Transient thermal analysis of high-concentration photovoltaic cell module subjected to coupled thermal and power cycling test conditions

Abstract

Based on the standard of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on the thermal cycling test for a high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) module, frequent current input must be applied when oven temperature exceeds 25°C. As such, the junction temperature of a solar cell chip would oscillate due to the joule heating effect. However, the fluctuation of the junction temperature might be one of the reliability issues being faced by an HCPV thermal cycling test. The process of getting the actual junction temperature is necessary before its mechanical behavior is discussed. In this study, the forward voltage method was adopted to measure and monitor the time-dependent junction temperature of an HCPV module. In addition, a detailed finite element (FE) model of the HCPV module with adapted input power and suitable boundary condition was established, analyzed, and validated with the experimental data. Results on the finite element analysis (FEA) were consistent with the experimental data. Hence, we conclude that the simulation of the FE model adopted in this research can be effectively used to simulate the transient thermal characteristics of an HCPV module, subjected to coupled power and thermal cycling test conditions.