Babak Karami - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran,
Amir Nasiripour - Department of Industrial Engineering, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran,
Neda Azimi - Department of Chemical Engineering, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah,

Solar energy is one type of renewable energy that is clean and freely available and electricity production using photovoltaic modules (PV) has received a lot of attention.The performance of a PV module severely depends on its surface temperature. Increasing about ۱۰°C in the surface temperature of a PV module causes to ۵% reduction in its electrical efficiency. In this study, PCM composite of paraffin with expanded graphite (EG) is used to augment the heat removal from the surface of a PV module. The effects of the mass fraction of EG (φ=۲-۱۱.۵ %wt.) in paraffin on the surface temperature and power output of PV module are investigated. Obtained data showed that temperature and output power are as high as ۶۴.۰۸ °C and ۴.۸۸ W, respectively, for an uncooled system. The composite of ۸۸.۵% paraffin and ۱۱.۵ % EG is the more efficient PCM. The temperature and output power of PV module at the best condition are found to be ۴۳.۱°C and ۷.۳۵ W, respectively.

Paraffin; PCM, Expanded graphite, Photovoltaic, Cooling.