Flow Topology of Turbulent Natural and Forced Convection in a Vertical Channel Behind a Photovoltaic Panel: Numerical Study

Laboratory of Process, Energy, Materials and Environment Laboratory (PEME), National School of Applied Sciences of Khouribga, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco.

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Published online: 22 May 2026

Abstract

The performance of photovoltaic (PV) panels is greatly impacted by the efficiency with which heat is removed from their surface, especially in air-based cooling configurations. Although natural and forced convection in vertical air channels have been widely studied, the combined influence of channel depth and transitions in airflow regimes on PV cooling performance remains unclear. This study conducted a two-dimensional numerical analysis of the flow topology and thermal behavior of air circulation within an open vertical channel mounted behind a photovoltaic (PV) panel. Steady-state CFD simulations are performed using the standard k–ε turbulence model implemented in ANSYS Fluent. The effects of channel depth and airflow regimes, including natural, mixed, and forced convection, are investigated at a variety of inlet velocities. The results show that channel depth is an important factor in the development of flow and heat transfer. The optimal configuration is achieved by setting the channel depth to 10 mm and the inlet velocity to 2 m/s. This configuration has been shown to reduce the PV panel temperature by over 10.7% compared to pure natural convection alone. This thermal enhancement demonstrates the potential of optimised air channels to minimise temperature-induced efficiency losses in photovoltaic modules.