Abstract
Several tests were conducted to ratify the reliability and durability of the solar photovoltaic (PV) devices before deployment in the real field (non-ideal conditions). In the real field, the temperature of the PV modules was varied during the day and night. Nowadays, people have been bearing in mind the deployment of PV modules on concrete roads to make use of the space accessible on roads. In this regard, a comparative study on the failure and degradation behaviors of crystalline Si PV modules with and without a concrete slab was executed via a thermal cycling stress test. The impact of the concrete slab on the performance degradation of PV modules was evaluated. Electroluminescence (EL) results showed that the defect due to thermal cycling (TC) stress was reduced in the PV module with a concrete slab. The power loss due to the thermal cycling was reduced by approximately 1% using a concrete slab for 200 cycles. The Rsh value was reduced to approximately 91% and 71% after thermal cycling of 200 cycles for reference PV modules, respectively. The value of I0 was increased to approximately 3.1 and 2.9 times the initial value for the PV modules without and with concrete, respectively.
Highlights
Over the years, the photovoltaic (PV) community has put great efforts into reducing the cost per kWh of PV power, which is mainly dependent on the manufacturing costs of the PV system, its efficiency, and its lifetime
The impact of the concrete slab on the performance degradation of PV modules was evaluated per International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard thermal cycling (TC) stress testing conditions
EL results showed that the defect due to TC stress was as per IEC standard TC stress testing conditions
Summary
The photovoltaic (PV) community has put great efforts into reducing the cost per kWh of PV power, which is mainly dependent on the manufacturing costs of the PV system, its efficiency, and its lifetime In this regard, extensive research work is going into the study of the reliability and durability of PV modules with a focus on their thermomechanical and corrosive degradation under different operating conditions [1,2,3]. Various standard test procedures have been used to evaluate the reliability and identify possible manufacturing defects of the PV modules when operating under standard conditions Among these tests, thermal cycling (TC) is widely used to profile the progression of degradation, allowing the investigation of the PV module’s reliability of construction, manufacturing processes, and expected field performance. An electroluminescence (EL) imaging technique is used for the detection of defects such as microcracks and poor electrical contacts and the analysis of degradation processes that occur during the test
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