Benha University

Mohamed Reda Aly Abd-Elhamid Salem

Professor

Faculty of Engineering, Shoubra Mechanical Engineering

A hybrid finned-PCM and nanoparticle strategy for high-efficiency passive cooling of photovoltaic modules: Experimental study

Case Studies in Thermal Engineering • 2026
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Publication Information
Authors Menna M. Hamed;Mohamed R. Salem;Abdulmajeed D. Aldabesh;Sayed A. Abdel-Moneim;Ashraf E. Elmohlawy
Keywords Photovoltaic thermal management;Nano-enhanced PCM;Semicircular fin geometry;Passive cooling;Hybrid thermal management
Journal Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Publisher Elsevier
Volume 82
Issue Not Available
Pages 108145
publication.type International
Paper Link Open Link
Supplementary Materials Mohamed Reda Aly Abd-Elhamid Salem_1-s2.0-S2214157X26005083-main.pdf
Abstract
The present study investigates a passive cooling strategy for photovoltaic thermal management based on a hybrid system combining phase change material (PCM), alumina nanoparticles, and semicircular rod (SCR) fins. An experimental comparison is conducted between an uncooled reference case, a PCM-only configuration, and finned-PCM systems employing complete circular rod (CCR) and SCR fin geometries over a range of fin pitch (20% ≤ λ ≤ 33.3%) and spacing (16% ≤ δ ≤ 48%) ratios. The optimal SCR configuration is further examined with alumina nanoparticle loadings between 0.25 and 1.0 wt%. The results indicate that fin integration significantly enhances thermal regulation, with SCR fins providing greater temperature reduction than CCR designs. Under identical operating conditions, the optimal SCR configuration (λ = 20%, δ = 48%) achieves a relative temperature reduction (η) of 62.3% and limits the final surface temperature to 51.0 °C, compared to 89.0 °C for the uncooled case. Incorporating 1.0 wt% alumina nanoparticles further improve performance, yielding a maximum η of 65.9%, a minimum final temperature of 48.8 °C, and an extension of the operating period below 45 °C by 35 min. Although electrical efficiency was not directly measured, the observed reduction in operating temperature, when interpreted using established photovoltaic temperature coefficients, suggests a potential improvement in electrical performance. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the hybrid SCR fin and nano-PCM configuration as a fully passive approach for photovoltaic applications.
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