Effects of Photovoltaic Module Materials and Design on Module Deformation Under Load
- Sandia National Laboratories
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- First Solar Inc.
- University of New Mexico
Static structural finite element models of an aluminum-framed crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) module and a glass-glass thin film PV module were constructed and validated against experimental measurements of deflection under uniform pressure loading. Parametric analyses using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) were performed to propagate simulation input uncertainties related to module material properties, dimensions, and manufacturing tolerances into expected uncertainties in simulated deflection predictions. This exercise verifies the applicability and validity of finite element modeling for predicting mechanical behavior of solar modules across architectures and enables computational models to be used with greater confidence in assessment of module mechanical stressors and design for reliability. Sensitivity analyses were also performed on the uncertainty quantification data sets using linear correlation coefficients to elucidate the key parameters influencing module deformation. This information has implications on which materials or parameters may be optimized to best increase module stiffness and reliability, whether the key optimization parameters change with module architecture or loading magnitudes, and whether parameters such as frame design and racking must be replicated in reduced-scale reliability studies to adequately capture full module mechanical behavior.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1603917
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5K00-76292
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 16-21 June 2019, Chicago, Illinois
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Validation of heat transfer, thermal decomposition, and container pressurization of polyurethane foam using mean value and Latin hypercube sampling approaches
Analyzing photovoltaic module mechanics using composite plate theories and finite element solutions