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Title: Using a butt joint test to evaluate photovoltaic edge seal adhesion

Abstract

Many photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been found to be sensitive to moisture that diffuses into a PV package. Even with the use of impermeable frontsheets and backsheets, moisture can penetrate from the edges of a module. To limit this moisture ingress pathway from occurring, manufacturers often use a low permeability polyisobutylene (PIB)-based edge seal filled with desiccant to further restrict moisture ingress. Moisture ingress studies have shown that these materials are capable of blocking moisture for the 25-year life of a module; but to do so, they must remain well-adhered and free of cracks. This work investigates the potential use of a butt joint test for evaluating the long-term durability of adhesion by looking for significant changes in the failure mode or quantitative value of a butt joint test. A round robin experiment was conducted using six different materials and two sample constructions, with and without effort to control edge pinch. Tests were evaluated looking at the strength of the bond, and the type of failure observed in a round robin test involving five laboratories. It was found that both the measured values, and the observed failure modes were repeatable and reproducible within at 95% confidence interval.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [5]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  2. Quanex IG Systems, Inc., Solon, OH (United States)
  3. Royal Adhesives & Sealants, Inc., Michigan Center, MI (United States)
  4. First Solar, Inc., Perrysburg, OH (United States)
  5. AICA Kogyo Co., Ltd., Ama (Japan)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1493621
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1493622; OSTI ID: 1510425
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-73056
Journal ID: ISSN 2050-0505
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Energy Science & Engineering
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 7; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2050-0505
Publisher:
Society of Chemical Industry, Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; adhesion; butt joint; edge seal; hermetic; moisture ingress; permeation

Citation Formats

Kempe, Michael, Korkmaz, Kaan, Postak, Lori, Booth, Dennis, Lu, Jerry, Kotarba, Casimir, Rupert, Lindsay, Molnar, Tawana, and Aoki, Tsutomu. Using a butt joint test to evaluate photovoltaic edge seal adhesion. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1002/ese3.273.
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Kempe, Michael, Korkmaz, Kaan, Postak, Lori, Booth, Dennis, Lu, Jerry, Kotarba, Casimir, Rupert, Lindsay, Molnar, Tawana, & Aoki, Tsutomu. Using a butt joint test to evaluate photovoltaic edge seal adhesion. United States. doi:10.1002/ese3.273.
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Kempe, Michael, Korkmaz, Kaan, Postak, Lori, Booth, Dennis, Lu, Jerry, Kotarba, Casimir, Rupert, Lindsay, Molnar, Tawana, and Aoki, Tsutomu. Tue . "Using a butt joint test to evaluate photovoltaic edge seal adhesion". United States. doi:10.1002/ese3.273.
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@article{osti_1493621,
title = {Using a butt joint test to evaluate photovoltaic edge seal adhesion},
author = {Kempe, Michael and Korkmaz, Kaan and Postak, Lori and Booth, Dennis and Lu, Jerry and Kotarba, Casimir and Rupert, Lindsay and Molnar, Tawana and Aoki, Tsutomu},
abstractNote = {Many photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been found to be sensitive to moisture that diffuses into a PV package. Even with the use of impermeable frontsheets and backsheets, moisture can penetrate from the edges of a module. To limit this moisture ingress pathway from occurring, manufacturers often use a low permeability polyisobutylene (PIB)-based edge seal filled with desiccant to further restrict moisture ingress. Moisture ingress studies have shown that these materials are capable of blocking moisture for the 25-year life of a module; but to do so, they must remain well-adhered and free of cracks. This work investigates the potential use of a butt joint test for evaluating the long-term durability of adhesion by looking for significant changes in the failure mode or quantitative value of a butt joint test. A round robin experiment was conducted using six different materials and two sample constructions, with and without effort to control edge pinch. Tests were evaluated looking at the strength of the bond, and the type of failure observed in a round robin test involving five laboratories. It was found that both the measured values, and the observed failure modes were repeatable and reproducible within at 95% confidence interval.},
doi = {10.1002/ese3.273},
journal = {Energy Science & Engineering},
number = 2,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {2}
}
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Journal Article:
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DOI: 10.1002/ese3.273
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Works referenced in this record:

Evaluation of moisture ingress from the perimeter of photovoltaic modules
journal, May 2013

  • Kempe, Michael D.; Dameron, Arrelaine A.; Reese, Matthew O.
  • Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 22, Issue 11, p. 1159-1171
  • DOI: 10.1002/pip.2374
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