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• Transient and steady-state thermal-electrical behaviour has been analysed by using MATLAB and COMSOL. • The operating temperature variable from 25 to 80 °C and CR = 500x is considered in this study. • The steady-state cell temperature occurs at 78.4 °C within the 30 s, at DNI = 1000 W/m2 and T amb = 25 °C. • Cell temperature and cell conversion efficiency are affected by the changes of parameters for T amb , h conv , DNI and AM. The cell efficiency of a solar CPV system can be enhanced by the dissipation of the thermal load from the receiver assembly. The performance of the solar cell is influenced by the incident light and cell operating temperature. In this study, a triple-junction solar cell, under a concentration ratio of 500x and cell dynamic efficiency, is considered for a wide range of operating temperatures (25-80 °C). The key purpose of this work is to simulate both transient and steady-state operating conditions, based on the temperature-dependent conversion efficiency. In this study, a transient model has been developed using COMSOL Multiphysics®. A live-link technique of COMSOL with MATLAB® is used to couple of successive thermal and electrical steady-state models for a fixed timestep. The performance behaviour of electrical parameters J sc , V oc , P , FF and P max are investigated. The results show that a dynamical efficiency, compared with constant efficiency and integrated error, was approximately 12%. The cell cycle steady-state temperature occurs at a maximum cell temperature of 78.4 °C within 30 s at the convective heat transfer coefficient h conv = 1400 W/m2 K and 500x of concentration ratio. Thus, steady-state cell temperature and time to reach it significantly dependence on the values of the environmental parameters of DNI , AM and T amb. Therefore, we can determine the thermal response of h conv to keep the value of T cell ≤ 80 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermal load and the approaches of prediction/measuring solar cell temperature is presented. • An overview of development on the technology of solar CPV receiver is presented. • The reliability of HCPV solar cells is highly effects on the lifespan of the entire system. • Performance characterisation of solar CPV receiver assembly is described. • Highlighted on the development of triple-junction solar cells compound. The performance behaviour of solar concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) is an important element for the design and development of solar devices and system. A CPV receiver assembly consists of layers of solar cell materials and some the receivers equipped with heat exchanger, used to dissipate heat and prevent the cells from overheating. CPV receiver have better conversion efficiency than non-concentrating devices and could, therefore, make a greater contribution to renewable energy sources. However, there is a trade-off between efficiency and cost for non-concentrated (conventional PV) systems and CPV. The performance behaviour of CPV at various environmental operating conditions needed for the accurate estimation of the energy yield from a CPV over its lifetime. Besides, a better understanding of the CPV device performance is necessary to continually improve system efficiency. The paper is also highlight on thermal effects and the effective thermal management of concentrating photovoltaic assemblies, in which changeable with environmental conditions. Moreover, numerical and experimental studies related to the thermal performance behaviour of HCPV receiver assembly are analysed. Thus, these investigations are significant to understand the operating behaviour, in turn, that leads to improving the design of CPV receivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the incident spectral irradiance on the electrical and thermal behaviour of triple-junction solar cells has been investigated. A spectral dependent electrical model has been developed to calculate the electric characteristics and quantify the heat power of a multijunction solar cell. A three-dimensional finite element analysis is also used to predict the solar cell’s operating temperature and cooling requirements for a range of ambient temperatures. The combination of these models improves the prediction accuracy of the electrical and thermal behaviour of triple-junction solar cells. The convective heat transfer coefficient between the back-plate and ambient air was found to be the significant parameter in achieving high electrical efficiency. These data are important for the electrical and thermal optimisation of concentrating photovoltaic systems under real conditions. The objective of this work is to quantify the temperature and cooling requirements of multijunction solar cells under variable solar spectra and ambient temperatures. It is shown that single cell configurations with a solar cell area of 1 cm 2 can be cooled passively for concentration ratios of up to 500× with a heat sink thermal resistance below 1.63 K/W, however for high ambient temperatures (greater than 40 °C), a thermal resistance less than 1.4 K/W is needed to keep the solar cell operating within safe operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectral sensitivity of a concentrating triple-junction (3J) solar cell has been investigated. The atmospheric parameters such as the air mass (AM), aerosol optical depth (AOD) and precipitable water (PW) change the distribution of the solar spectrum in a way that the spectral, electrical and thermal performance of a 3J solar cell is affected. In this paper, the influence of the spectral changes on the performance of each subcell and whole cell has been analysed. It has been shown that increasing the AM and AOD have a negative impact on the spectral and electrical performance of 3J solar cells while increasing the PW has a positive effect, although, to a lesser degree. A three-dimensional finite element analysis model is used to quantify the effect of each atmospheric parameter on the thermal performance for a range of heat transfer coefficients from the back-plate to the ambient air and also ambient temperature. It is shown that a heat transfer coefficient greater than 1300 W/(m 2 K) is required to keep the solar cell under 100 °C at all times. In order to get a more realistic assessment and also to investigate the effect of heat transfer coefficient on the annual energy yield, the methodology is applied for four US locations using data from a typical meteorological year (TMY3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]