Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials in a PMMA/glass concentrator photovoltaic system
Abstract
Abstract The durability of polymeric encapsulation materials was examined using outdoor exposure at the nominal geometric concentration of 500 suns. The results for 36‐month cumulative field deployment are presented for materials including: poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate), (EVA); polyvinyl butyral (PVB); ionomer; polyethylene/polyoctene copolymer (PO); thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU); poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS); poly(diphenyl dimethyl siloxane) (PDPDMS); and poly(phenyl‐methyl siloxane) (PPMS). Measurements of the field conditions including ambient temperature and ultraviolet (UV) dose were recorded at the test site during the experiment. Measurements for the experiment included optical transmittance (with subsequent analysis of solar‐weighted transmittance, UV cut‐off wavelength, and yellowness index), mass, visual photography, photoelastic imaging, and fluorescence spectroscopy. While the results to date for EVA are presented and discussed, examination here focuses more on the siloxane materials. A specimen recently observed to fail by thermal decomposition is discussed in terms of the implementation of the experiment as well as its fluorescence signature, which was observed to become more pronounced with age. Modulated thermogravimetry (allowing determination of the activation energy of thermal decomposition) was performed on a subset of the siloxanes to quantify the propensity for decomposition at elevated temperatures. Supplemental, Pt‐catalyst‐ and primer‐solutions as well as peroxide‐cured PDMS specimens were examined to assess the sourcemore »
- Authors:
-
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). National Center for Photovoltaics
- Daido Steel Co., Nagoya (Japan)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1328997
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1401217
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5J00-66588
Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308; DE‐AC36‐08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Progress in Photovoltaics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 24; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; durability; polymer; reliability; UV degradation; weathering
Citation Formats
Miller, David C., Kempe, Michael D., Muller, Matthew T., Gray, Matthew H., Araki, Kenji, and Kurtz, Sarah R. Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials in a PMMA/glass concentrator photovoltaic system. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1002/pip.2796.
Miller, David C., Kempe, Michael D., Muller, Matthew T., Gray, Matthew H., Araki, Kenji, & Kurtz, Sarah R. Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials in a PMMA/glass concentrator photovoltaic system. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2796
Miller, David C., Kempe, Michael D., Muller, Matthew T., Gray, Matthew H., Araki, Kenji, and Kurtz, Sarah R. Wed .
"Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials in a PMMA/glass concentrator photovoltaic system". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2796. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1328997.
@article{osti_1328997,
title = {Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials in a PMMA/glass concentrator photovoltaic system},
author = {Miller, David C. and Kempe, Michael D. and Muller, Matthew T. and Gray, Matthew H. and Araki, Kenji and Kurtz, Sarah R.},
abstractNote = {Abstract The durability of polymeric encapsulation materials was examined using outdoor exposure at the nominal geometric concentration of 500 suns. The results for 36‐month cumulative field deployment are presented for materials including: poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate), (EVA); polyvinyl butyral (PVB); ionomer; polyethylene/polyoctene copolymer (PO); thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU); poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS); poly(diphenyl dimethyl siloxane) (PDPDMS); and poly(phenyl‐methyl siloxane) (PPMS). Measurements of the field conditions including ambient temperature and ultraviolet (UV) dose were recorded at the test site during the experiment. Measurements for the experiment included optical transmittance (with subsequent analysis of solar‐weighted transmittance, UV cut‐off wavelength, and yellowness index), mass, visual photography, photoelastic imaging, and fluorescence spectroscopy. While the results to date for EVA are presented and discussed, examination here focuses more on the siloxane materials. A specimen recently observed to fail by thermal decomposition is discussed in terms of the implementation of the experiment as well as its fluorescence signature, which was observed to become more pronounced with age. Modulated thermogravimetry (allowing determination of the activation energy of thermal decomposition) was performed on a subset of the siloxanes to quantify the propensity for decomposition at elevated temperatures. Supplemental, Pt‐catalyst‐ and primer‐solutions as well as peroxide‐cured PDMS specimens were examined to assess the source of the luminescence. The results of the study including the change in optical transmittance, observed failure modes, and subsequent analyses of the failure modes are described in the conclusions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.},
doi = {10.1002/pip.2796},
journal = {Progress in Photovoltaics},
number = 11,
volume = 24,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Photodecomposition of polymethylsiloxane
journal, December 1969
- Delman, Alvin D.; Landy, Milton; Simms, Bernard B.
