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Project

Thermo-mechanically induced failure in photovoltaic modules: simulation and experimental validation (R-11909)

The importance of reliability and durability in reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of photovoltaic (PV) modules gives rise to this thesis. In order to have a better understanding of some of the failure mechanisms that can be observed in currently used PV modules, different aspects will be investigated. These failure mechanisms include various parts of the entire PV module stack, such as delamination of encapsulants or failure of electrical interconnection joints, which can be due to generated stresses during thermal cycling. These stresses arise from differences in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) since the laminate is composed of different materials. This occurs during the entire lifetime of the PV module or even prior to it, during production in the form of process-induced stress. Not only the influence of using different materials as the encapsulant or varying its thicknesses can be studied but also how different joining technologies (i.e. standard busbar, SmartWire, Multi Bus Bar) or cell types (monofacial or bifacial) perform better under certain boundary conditions. These boundary conditions include taking into account the different kinds of load that need to be withstood in each part of the PV module's lifecycle, how the materials behave initially and after ageing as well as the climatic conditions to which the PV modules are subjected depending on the location of the solar panel. These failure mechanisms will be evaluated with thermo-mechanical simulations performed using the finite element method as well as through experimental tests with the aim of validating the obtained results.
Date:16 Apr 2021 →  Today
Keywords:failure mechanisms, finite elements modelling, PV modules, thermo-mechanical simulation
Disciplines:Electronic circuit and system reliability, Photodetectors, optical sensors and solar cells, Computer aided engineering, simulation and design