Computational analysis of the thermomechanical behavior of lightweight multifunctional photovoltaic sandwich structures

Abstract

In this study, the thermomechanical behavior of multifunctional (photovoltaic/ aluminum core/ skin) sandwich structures is investigated numerically using the finite element simulation. Parametric studies were performed to determine how the types of boundary conditions and loadings influence the deformed shape (flatness) and temperature of PV sandwich structures with four types of skin materials and three different core structures. High temperature in silicon layer as well as high deviation in flatness are undesirable. The high flatness deviation can lead to high variation in incident angle. Our simulation results show that the CFRP skin provides the smallest flatness deviation followed by steel, aluminum and PLA, respectively. Temperature of silicon layer for the CFRP skin configuration is comparable with that of skin configurations using high thermal conductivity skin materials (aluminum and steel). The reentrant core demonstrates the smallest flatness deviation but approximately the same temperature compared to honeycomb and semi-reentrant cores. Furthermore, introducing a double-skin configuration (PV/ CFRP skin/ aluminum core/ CFRP skin) while maintaining the total thickness of the skin causes no effect on temperature but tends to increase flatness deviation. Therefore, the single-skin configuration (PV/ aluminum reentrant core/ CRFP skin) is a potential candidate for lightweight multifunctional PV sandwich composites.