- Journal of Polymer Science Part A-1: Polymer Chemistry, Vol. 7, Issue 12
Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Metal (Ag, Au, Pt, and Cu) Nanoclusters by Electrostatically Induced Reversible Phase Transfer
journal, October 2011
- Yuan, Xun; Luo, Zhentao; Zhang, Qingbo
- ACS Nano, Vol. 5, Issue 11
Thermal analysis techniques for characterization of polymer materials
journal, March 2006
- Dobkowski, Zbigniew
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 91, Issue 3
Local structure of fluorescent platinum nanoclusters
journal, January 2012
- Duchesne, Paul N.; Zhang, Peng
- Nanoscale, Vol. 4, Issue 14
Evaluation of the uncertainty in accelerated stress testing
conference, June 2014
- Kempe, Michael D.
- 2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC)
The effect of metal colloid morphology on catalytic activity: Further proof of the intermediacy of colloids in the rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction
journal, May 1991
- Lewis, Larry N.; Uriarte, Richard J.; Lewis, Nathan
- Journal of Molecular Catalysis, Vol. 66, Issue 1
Platinum-195 nuclear magnetic resonance
journal, July 1982
- Pregosin, P. S.
- Coordination Chemistry Reviews, Vol. 44, Issue 2
The thermal degradation of polysiloxanes—Part 3: Poly(dimethyl/methyl phenyl siloxane)
journal, January 1980
- Grassie, N.; Francey, K. F.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 2, Issue 1
Luminescence and absorption characterization of ethylene-vinyl acetate encapsulant for PV modules before and after weathering degradation
journal, January 1993
- Pern, F. J.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 41, Issue 2
Designing reliability into a 1000X concentration CPV system through targeted stress testing
conference, October 2012
- Winter, Michael R.; Aeby, Ian; Foresi, James
- SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, SPIE Proceedings
Thermal processing of EVA encapsulants and effects of formulation additives [for solar cells]
conference, January 1996
- Pern, F. J.; Glick, S. H.
- Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1996
Effects of Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation on DC93-500 Silicone
journal, March 2006
- Dever, Joyce A.; Banks, Bruce A.; Yan, Li
- Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 43, Issue 2
Photo-oxidation of polydimethylsiloxane oils Part III—effect of dimethylene groups
journal, January 1993
- Israëli, Yaël; Lacoste, Jacques; Cavezzan, Jacques
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 42, Issue 3
Heterogeneous Inhibition of Homogeneous Reactions: Karstedt Catalyzed Hydrosilylation
journal, February 2002
- Faglioni, Francesco; Blanco, Mario; Goddard, William A.
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 106, Issue 7
On the kinetics of photodegradation in transparent silicones
journal, April 2008
- Zimmermann, Claus G.
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 103, Issue 8
Quantum efficiency of the 2537 A. Photolysis of a mixed phenyl–methyl polysiloxane
journal, September 1966
- Siegel, Seymour; Champetier, Robert J.; Calloway, A. R.
- Journal of Polymer Science Part A-1: Polymer Chemistry, Vol. 4, Issue 9
A characterization of UV effects on optical silicones used in opto-electronic devices and new developments in resistant materials
conference, February 2007
- Riegler, Bill; Elgin, Randall; Thomaier, Rob
- Integrated Optoelectronic Devices 2007, SPIE Proceedings
Degradation study on optical materials for concentrator photovoltaics
conference, January 2012
- Eltermann, Fabian; Roeder, Kerstin; Wiesenfarth, Maike
- 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONCENTRATING PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS: CPV-8, AIP Conference Proceedings
Performance and reliability of silicone polymers in 1000X concentration CPV applications
conference, January 2012
- Winter, Michael R.; Aeby, Ian; Foresi, James
- 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONCENTRATING PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS: CPV-8, AIP Conference Proceedings
Synthesis and properties of new poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposites
journal, September 1995
- Burnside, Shelly D.; Giannelis, Emmanuel P.
- Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 7, Issue 9
A shear-lag model for a broken fiber embedded in a composite with a ductile matrix
journal, February 1999
- Landis, Chad M.; McMeeking, Robert M.
- Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 59, Issue 3
Oxidation and characterization of AlInP under light-soaked, damp heat conditions
conference, June 2010
- France, R.; Steiner, M. A.; Deutsch, T. G.
- 2010 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
Bond Dissociation Energies of Organic Molecules
journal, April 2003
- Blanksby, Stephen J.; Ellison, G. Barney
- Accounts of Chemical Research, Vol. 36, Issue 4
Thermal degradation behaviors of polydimethylsiloxane-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate)
journal, December 2013
- Li, Hao; Liu, Shumei; Zhao, Jianqing
- Thermochimica Acta, Vol. 573
Fluorescent Platinum Nanoclusters: Synthesis, Purification, Characterization, and Application to Bioimaging
journal, December 2010
- Tanaka, Shin-Ichi; Miyazaki, Jun; Tiwari, Dhermendra K.
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 50, Issue 2
The reaction pathway from Speier's to Karstedt's hydrosilylation catalyst
journal, May 1995
- Lappert, Michael F.; Scott, Fiona P. A.
- Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 492, Issue 2
The effect of powdered silica gel on the ageing of polyorganosiloxane rubber
journal, January 1973
- Aseyeva, R. M.; Mezhikovskii, S. M.; Kholodovskaya, A. A.
- Polymer Science U.S.S.R., Vol. 15, Issue 8
The chemistry of fumarate and maleate inhibitors with platinum hydrosilylation catalysts
journal, August 1996
- Lewis, Larry N.; Stein, Judith; Colborn, Robert E.
- Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 521, Issue 1-2
The effect of phenyl content on the degradation of poly(dimethyl diphenyl) siloxane copolymers
journal, January 2001
- Deshpande, Girish; Rezac, Mary E.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 74, Issue 2
Durability of Fresnel lenses: A review specific to the concentrating photovoltaic application
journal, August 2011
- Miller, David C.; Kurtz, Sarah R.
- Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 95, Issue 8
The thermal degradation of polysiloxanes—II. Poly(methylphenylsiloxane)
journal, January 1979
- Grassie, N.; Macfarlane, I. G.; Francey, K. F.
- European Polymer Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 5
Sample temperatures during outdoor and laboratory weathering exposures
journal, February 2009
- Pickett, James E.; Sargent, Jonathan R.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 94, Issue 2
Synthesis and Structure of arac-Tris(divinyldisiloxane) diplatinum(0) Complex and its Reaction with Maleic Anhydride
journal, April 1991
- Hitchcock, Peter B.; Lappert, Michael F.; Warhurst, Nicholas J. W.
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, Vol. 30, Issue 4
Vacuum-ultraviolet photolysis of polydimethylsiloxane. Gas yields and energy transfer
journal, April 1969
- Siegel, Seymour; Stewart, Thomas
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 73, Issue 4
Photo-oxidation of polydimethylsiloxane oils: Part I—Effect of silicon hydride groups
journal, January 1992
- Israeli, Y.; Philippart, J. -L.; Cavezzan, J.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 36, Issue 2
Mechanism of Formation of Platinum(0) Complexes Containing Silicon-Vinyl Ligands
journal, May 1995
- Lewis, Larry N.; Colborn, Robert E.; Grade, Hans
- Organometallics, Vol. 14, Issue 5
Photooxidation of polydimethylsiloxane oils and resins. IV—effect of phenyl groups
journal, January 1995
- Israeli, Y.; Lacoste, J.; Cavezzan, J.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 47, Issue 3
The nature of platinum in silicones for biomedical and healthcare use
journal, January 2006
- Lambert, James M.
- Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, Vol. 78B, Issue 1
Investigation of the degradation and stabilization of EVA-based encapsulant in field-aged solar energy modules
journal, March 1997
- Klemchuk, Peter; Ezrin, Myer; Lavigne, Gary
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 55, Issue 3
Time dependent degradation of photovoltaic modules by ultraviolet light
journal, June 2008
- Zimmermann, Claus G.
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 92, Issue 24
Kinetic aspects of the thermal degradation of poly(dimethyl siloxane) and poly(dimethyl diphenyl siloxane)
journal, January 2002
- Deshpande, Girish; Rezac, Mary E.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 76, Issue 1
Examination of an optical transmittance test for photovoltaic encapsulation materials
conference, September 2013
- Miller, David C.; Bengoechea, Jaione; Bokria, Jayesh G.
- SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, SPIE Proceedings
New method for evaluation of kinetic parameters and mechanism of degradation from pyrolysis-GC studies: Thermal degradation of polydimethylsiloxanes
journal, July 1999
- Radhakrishnan, T. S.
- Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 73, Issue 3
Photo-oxidation of polydimethylsiloxane oils: II—Effect of vinyl groups
journal, January 1992
- Israëli, Yaël; Cavezzan, Jacques; Lacoste, Jacques
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 37, Issue 3
Hydrosilylation catalyzed by metal colloids: a relative activity study
journal, March 1990
- Lewis, Larry N.; Uriarte, Richard J.
- Organometallics, Vol. 9, Issue 3
Thermal polydimethylsiloxane degradation. Part 2. The degradation mechanisms
journal, March 2002
- Camino, G.; Lomakin, S. M.; Lageard, M.
- Polymer, Vol. 43, Issue 7
A comprehensive review of the impact of dust on the use of solar energy: History, investigations, results, literature, and mitigation approaches
journal, June 2013
- Sarver, Travis; Al-Qaraghuli, Ali; Kazmerski, Lawrence L.
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 22
Reinforcement of polysiloxane with superhydrophobic nanosilica
journal, September 2009
- Huang, Xu; Fang, XianLi; Lu, Zhen
- Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 44, Issue 17
The thermal degradation of polysiloxanes—Part 4: Poly(dimethyl/diphenyl siloxane)
journal, January 1980
- Grassie, N.; Francey, K. F.; Macfarlane, I. G.
