Numerical investigation of passive cooling strategies for photovoltaic modules using recycled polyurethane foam and aluminum fins

Maryem Almazhoud; Khalil Chnini; Habib Farhat; Mustapha Karkri; Pierre-Olivier Logerais; Mahamadou Abdou Tankari

doi:10.1051/epjpv/2026021

Special Issue on ‘Recent Advances in Photovoltaics 2025, edited by Marie Gueunier Farret, Judikaël Le Rouzo and Thomas Fix’

Open Access

Issue		EPJ Photovolt. Volume 17, 2026 Special Issue on ‘Recent Advances in Photovoltaics 2025, edited by Marie Gueunier Farret, Judikaël Le Rouzo and Thomas Fix’


Article Number		28
Number of page(s)		14
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2026021
Published online		22 July 2026

EPJ Photovoltaics 17, 28 (2026)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2026021

Original Article

Numerical investigation of passive cooling strategies for photovoltaic modules using recycled polyurethane foam and aluminum fins

Maryem Almazhoud¹^,2^*, Khalil Chnini¹^,3, Habib Farhat²^,4, Mustapha Karkri¹, Pierre-Olivier Logerais¹ and Mahamadou Abdou Tankari¹

¹ Univ Paris Est Creteil, CERTES, Creteil, F-94010 France
² Laboratory for the Studies of Ionized & Reactive Media (EMIR), University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
³ Laboratory of Energy Applications and Renewable Energy Efficiency (LAPER), University of Tunisia El Manar, Tunis 1068, Tunisia
⁴ ISSAT of Sousse, Energy Department, University of Sousse, Sousse 4011, Tunisia

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 19 March 2026
Accepted: 25 June 2026
Published online: 22 July 2026

Abstract

This work presents a numerical study of two passive cooling strategies for photovoltaic (PV) modules using recycled materials. The main goal is to limit the performance losses caused by high operating temperatures under real outdoor conditions, which differ significantly from Standard Test Conditions (STC), and to improve the overall electrical efficiency. The analysis is performed using three-dimensional transient simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics, coupling heat transfer and fluid flow in solid and porous domains. In the first configuration, a recycled polyurethane (PU) foam layer saturated with water is applied at the rear of the PV module to enhance heat dissipation through coupled heat and moisture transport within the porous structure, including evaporative cooling effects. The second configuration uses aluminum fins attached to the rear surface of the module, increasing the heat exchange area and strengthening natural convection with ambient air. The results show that the PU foam and aluminum fin systems reduce the average operating temperature by 16.4 °C and 9.8 °C, respectively, compared with the reference module. These reductions translate into relative electrical efficiency improvements of 8.49% and 5.10%, confirming the effectiveness of both passive cooling approaches under the studied conditions.

Key words: Photovoltaic modules / passive cooling / evaporative cooling / recycled materials / polyurethane foam / thermal management

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.

Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.

Initial download of the metrics may take a while.