Product reliability and thin-film photovoltaics

Reliability of crystalline silicon photovoltaic laminates: Test development and finite element analysis

“…One of the earliest reports on this subject was published by the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1986 then, new tools have been developed and the reliability of PV modules has improved significantly. Anticipated failure modes resulting from environmental/usage-related stressors tests-to-failure, quantitative reliability and a mix of accelerated tests [2,3] and field tests are increasingly being used to design reliability into a product [4] reduce the uncertainty in lifetime predictions time and resources required to develop new products Validated modeling tools used with lab-based testing and appropriate diagnostic tools can be used to "design-out" pre-identified failure mechanisms finite element analysis (FEA) is gaining acceptance within the PV industry and is being increasingly used to investigate damage under various loading conditions [5,6] testing based on anticipated field conditions and environmental stressors have been found to be The use of finite element analysis (FEA) and lab photovoltaic (PV) "design-in" reliability based on anticipated This paper presents stalline silicon (c-Si) subjected to bending loads installation and loads mounting and seasonal wind and snow Challenges related to development of a material model (that could be incorporated into the FE models) for c-Si cells are discussed. The use of electroluminescence (EL) as a to detect fracture of c-Si cells within laminates is discussed.…”