Application of flexible glass to prevent PID in PV modules (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of Computer Applications, 2018
Nowadays, design of the modules of the solar cells (PV modules) makes these cells completely attached to the coat of the glass. Therefore, damaging of the cover glass lead to replace the PV module totally. Furthermore, it is means loss in the solar cells despite being correct and does not damage. This paper proposed solution based on a lamination layer between solar cells and the tempered glass of the PV module to show the feasibility from these PV modules even after the cover glass damaging.
Effects of PV Module Soiling on Glass Surface Resistance and Potential-Induced Degradation: Preprint
2015
The sheet resistance of three soil types (Arizona road dust, soot, and sea salt) on glass were measured by the transmission line method as a function of relative humidity (RH) between 39% and 95% at 60 degrees C. Sea salt yielded a 3.5 order of magnitude decrease in resistance on the glass surface when the RH was increased over this RH range. Arizona road dust showed reduced sheet resistance at lower RH, but with less humidity sensitivity over the range tested. The soot sample did not show significant resistivity change compared to the unsoiled control. Photovoltaic modules with sea salt on their faces were step-stressed between 25% and 95% RH at 60 degrees C applying -1000 V bias to the active cell circuit. Leakage current from the cell circuit to ground ranged between two and ten times higher than that of the unsoiled controls. Degradation rate of modules with salt on the surface increased with increasing RH and time.
Lamination process and encapsulation materials for glass–glass PV module design
In the last few years PV technology has seen continuous improvements, with significant enhancements at the cell and module levels. In addition to the requirement of high efficiency, the long-term reliability of PV modules leads to proposals for innovative module concepts and designs. Meyer Burger has developed a low-temperature wire-bonding technology, known as SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT), with the aim of offering a cost-effective solution for high-efficiency solar cells while minimizing cell-to-module losses. The introduction of this interconnection design immediately brings new challenges, especially in the selection of an appropriate encapsulant, which must ensure a good processability as well as the required long-term module reliability. The compatibility of the most cost-effective types of encapsulant currently available on the market was analysed in the study reported in this paper. Thermoplastic polyolefin encapsulants with water absorption less than 0.1% and no (o...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2020
The aim of this work is to propose a BIPV module design that is contemporarily lightweight, rigid and resistant to the relevant climatic and mechanical stresses (e.g. exposure to DH, UV, hail impacts, etc), supporting structure and reliability at the same time. Encapsulants represent a key part in the PV structure, acting as the bonding layer between the front or back sheet and the PV cell. Therefore, they need to provide excellent adhesion between these components, which is achieved via lamination. They also have to be transparent and provide outstanding electrical insulation and impact resistance to the module. All these properties must be retained after years of exposure to the UV from the sun or other severe weather conditions. With this work, we want to provide a "recipe" to define and qualify the optimum front sheet encapsulant for the proposed lightweight composite PV modules.
Development and testing of light-weight PV modules based on glass-fibre reinforcement
EPJ Photovoltaics
In this paper we report on our approach on integrating c-Si PV into lightweight structures, in particular towards vehicle integration. To this end we want to get rid of the (bulk weight of the) glass but seek a suitable replacement in terms of mechanical stability. First we elaborate on the most basic standards and norms that VIPV products should relate to in terms of (thermo-)mechanical testing. Then, for the experimental part, 2 concepts are investigated. In a first approach, we reinforced the encapsulant with glass fibre material, while in a second one we applied a dedicated glass-fibre-reinforced sheet as a replacement of the backsheet. In both cases we stay as close as possible to using commercially available material. For each approach we elaborate the testing that has been carried out: thermal cycling, vibrations, mechanical shock and hail impact. On a final note, we point out some initial damp heat testing results, that are a particular challenge for light-weight modules wit...
