Solar Panels and Heat Capacity

University of Balamand
Phys212
Fundamentals of physics 1 laboratory
Research on heat capacities// solar panels
Submitted by: Leona Antoun A2120150

Solar panels and heat capacity
Because of the harm that fuels and combustibles are causing to the ecosystem,
and since these latter are not durable and sustainable materials, we, humans,
searched for other alternatives that use durable energy, such as solar power. In
fact, in order to generate energy, solar panels are made from diverse solids and
materials that have different functionalities and properties. Silicon, a
semiconductor substance, is the main component of these panels. These
semiconductors are the generators of electricity: after receiving sunlight and
interacting with it, the electrons in this material get knocked loose, which is the
process generator of electricity. This process is called the photovoltaic effect
and it’s how solar panels work to generate power.
Solar panels are made of other operational components such as glass, plastic,
metal and wiring.
However, solar energy is tackled generally in two ways: photovoltaic cells and
thermal conversion systems.
Actually, mirrors and lenses are used to concentrate and focus sunlight on the
thermal receiver, similar to a boiler tube that transforms sunlight into heat. The
heat is directed to a steam generator, where it is either converted into electricity
or stored as sensible heat, that is employed once needed. Concentrated solar
power (CSP) that focuses on sensible heat system is based on a storage medium
that could be solid or liquid, and that is inside a tank. The CSP technology
employs molten salts as heat transfer fluid (HTF), because it has the
competency of being an efficient energy storage medium.
Materials:
 Since efficiency increases with working temperature
in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems,
900 ºC can be without problems reached by means of the CSP receiver
and the storage medium.
 the materials used for CSP must
contain certain requirements restrained by the maximum operation
temperature of the application: to stand up to excessive temperatures,
thermal shock resistance, high melting
temperature, thermal stability and with non-polymorphic changes.
The materials source,
composition and major benefits and risks to be used as HTF and
TES material in CSP
systems are listed in Table 1.
 Taking note that silica sand as curtain receiver configuration TES
material has been studied for comparison purposes due to the relevance
this fabric has in this investigation even
though it provides polymorphic adjustments.
Table1 : The materials source, composition and major benefits and risks to be
used as HTF and TES material in CSP systems
Experimental methodology:
Aging treatment:
 Two temperatures were chosen by researchers to perform an isothermal
aging treatment, in order to stimulate the thermal stress that materials
must deal with under operating conditions in a CSP system:
-900°C that stimulates the upper limit working temperature of the system
(direct receptor reaches this temperature)
-750°C, as the second isotherm to age the samples, to cover the operational
temperature range in the receiver and inside the
heat exchanger.
The isothermal aging treatment was processed in a furnace in the air
atmosphere. Samples were checked at six aging stages and were analyzed after
24, 72, 168, 312, 405, and 500 hours of aging. The first stage studied is the
material samples as received, and the final stage is the 500 hours aged samples
at 900°C and at 750°C, respectively.
Thermal stability and specific heat capacity:

-thermal stability and degradation are assessed by thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA) of the solid particles studied
- measurements were managed between 300ºC and 900ºC in a N2 atmosphere,
with a flow of 80 ml/min, at a heating rate of 10 K/min, with around 30 mg
mass, in a TA Instruments SDT Q600.
- The specific heat capacity (Cp) is an essential property to be taken into
consideration and measured for thermal energy storage materials and must be
maximized to attain a higher heat storage capacity.
- Cp assessed by using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)
- The process in the study was areas method because of its high precision. It
consists on elevating 1 ºC the material temperature in the DSC and the area is
integrated and related to the heat flow response. This area is differentiated with
the other derived from an internal standard which could be sapphire, for
example. The studies were performed under 10 K/min heating rate. The amount
of sample used was around 15 mg and the sample was located into 40 L
aluminum crucible in a DSC 822e device from Mettler Toledo. The experiment
was assessed under 50 ml/min N2 flow. Noting that the equipment precision is
± 0.3 ºC for temperature and ±0.1 kJ/kg·K for Cp results.
- The heat capacity of the solid particles under scrutiny was checked at different
isotherms using a DSC. The measurements were assessed at 100ºC and 400°C,
according to the DSC with a ±0.1 error.
Results:
- The highest Cp values are attained by silicon carbide aged at 750 ºC and 900
ºC when the Cp is measured at 400°C. The obtained values are 1.4 J/g∙°C and
1.8 J/g∙°C, at 750 ºC and 900 ºC, respectively. For silica sand, the measured
values are higher when aged at 900ºC in comparison with initial Cp measured,
which is consistent with other values reported in the research due to its
differences in composition (impurities)
- black silicon carbide has the highest Cp while the aged iron oxide has the
lowest values, even lower than the iron oxide without aging treatment.
Conclusion of this study:

