Advanced development of PV encapsulants. Semiannual technical progress report, June 30, 1995--December 31, 1995
- Springborn Laboratories, Inc., Enfield, CT (United States)
The goals of the NREL PVMaT program are, among others, to reduce module manufacturing costs and improve the quality, and we might add here the reliability, of manufactured PV products. One component critical to the service life of PV modules is the useful life of the EVA resin-based encapsulant which is employed extensively by module manufacturers on a worldwide basis. This pottant has been in commercial use since 1982, and over that time has proven to be a dependable material from the standpoint of production, module fabrication, and end-use. But despite the widespread acceptance of the EVA resin-based A9918 and similar formulations for PV encapsulation, some module producers, end-users, and investigators have reported a yellowing or browning phenomenon with EVA resin-based encapsulants in the field. Wile the incidence of this discoloration/degradation appeared at comparatively few sites at the time that this present program was conceived, it raised serious concern as to the long term reliability of EVA resin-based encapsulation systems. Consequently, under the NREL PVMaT program, Springborn Laboratories proposed a comprehensive study of the EVA aging and discoloration problem and its possible solution(s). During the first year of this program, accelerated U.V. aging methods were surveyed. On careful review of the various types of accelerated U.V. aging equipment available, an Atlas Ci35A Weather-Ometer Xenon Exposure System was selected as appropriate equipment for this work. The following report summarizes how this accelerated aging technique has been used to develop a family of solutions to the discoloration problem, the most significant of which is a series of EVA-based encapsulants which are resistant to discoloration.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 258184
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/TP-411-21280; ON: DE96007893; TRN: 96:004085
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jun 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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