Reliability testing of cell assemblies for photovoltaic concentrator modules

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6828395

Chiang, C J; Blankenau, S J

Reliability testing is crucial to the design of improved cell assemblies and to the assessment of their reliability. Thermal cycling has proven to be the most difficult reliability test for cell assemblies to survive. This paper describes correlation of artificial thermal cycling with field operation through two separate experimental investigations. The first was a study of two sets of identical cell assemblies; one used in the field and the other stored. The degradation mechanism was cracking in the solder attaching the feet of the top contact to the cell. For this failure mechanism and this type of cell assembly, 125 thermal cycles of a type specified by our qualification test were found to cause the same amount of degradation as 4.7 years of use in the field. The second investigation, currently in progress, involves thermal cycling at temperatures simulating field operation but at higher cycling frequencies. By comparing identical parts cycled at different frequencies, the effect of frequency on rate of degradation can be determined. Then, a number of thermal cycles at a higher frequency can be related to an equivalent number of thermal cycles at the lower frequencies encountered in actual use. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6828395
• Report Number(s): SAND-88-0487C; CONF-880965-16; ON: DE89001379
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CRACKING
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
DESIGN
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
INFORMATION
JOINTS
NUMERICAL DATA
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PYROLYSIS
SOLDERED JOINTS
TESTING
THERMAL CRACKING
THERMAL DEGRADATION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES