Simulation of edge effects in thermophotovoltaic efficiency by Monte Carlo calculation

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) is one of the efficient ways that convert heat to electricity. The high-temperature emitter emits infrared photons omnidirectionally, and the view factor would be very larger compared with photovoltaic. This means that the effect of non-normal incidence will be very signific...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rubin Liu, Hongliang Guo, Qiang Sun, Chao Xue, Liyong Yao, Heng Zhang, Jiawen Qiu, Dai Tian, Chengzhi Han
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2023-02-01
Series:AIP Advances
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0132045
Description
Summary:Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) is one of the efficient ways that convert heat to electricity. The high-temperature emitter emits infrared photons omnidirectionally, and the view factor would be very larger compared with photovoltaic. This means that the effect of non-normal incidence will be very significant. In this work, we constructed a four-layer model consisting of the reflector, filter, anti-reflection-coating, and TPV cell. Based on the Monte Carlo algorithm, randomly generated photons that obey the black-body radiation distribution law on the surface of the emitter were tracked, and finally, the reached positions on the TPV cell were recorded. Calculations show that the density of photons received at the edge of the TPV is significantly less and depends on the interlayer spacing. We also analyzed the perimeter effect in the two-dimensional situation and gave possible optimization strategies.
ISSN:2158-3226