Technical feasibility study on polycarbonate solar panels

Technical feasibility study on polycarbonate solar panels

This paper describes a technical feasibility study on the application of polycarbonate (PC) plates in a superstrate photovoltaic module design. The lamination process was performed in a conventional laminator apparatus using low temperature curing (100°C) ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) as the potting...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy materials and solar cells Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 105 - 115
Main Authors: Hackmann, Martijn M., Meuwissen, Marcel H.H., Bots, Tom L., Buijs, Jan A.H.M., Broek, Kees M., Kinderman, Ronald, Tanck, Olga B.F., Schuurmans, Frank M.
Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-10-2004
Elsevier
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Energy
Equipments, installations and applications
Exact sciences and technology
Natural energy
Photovoltaic conversion
Photovoltaic panels
Polycarbonate plates
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
Superstrate design
Thermo-mechanical calculations
Photovoltaic panels
Polycarbonate plates
Thermo-mechanical calculations
Superstrate design
Silicon solar cells
Feasibility studies
Photovoltaic system
Plate
Crystalline material
Finite element method
EVA
Photovoltaic array
Curing
Polycarbonate
Low temperature
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Summary:This paper describes a technical feasibility study on the application of polycarbonate (PC) plates in a superstrate photovoltaic module design. The lamination process was performed in a conventional laminator apparatus using low temperature curing (100°C) ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) as the potting material and multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. Thermo-mechanical calculations via the finite element method were performed to support the experimental results on various layer set-ups. Both experimental and numerical results revealed that PC superstrate laminates display a certain degree of warpage after the lamination process. This warpage can be attributed to stress built up in the modules due to differences in thermal expansion between solar cells and PC. This stress build-up can be diminished by application of thicker layers of PC or EVA leading to less curved laminates.
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ISSN:0927-0248
1879-3398
DOI:10.1016/j.solmat.2003.12.012