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 2, Issue 1
Polydimethylsiloxane thermal degradation Part 1. Kinetic aspects
journal, March 2001
- Camino, G.; Lomakin, S. M.; Lazzari, M.
- Polymer, Vol. 42, Issue 6
Monolayer studies of silica/polydimethylsiloxane dispersions
journal, June 1978
- Ross, Sydney; Nishioka, Gary
- Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 65, Issue 2
The elasticity and strength of paper and other fibrous materials
journal, March 1952
- Cox, H. L.
- British Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 3, Issue 3, p. 72-79
The thermal degradation of polysiloxanes—I. Poly(dimethylsiloxane)
journal, January 1978
- Grassie, N.; Macfarlane, I. G.
- European Polymer Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 11
The synthesis and characterisation of some divinyldisiloxane—(tertiary phosphine) complexes of platinum(0) and nickel(0)
journal, February 1997
- Hitchcock, Peter B.; Lappert, Michael F.; MacBeath, Calum
- Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 528, Issue 1-2
Factors that affect the EVA encapsulant discoloration rate upon accelerated exposure
journal, June 1996
- Pern, F.
- Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 41-42
In Situ Determination of the Active Catalyst in Hydrosilylation Reactions Using Highly Reactive Pt(0) Catalyst Precursors
journal, April 1999
- Stein, Judith; Lewis, L. N.; Gao, Y.
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 121, Issue 15
Encapsulation of PV modules using ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer as a pottant: A critical review
journal, September 1996
- Czanderna, A. W.; Pern, F. J.
- Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 43, Issue 2
Stability of filled poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(diphenylsiloxane-co-dimethylsiloxane) elastomers to cyclic stress at elevated temperature
journal, July 1996
- Visser, Susan A.; Hewitt, Charles E.; Binga, Tonya D.
- Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol. 34, Issue 9
Investigation of the hydrothermal stability of cross-linked liquid silicone rubber (LSR)
journal, December 2005
- Ghanbari-Siahkali, Afshin; Mitra, Susanta; Kingshott, Peter
- Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 90, Issue 3
Preparation and structure of platinum group metal colloids: without solvent
journal, January 1989
- Lewis, Larry N.; Lewis, N.
- Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 1, Issue 1
Hydrosilylation catalysts derived from cyclodextrin organometallic platinum inclusion compounds and their use in command-cure applications
journal, January 1996
- Lewis, Larry N.; Sumpter, Chris A.; Stein, Judith
- Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers, Vol. 6, Issue 2
Incubation and ablation behavior of poly(dimethylsiloxane) for 266 nm irradiation
journal, September 2002
- Graubner, Vera-Maria; Jordan, Rainer; Nuyken, Oskar
- Applied Surface Science, Vol. 197-198
The effect of damp-heat and UV aging tests on the optical properties of silicone and EVA encapsulants
journal, August 2010
- McIntosh, Keith R.; Powell, Nick E.; Norris, Ann W.
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 19, Issue 3
Metal colloid morphology and catalytic activity: Further proof of the intermediacy of colloids in the platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction
journal, January 1991
- Lewis, L.
- Journal of Catalysis, Vol. 127, Issue 1
Degradation study of III-V solar cells for concentrator applications
journal, January 2005
- van Riesen, S.; Bett, A. W.
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 13, Issue 5
Analysis of transmitted optical spectrum enabling accelerated testing of multijunction concentrating photovoltaic designs
journal, January 2011
- Miller, David C.
- Optical Engineering, Vol. 50, Issue 1
Platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation - colloid formation as the essential step
journal, November 1986
- Lewis, Larry N.; Lewis, Nathan.
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 108, Issue 23
Some thermal studies of polysilanes and polycarbosilanes
journal, December 2004
- Shukla, Sanjeev K.; Tiwari, R. K.; Ranjan, Ashok
- Thermochimica Acta, Vol. 424, Issue 1-2
Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials for concentrating photovoltaic systems: Durability of polymeric encapsulation materials
journal, January 2012
- Miller, David C.; Muller, Matthew T.; Kempe, Michael D.
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Thermal analysis of polydimethylsiloxanes. I. Thermal degradation in controlled atmospheres
journal, March 1969
- Thomas, T. Howard; Kendrick, T. C.
- Journal of Polymer Science Part A-2: Polymer Physics, Vol. 7, Issue 3
Effect of structure and additives on thermal stability of silicone fluids
journal, January 2010
- Wu, Chuan; Jin, Jing; Yang, Xiongfa
- Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Works referencing / citing this record:
Degradation in photovoltaic encapsulant transmittance: Results of the first PVQAT TG5 artificial weathering study
journal, January 2019
- Miller, David C.; Bokria, Jayesh G.; Burns, David M.
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 27, Issue 5