Methodology and systems to ensure reliable thin-film PV modules
Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems, 2008
Economic, flexible packages that provide needed level of protection to organic and some other PV cells over >25-years have not yet been developed. However, flexible packaging is essential in niche large-scale applications. Typical configuration used in flexible photovoltaic (PV) module packaging is transparent frontsheet/encapsulant/PV cells/flexible substrate. Besides flexibility of various components, the solder bonds should also be flexible and resistant to fatigue due to cyclic loading. Flexible front sheets should provide optical transparency, mechanical protection, scratch resistance, dielectric isolation, water resistance, UV stability and adhesion to encapsulant. Examples are Tefzel, Tedlar and Silicone. Dirt can get embedded in soft layers such as silicone and obscure light. Water vapor transmittance rate (WVTR) of polymer films used in the food packaging industry as moisture barriers are ~0.05 g/(m 2 .day) under ambient conditions. In comparison, light emitting diodes employ packaging components that have WVTR of ~10-6 g/(m 2 .day). WVTR of polymer sheets can be improved by coating them with dense inorganic/organic multilayers. Ethylene vinyl acetate, an amorphous copolymer used predominantly by the PV industry has very high O 2 and H 2 O diffusivity. Quaternary carbon chains (such as acetate) in a polymer lead to cleavage and loss of adhesional strength at relatively low exposures. Reactivity of PV module components increases in presence of O 2 and H 2 O. Adhesional strength degrades due to the breakdown of structure of polymer by reactive, free radicals formed by high-energy radiation. Free radical formation in polymers is reduced when the aromatic rings are attached at regular intervals. This paper will review flexible packaging for PV modules.
2010
This paper describes the study on the possibility to reduce the cost of Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) glass using as the superstrate of the glass-to-glass thin-film a-Si PV modules with lower cost in-house produced TCO glass using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method. Most commercial TCO glass used today by thin-film a-Si PV module manufacturers is produced in a few large float glass plants in with the Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition (APCVD) process. For the in-house production of TCO glass in this study, a TCO glass coating facility using PVD coating method was added to the glass preparation area at the beginning of the production process in the existing thin-film a-Si PV module factory in Thailand.
2021 IEEE 48th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
The long-term reliability of photovoltaic (PV) modules is essential to decrease the levelized cost of electricity and is dependent on module packaging choices. In this paper, we study the degradation of double glass (DG) and glass-backsheet (GB) PV modules with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and polyolefin elastomer (POE) encapsulants using multicrystalline PERC cells under accelerated exposures including modified damp heat (mDH) and mDH with full-spectrum light (FSL). The results showed that the modules with opaque rear encapsulant have greater power loss on average than those with UV-cutoff rear encapsulant for each module type. The dominant degradation mechanism was series resistance (Rs) increase indicating interconnect corrosion for most module types. In addition to the increased Rs, GB modules with UV-cutoff rear encapsulant experienced power loss by transmission loss, and the POE GB type under mDH+FSL also had more cell shunting. For modules with opaque rear encapsulant, the POE DG type under mDH+FSL had power loss dominated by transmission loss.
Failure Modes Evaluation of PV Module via Materials Degradation Approach
Energy Procedia, 2013
The primary objective of this study is to investigate and understand how polymeric materials in photovoltaic (PV) module as a function of long term aging effect on the durability, reliability and safety of PV modules. Si-based PV modules were made with EVA encapsulant and different types of backsheet and then subjected to accelerated weathering conditions in laboratory-controlled exposure chambers. The disassembly approach of the PV modules was developed to obtain the samples. All of the aged sample materials were directly obtained from the PV modules. Specific coupons of EVA/glass based on the similar module design were fabricated and applied with the same lamination process as in the manufacturing for the interfacial adhesion tests. The study covers the measurements on the samples including EVA, coupons and the modules made with different backsheets as a function of exposure time under accelerated conditions of damp heat (85 o C and 85% RH) or UV (~ 80 W/m 2) chamber. The durability of materials degradation and properties was tested every 1000 hours up to 4000 hours including: (1) thermal characterisation by TGA, DSC, (2) inter layer adhesion by peeling strength, (3) chemical degradation by FTIR, (4) acetic acid content using Pyrolysis-GC/Mass, and (5) thermo-mechanical tensile modulus by DMA. Non-intrusive measurements were also performed at every 250 hours on the modules such as I-V measurements, Fill Factor and Wet Insulation. The correlation between the materials degradation behaviour and the performance of the PV module, the impact of using different backsheets (TPT or TPE), and key failure mode(s) development related to the safety and performance of the PV module will be addressed from the study.
Testing of an Anti-Soiling Coating for PV Module Cover Glass
2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) (A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC & 34th EU PVSEC), 2018
Soiling of solar module cover glass can significantly reduce the module power output. Coatings can be applied to the cover glass surface to reduce adhesion and make the surfaces easier to clean. These coatings should be resilient and resistant to environmental damage. A hydrophobic anti-soiling coating was exposed to a variety of environmental and abrasion stress tests. The hydrophobic performance of the coating was measured by monitoring the water contact angle and the water roll off angle after exposure to a range of environmental and mechanical stress tests. The coating was shown to be highly resistant to damp heat and thermal cycling. However, it was degraded by UV exposure and damaged during abrasion tests. The coating was also exposed to outdoor testing to compare the laboratory results with real performance degradation.