Activation Energy Determination for Photovoltaic Encapsulant Discoloration by Indoor Accelerated UV Testing

Conference · Thu Nov 29 04:00:00 EST 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547726· OSTI ID:1508499

Sinha, Archana ^[1]; Kumar, Deepak ^[1]; Kempe, Michael D ^[2]; Jordan, Dirk ^[2]; TamizhMani, GovindaSamy ^[1]

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1. Arizona State University
2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

A novel methodology for determining the activation energy of photovoltaic encapsulant discoloration using an indoor accelerated ultraviolet (UV) stress test while simultaneously maintaining multiple module temperatures in a single weathering chamber is presented. The testing was performed on some fresh mini-modules with a glass/EVA/cell/EVA/backsheet construction. The short-circuit current degradation from individual cells was used to quantify transmittance losses due to discoloration. Activation energy determined using indoor accelerated UV test data and Modified Arrhenius model ranges from 26 to 44 kJ/mol (0.27 to 0.46 eV). Activation energy was also determined from the outdoor field degradation data by employing different physical models that consider the individual or combined effects of key environmental factors. The approach here is instrumental to evaluating the reliability studies on encapsulant degradation mechanisms using relatively less time and resources.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S), PREDICTS-2 Program
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1508499
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-5K00-73738
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
Arrhenius model
accelerated testing
activation energy
degradation
encapsulant discoloration
photovoltaic module