicates that the ΔH of Azo molecules on the graphene can be tuned by electronic interaction, steric hindrance and molecular hydrogen bonds(H-bonds). Azo with the withdrawing group on the ortho-position of the free benzene shows a relatively high ΔH due to resonance effect. Moreover, the H-bonds on the trans-isomer largely increase ΔH because they stabilize the trans-isomer at a low energy. 2-hydroxy-4-carboxyl-2′,6′,-dimethylamino-Azo/graphene shows the maximum ΔH up to 1.871 e V(107.14 Wh kg^(-1)), which is 125.4% higher than Azo without functional groups. The Azo/graphene model can be used for developing high-density solar thermal storage materials by controlling molecular interaction.
基金supported by the Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51436007)the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51590902)
文摘In this paper, the heat transfer enhancement in a solar parabolic trough receiver tube with porous insert and non-uniform heat flux condition was investigated. A new optimization method, which couples genetic algorithm(GA) and computational fluid dynamics(CFD) based on Socket communication, was proposed to optimize the configuration of porous insert. After the acquisition of the optimal porous inserts, some performance evaluation criterions such as synergy angle, entransy dissipation and exergy loss were introduced to discuss the heat transfer performance of the enhanced receiver tubes(ERTs) with optimal and referenced porous inserts. The results showed that, for a large range of properties of porous insert(including porosity and thermal conductivity) and Reynolds number, the heat-transfer performance of ERT with porous insert optimized by GA is always higher than that of the referenced ERTs. Better heat-transfer performance can further improve the solar-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency and mechanical property of the solar parabolic trough receiver. When some porous materials with high thermal conductivity are adopted, ERT can simultaneously obtain perfect thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance by using the same optimized porous insert, which cannot be achieved by using the referenced porous insert. In the view of those introduced evaluation criterions, using the optimized porous insert can obtain better synergy performance and lesser irreversibility of heat transfer than using the referenced porous insert. Entransy dissipation per unit energy transferred and exergy loss rate have equivalent effects on the evaluation of irreversibility of heat transfer process. These evaluation criterions can be used as optimization goals for enhancing the comprehensive performance of the solar parabolic trough receiver.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China ("973" Program), (Grantt No. 2010CB227305)the CAS Solar Energy Action Program (Grant No. CX2090130012)
文摘A novel hybrid solar concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (CPV/T) system with beam splitting technique is presented. In this system, a beam splitter is used to separate the concentrated solar radiation into two parts: one for the PV power generation and the other for thermal utility. The solar concentrator is a flat Fresnel-type concentrator with glass mirror reflectors. It can concentrate solar radiation onto solar cells with high uniformity, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of solar cells. The thermal receiver is separated to the solar cells, and therefore, the thermal fluid can be heated to a relatively high temperature and does not affect the performance of solar cells. A dimensionless model was developed for the performance analysis of the concentrating system. The effects of the main parameters on the performance of the concentrator were analyzed. The beam splitter with coating materials Nb2O3 /SiO2 was designed by using the needle optimization technique, which can reflect about 71% of the undesired radiation for silicon cell(1.1m < 3m) to the thermal receiver for thermal utility. The performance of this CPV/T system was also theoretically analyzed.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (No.06025173)
文摘Small molecule organic solar cells (OSCs) with the structure of indium tin oxide (1TO)/molybdenum trioxide (MOO3) (5 nm)/rubrene (x nm)/fullerene (C70) (y nm)/2, 9-dimethyl-4, 7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (BCP) (6 nm)/aluminum (A1) (150 nm) are fabricated. The thickness of active layer for the devices is investigated in details. The results show that the optimum thicknesses of rubrene layer and C70 layer are 30 nm and 25 nm, respectively. The degradation of the device is also investigated. The result indicates that the open-circuit voltage (Voo) does not change, while the short-circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) decrease continuously with time. The degradation can be attributed to the oxygen in ambient diffusing and infiltrating into the active materials and reacting with C70 in cells, which can result in the increase of interfacial series resistance.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2014CB643501)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21325419,51373181,91333204)+1 种基金the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB12030200,KJZD-EW-J01)the Science and Technology Commission of Beijing(Z131100006013002)
文摘The low band gap polymer based on benzodithiophene(BDT)-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene(TT)backbone,PBDT-TS1,was synthesized following our previous work and the bulk heterojunction(BHJ)material comprising PBDT-TS1/PC71BM was optimized and characterized.By processing the active layer with different additives i.e.1,8-diiodooctane(DIO),1-chloronaphthalene(CN)and 1,8-octanedithiol(ODT)and optimizing the ratio of each additive in the host solvent,a high PCE of 9.98%was obtained under the condition of utilizing 3%DIO as processing additive in CB.The effect of varied additives on photovoltaic performance was illustrated with atomic force microscopy(AFM)and transmission electron microscope(TEM)measurements that explained changes in photovoltaic parameters.These results provide valuable information of solvent additive choice in device optimization of PBDTTT polymers,and the systematic device optimization could be applied in other efficient photovoltaic polymers.Apparently,this work presents a great advance in single junction PSCs,especially in PSCs with conventional architecture.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50802118)Science & Technology Research Project of Guangdong Province (Grant Nos. 2011A032304001,2010B090400020)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2011300003161469)
文摘Because crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells possess the advantages of crystalline silicon solar cells such as high ef- ficiency and stable performance and those of thin film solar cells such as low cost and so on, it is regarded as the next genera- tion solar cell technology, which is most likely to replace the existing crystalline silicon solar cell technology. In this paper, we performed device simulation on the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell by using PCI D software. In order to make simulation results closer to the actual situation, we adopted a more realistic device structure and parameters. On this basis, we comprehensively and systematically investigated the effect of physical parameters of back surface field (BSF) layer, base and emitter, electrical quality of crystalline silicon active layer, situation of surface passivation, internal recombination and p-n junction leakage on the optoelectronic performance of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell. Among various factors affecting the efficiency of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell, we identified the three largest efficiency-affecting parameters. They are the base minority carrier diffusion length, the diode dark saturation current and the front surface recombination velocity in order. Through simulations, we found that the base is not the thicker the better, and the base minority carrier diffusion length must be taken into account when deter- mining the optimal base thickness. When the base minority carrier diffusion length is smaller, the optimal base thickness should be less than or equal to the base minority carrier diffusion length; when the base minority carrier diffusion length is larger, the base minority carrier diffusion length should be at least twice the optimal base thickness. In addition, this paper not only illustrates the simulation results but also explains their changes from the aspect of physical mechanisms. Because epitaxi- al CSiTF solar cells possess a device structure that is similar to crystalline silicon solar cells, the conclusions drawn in this pa- per are also applied to crystalline silicon solar cells to a certain extent, particularly to thin silicon solar cells which are the hot- test research topic at present.