 3 solid materials were studied after aging for 500h at 750°C and 950°C to
evaluate their use in the solar power
 black silicon carbide has the highest specific heat capacity value (1.67 J/g
°C); aged at 900ºC for 500 h and measured at 400 ºC, also the highest
absorptance value (95.6%), and this is why it is the most convenient
material used for the production of solar panels.
However, these eco-friendly alternatives have many drawbacks, and one of

these latter is their inconsistency; for example when there is no sun, in the night
or on a cloudy day, these technologies are not effective. Thus, solar salts could
be a solution for this problem.
Molten salts:
Heat is stored in either form of “latent” or “sensible”.
 Sensible heat: storage of temperature in one phase/ temperature of
material is relative to the energy stored
 Equation of heat flow from hot to cold: Q = m C ΔT where Q is the

(sensible) heat, m is the mass, C is the specific heat, and ΔT is the
temperature difference
 Molten salts caracteristics: high boiling point

Low viscosity
Low vapor pressure
High volumetric heat capacities, and the
higher the heat capacity, the smaller the storage tank volume.
 as an adequate substance choice, it should have low melting points, which

means a high boiling point, to elevate the temperature range for the
molten salt.
 In the off duty phase, the salts are heated and stored in an insulator
 in need of energy, these salts are transferred to a steam generator that
boils water,spins a turbine, and generates electricity
 the molten salt energy system is tackled in 2 different ways:
- two tank direct, made of hot and cold storage tank, and uses the salt as
both heat transfer fluid and heat storage fluid
- thermocline system, uses only one tank where hot and cold are
separated by a vertical temperature gradient ( because of buoyancy
force)
Salts coupled to solar:

Using concentrated solar plants that consist of mirrors to focus the sunlight, and
heat transfer fluids that absorb the energy. Oils are used because they have low
melting points. The hot oil is converted to the generator, and the heat is
transferred to the molten salts that store it with a very high efficiency; around
95% to 99%. This energy is used when the sun is no longer the source of energy
for example at night or on a rainy day.
In conclusion, molten salts are a proficient solution to the unsubstantiality of the

solar panels; and this is because their high heat capacity 1.37 (kJ/kg K)
and competencies required for energy storage and transfer- generation.
References
Palacios, A., Calderon, A., Barreneche, C., Bertomeu, J., Segarra, M.,
Fernandez, A.I. Study on solar absorbance and
Thermal stability of solid particles materials used as
TES at high temperature on different aging stages for
CSP applications. ScienceDirect.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110088
Solar Salt - an overview. ScienceDirect.
Solar Salt - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
What Are Solar Panels Made Of (How Are They Made?). EcoWatch.
What Are Solar Panels Made Of (How Are They
Made?) (ecowatch.com)
Dodaro, J. (2015). Molten salt storage. Standford University.
Molten Salt Storage (stanford.edu)

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University of Balamand

Fundamentals of physics 1 laboratory

Research on heat capacities// solar panels

Submitted by: Leona Antoun A2120150

Thermal stability and specific heat capacity:

Conclusion of this study:

However, these eco-friendly alternatives have many drawbacks, and one of

 Equation of heat flow from hot to cold: Q = m C ΔT where Q is the

 Molten salts caracteristics: high boiling point

 as an adequate substance choice, it should have low melting points, which

Salts coupled to solar:

In conclusion, molten salts are a proficient solution to the unsubstantiality of the

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