Abstract
Countries around the globe have recently been actively developing a new type of solar power system known as the floating photovoltaic (FPV) system. The FPV system is advantageous in terms of efficiency and is economic; however, the environmental conditions on the surface of water are harsher than on the ground, and regulations or standards of the long-term durability of the float are insufficient. As a result, this study aims to investigate the durability of the float through three types of accelerated aging tests, including the damp heat test, the ozone-aging test, and the ultraviolet (UV) aging test. After the 7-day damp heat test (80 °C/95% RH), the results revealed that four groups of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) extrusion specimens neither produced more oxygen-containing functional groups, according to Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum analysis, nor became more easily broken by the tensile test. Furthermore, more oxygen-containing functional groups were produced after the 7-day ozone-aging test (80 °C/95% RH/500 ppm) than the 17-day UV-aging test (60 °C/0% RH/60 kW·h·m−2). On the contrary, UV aging would make HDPE specimens harder and more brittle than ozone aging. To conclude, both ozone- and UV-aging tests can evaluate the durability of the float quickly and efficiently.
Highlights
Over recent years, the market for a photovoltaic system has expanded rapidly
For the purpose of evaluating the durability of the float in an floating photovoltaic (FPV) system faster and more effectively, the ozone-aging test was conducted under the harshest conditions, (80 ± 1) ◦C/(90 ± 1)% RH/(500 ± 1) ppm, for 7 days (168 h) as the experimental group; alternatively, the 7-day damp heat test, (80 ± 1) ◦C/(90 ± 1)% RH/(0 ± 1) ppm, was designed as the control group to distinguish the influence of a high ozone concentration, and the blank control group was designed in the environment of normal temperature, humidity and without ozone in order to distinguish the influence of high temperature and humidity
Based on the results of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum analysis and the tensile test of four groups of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) extrusion specimens, we may conclude that the 7-day damp heat test neither produced more oxygen-containing functional groups by FTIR spectrum analysis nor became easier to break by the tensile test
Summary
The market for a photovoltaic system has expanded rapidly. In addition to common types of rooftops, ground-mounted and building-integrated systems, countries around the world, such as Japan, USA, Italy, Spain, France, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, India, China, Egypt, Poland, South Asia and Central Asia, are actively developing the floating photovoltaic (FPV) system, which is mainly installed on the surface of idle waters [1,2,3,4]. Concrete piles are generally used in fixed systems and piled into ground underwater directly. The components of the float in a floating system are almost always engineering plastics, most of which are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) [10,11]
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