Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices
Solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) devices provide conversion of solar energy to electrical energy through the use of an intermediate absorber/emitter module, which converts the broad solar spectrum to a tailored spectrum that is emitted towards a photovoltaic cell. While the use of an absorber/emitter...
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| Format: | Article |
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American Society of Mechanical Engineers
2019
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121116 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-2670 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-1200 |
| _version_ | 1826208877737148416 |
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| author | Bierman, David Matthew Lenert, Andrej Wang, Evelyn |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Bierman, David Matthew Lenert, Andrej Wang, Evelyn |
| author_sort | Bierman, David Matthew |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) devices provide conversion of solar energy to electrical energy through the use of an intermediate absorber/emitter module, which converts the broad solar spectrum to a tailored spectrum that is emitted towards a photovoltaic cell. While the use of an absorber/emitter device could potentially overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of photovoltaic conversion, it also increases the number of heat loss mechanisms. One of the most prohibitive aspects of STPV conversion is the thermal transfer efficiency, which is a measure of how well solar energy is delivered to the emitter. Although reported thermophotovoltaic efficiencies (thermal to electric) have exceeded 10%, previously measured STPV conversion efficiencies are below 1%. In this work, we present the design and characterization of a nanostructured absorber for use in a planar STPV device with a high emitter-to-absorber area ratio. We used a process for spatially-selective growth of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) forests on highly reflective, smooth tungsten (W) surfaces. We implemented these MWCNT/W absorbers in a TPV system with a one-dimensional photonic crystal emitter, which was spectrally paired with a low bandgap PV cell. A high fidelity, system-level model of the radiative transfer in the device was experimentally validated and used to optimize the absorber surface geometry. For an operating temperature of approximately 1200 K, we experimentally demonstrated a 100% increase in overall STPV efficiency using a 4 to 1 emitter-to-absorber area ratio (relative to a 1 to 1 area ratio), due to improved thermal transfer efficiency. By further increasing the solar concentration incident on the absorber surface, increased emitter-to-absorber area ratios will improve both thermal transfer and overall efficiencies for these planar devices. Topics: Solar energy |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:14:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/121116 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:14:04Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1211162022-09-28T19:23:52Z Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices Bierman, David Matthew Lenert, Andrej Wang, Evelyn Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Bierman, David Matthew Lenert, Andrej Wang, Evelyn Solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) devices provide conversion of solar energy to electrical energy through the use of an intermediate absorber/emitter module, which converts the broad solar spectrum to a tailored spectrum that is emitted towards a photovoltaic cell. While the use of an absorber/emitter device could potentially overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of photovoltaic conversion, it also increases the number of heat loss mechanisms. One of the most prohibitive aspects of STPV conversion is the thermal transfer efficiency, which is a measure of how well solar energy is delivered to the emitter. Although reported thermophotovoltaic efficiencies (thermal to electric) have exceeded 10%, previously measured STPV conversion efficiencies are below 1%. In this work, we present the design and characterization of a nanostructured absorber for use in a planar STPV device with a high emitter-to-absorber area ratio. We used a process for spatially-selective growth of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) forests on highly reflective, smooth tungsten (W) surfaces. We implemented these MWCNT/W absorbers in a TPV system with a one-dimensional photonic crystal emitter, which was spectrally paired with a low bandgap PV cell. A high fidelity, system-level model of the radiative transfer in the device was experimentally validated and used to optimize the absorber surface geometry. For an operating temperature of approximately 1200 K, we experimentally demonstrated a 100% increase in overall STPV efficiency using a 4 to 1 emitter-to-absorber area ratio (relative to a 1 to 1 area ratio), due to improved thermal transfer efficiency. By further increasing the solar concentration incident on the absorber surface, increased emitter-to-absorber area ratios will improve both thermal transfer and overall efficiencies for these planar devices. Topics: Solar energy United States. Department of Energy. Office of Basic Energy Sciences (MIT S3TEC Energy Research Frontier Center of the Department of Energy. DE-FG02-09ER46577) MIT Energy Initiative 2019-03-29T19:26:15Z 2019-03-29T19:26:15Z 2013-12 2019-01-09T18:30:56Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper 978-0-7918-5615-4 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121116 Bierman, David M., Andrej Lenert, and Evelyn N. Wang. “Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices.” ASME 2013 4th International Conference on Micro/Nanoscale Heat and Mass Transfer, 11-14, December, 2013, Hong Kong, China, ASME, 2013. © 2013 by ASME https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-2670 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-1200 http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/MNHMT2013-22112 ASME 2013 4th International Conference on Micro/Nanoscale Heat and Mass Transfer Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME |
| spellingShingle | Bierman, David Matthew Lenert, Andrej Wang, Evelyn Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title | Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title_full | Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title_fullStr | Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title_short | Improved Thermal Transfer Efficiency for Planar Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices |
| title_sort | improved thermal transfer efficiency for planar solar thermophotovoltaic devices |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121116 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-2670 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-1200 |
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