ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 432
1. Introduction
Renewable energy has been growing steadily around the world due to policy support to achieve
diverse goals such as strengthening energy security, improving air pollution, coping with climate
change, revitalizing the economy and addressing energy poverty. With the conclusion of the Paris
Agreement and recent policy changes, prospects for renewable energy are very optimistic [1]. In the
IEAʹs new policy scenario, the share of renewable energy in primary energy consumption is expected
to increase from 9 percent in 2016 to 17 percent in 2040 [2]. As a result, the development of
PVT(PV+thermal), which can use solar energy more efficiently, is emerging among renewable energy
sources. In this study, the possibility of applying PVC flexible sheet for thermal collector of PVT was
studied.
Figure 1. Example of PVT [3]
PVT is a combination of Photovoltaic, which means solar panel, and Thermal, which means
thermal collector. Typical solar panel uses solar energy to produce electricity, wasting the remaining
heat to thin air. However, PVT is able to collect more solar energy since it takes heat from discarded
energy and turns it into hot water. PVT is can be made by adding a thermal collector to a photovoltaic
panel. Fig 1 is an example of PVT configuration and consists of a structure supporting PV panel, thermal
collector.
Currently, PVT is being developed in Europe and the United States, but most of them are
developed as metal panels or polymer panels and tubes [4]. For lower costs and easier compatibility
with PV, collectors using new materials such as flexible sheets should be applied. Therefore, this study
verified the possibility of using PVT collector by forming flow path through high frequency fusion in
collector using PVC flexible sheet. Especially, the differential pressure and flow rate distribution were
measured according to the flow path pattern, and the pressure resistance test for durability was
performed.
2. Materials and Methods
PVC flexible sheet is used as hot water mat in Korea, and its manufacturing is done by high
frequency fusion. High frequency fusion is a manufacturing technique found in a tube for water play.
It generates high frequency in the pattern mold to be fused to two polymer sheets and attaches the two
sheets in a desired pattern. In general, polyurethane sheets and PVC flexible sheets are used as high
frequency welding materials. In this study, PVC flexible sheets were used. The reason why the PVC
flexible sheet is used is that the polyurethane sheet has a problem of moisture permeability and the
internal fluid leakage. The flow path pattern of the thermal collector to be attached to the PVT is
designed in several cases as shown in Fig.2 below.
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ZEMCH 2019 International Conference l Seoul, Korea