Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 104752 |
| Journal | Materials Today Communications |
| Volume | 33 |
| Early online date | 29 Oct 2022 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2022 |
Abstract
The photovoltaic (PV) modules containing multiple polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) are one of the most common devices for solar energy production. PSSCs are finding different applications such as on buildings and on solar-driven airplanes, hence, their mechanical analyses are required. During the lifespan of PSSCs, the performance degrades, which is predominantly associated with the cracking of the crystalline silicon wafer (PSW). Moreover, because of the multiple materials involved and the complicated microstructure of the energy-producing component, polycrystalline silicon wafer (PSW), modeling becomes computationally expensive. Therefore, model reduction techniques, such as homogenization, are needed. The mechanical response of polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) is investigated in this work. The crystalline patterns of the PSW were generated using a Voronoi-tessellation scheme. A mean-field homogenization scheme using the finite element (FE) method was employed to predict the homogenized response of the PSSCs. The response of the PSSC with heterogeneous and homogeneous modeling was compared. The stiffness degradation due to the existing microcracks of the PSW was investigated. It is evident from these investigations that the homogenized FE solution provides an accurate and computationally efficient representation of the progressive failure in solar cells. The approach presented here offers a basis to further enhance the knowledge of failure analysis in PV modules and quantify the subsequent degradation of their energy producing capacity.
Keywords
- A. Numerical homogenization, B. Polycrystalline silicon wafers, C. Stiffness degradation, D. Solar cells, E. Microcracks
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- General Materials Science
- Engineering(all)
- Mechanics of Materials
- Materials Science(all)
- Materials Chemistry
Sustainable Development Goals
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Materials Today Communications, Vol. 33, 104752, 12.2022.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Numerical homogenization of poly-crystalline silicon wafer based photovoltaic modules including pre-cracks
AU - Tariq, M.
AU - Safdar, N.
AU - Scheffler, S.
AU - Rolfes, R.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG - German Research Foundation) for funding the project 400853899 (RO 706/15-1) . Authors also thank R. Nabavi for providing a framework to develop Voronoi-tessellation and other technical details about PSSCs.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - The photovoltaic (PV) modules containing multiple polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) are one of the most common devices for solar energy production. PSSCs are finding different applications such as on buildings and on solar-driven airplanes, hence, their mechanical analyses are required. During the lifespan of PSSCs, the performance degrades, which is predominantly associated with the cracking of the crystalline silicon wafer (PSW). Moreover, because of the multiple materials involved and the complicated microstructure of the energy-producing component, polycrystalline silicon wafer (PSW), modeling becomes computationally expensive. Therefore, model reduction techniques, such as homogenization, are needed. The mechanical response of polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) is investigated in this work. The crystalline patterns of the PSW were generated using a Voronoi-tessellation scheme. A mean-field homogenization scheme using the finite element (FE) method was employed to predict the homogenized response of the PSSCs. The response of the PSSC with heterogeneous and homogeneous modeling was compared. The stiffness degradation due to the existing microcracks of the PSW was investigated. It is evident from these investigations that the homogenized FE solution provides an accurate and computationally efficient representation of the progressive failure in solar cells. The approach presented here offers a basis to further enhance the knowledge of failure analysis in PV modules and quantify the subsequent degradation of their energy producing capacity.
AB - The photovoltaic (PV) modules containing multiple polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) are one of the most common devices for solar energy production. PSSCs are finding different applications such as on buildings and on solar-driven airplanes, hence, their mechanical analyses are required. During the lifespan of PSSCs, the performance degrades, which is predominantly associated with the cracking of the crystalline silicon wafer (PSW). Moreover, because of the multiple materials involved and the complicated microstructure of the energy-producing component, polycrystalline silicon wafer (PSW), modeling becomes computationally expensive. Therefore, model reduction techniques, such as homogenization, are needed. The mechanical response of polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSCs) is investigated in this work. The crystalline patterns of the PSW were generated using a Voronoi-tessellation scheme. A mean-field homogenization scheme using the finite element (FE) method was employed to predict the homogenized response of the PSSCs. The response of the PSSC with heterogeneous and homogeneous modeling was compared. The stiffness degradation due to the existing microcracks of the PSW was investigated. It is evident from these investigations that the homogenized FE solution provides an accurate and computationally efficient representation of the progressive failure in solar cells. The approach presented here offers a basis to further enhance the knowledge of failure analysis in PV modules and quantify the subsequent degradation of their energy producing capacity.
KW - A. Numerical homogenization
KW - B. Polycrystalline silicon wafers
KW - C. Stiffness degradation
KW - D. Solar cells
KW - E. Microcracks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141267145&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.104752
DO - 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.104752
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141267145
VL - 33
JO - Materials Today Communications
JF - Materials Today Communications
M1 - 104752
ER -