Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System
Abstract
ThThis study presents a numerical analysis of the effects of two important geometric parameters, the distance between cooling tubes and the bonding width between the tubes and the absorber surface, on the overall performance of a water-cooled photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) system. A steady-state energy balance model was developed for each system component and solved using the Gauss–Seidel iterative method in MATLAB. The model's reliability was evaluated by comparing its results with experimental and simulation results from previous studies to ensure accuracy. Parametric simulations were performed across realistic ranges of solar irradiance and coolant mass flow rate for different geometric configurations. The results show that reducing the distance between the tubes decreases the PV cell temperature and improves electrical efficiency, with an increase of up to 3.3% under high solar irradiance. Moreover, increasing the bonding width and mass flow rate significantly enhanced both thermal and electrical efficiency. At the highest flow rate of 0.016 kg/s and maximum bonding width, electrical and thermal efficiencies reached 12.15% and 58.2%, respectively.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Clean Production Technologies, Photovoltaic Power Systems
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Early Pub Date
November 4, 2025
Publication Date
December 16, 2025
Submission Date
September 19, 2025
Acceptance Date
November 3, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 1
APA
Almalih, A., Elsakka, M., & Elrefaie, M. E. (2025). Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System. Turkish Journal of Engineering, 10(1), 143-154. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1786975
AMA
1.Almalih A, Elsakka M, Elrefaie ME. Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System. TUJE. 2025;10(1):143-154. doi:10.31127/tuje.1786975
Chicago
Almalih, Alhusayn, Mohamed Elsakka, and M. Elfaisal Elrefaie. 2025. “Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 (1): 143-54. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1786975.
EndNote
Almalih A, Elsakka M, Elrefaie ME (December 1, 2025) Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 1 143–154.
IEEE
[1]A. Almalih, M. Elsakka, and M. E. Elrefaie, “Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System”, TUJE, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 143–154, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.31127/tuje.1786975.
ISNAD
Almalih, Alhusayn - Elsakka, Mohamed - Elrefaie, M. Elfaisal. “Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10/1 (December 1, 2025): 143-154. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1786975.
JAMA
1.Almalih A, Elsakka M, Elrefaie ME. Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System. TUJE. 2025;10:143–154.
MLA
Almalih, Alhusayn, et al. “Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System”. Turkish Journal of Engineering, vol. 10, no. 1, Dec. 2025, pp. 143-54, doi:10.31127/tuje.1786975.
Vancouver
1.Alhusayn Almalih, Mohamed Elsakka, M. Elfaisal Elrefaie. Numerical Study on the Effect of Distance Between Tubes and Bonding Width on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) System. TUJE. 2025 Dec. 1;10(1):143-54. doi:10.31127/tuje.1786975