Tearing and reliability of photovoltaic module backsheets
Abstract
We report that the backsheet in photovoltaic modules belongs to an important class of layered materials where the tearing behavior of the individual layers does not necessarily represent the tearing behavior of the entire backsheet. Such characteristic arises from the interaction between the individual layers during the tearing process, where one layer of the backsheet is mechanically constrained by its neighboring layers and the layers may debond from each other. The mechanical constraint and debonding change the amount of energy dissipated during tearing and affect the overall tearing energy. In this article, we exposed a wide selection of backsheets with polymers including ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) to damp heat (85°C/85%RH) for up to 2000 hours. We report on the effect of damp heat on the tearing energy as a function of damp heat exposure. We developed a model that describes the tearing energy of a layered structure by accounting for the tearing of the individual layers in the backsheet, the effect of mechanical constraint, and the adhesive debonding between the layers. Additionally, we explore the relationship between the microstructural change in the polymers which resulted from the damp heat exposure andmore »
- Authors:
-
[2];
[2];
[1]
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- SolarCity, Fremont, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1560684
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1523542
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02‐76SF00515; ECCS‐1542152
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Progress in Photovoltaics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 27; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; backsheet; damp heat; MDSC; polymer; reliability; small and wide angle X‐ray scattering; tearing; tensile testing
Citation Formats
Yuen, Pak Yan, Moffitt, Stephanie L., Novoa, Fernando D., Schelhas, Laura T., and Dauskardt, Reinhold H. Tearing and reliability of photovoltaic module backsheets. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1002/pip.3144.
Yuen, Pak Yan, Moffitt, Stephanie L., Novoa, Fernando D., Schelhas, Laura T., & Dauskardt, Reinhold H. Tearing and reliability of photovoltaic module backsheets. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3144
Yuen, Pak Yan, Moffitt, Stephanie L., Novoa, Fernando D., Schelhas, Laura T., and Dauskardt, Reinhold H. Wed .
"Tearing and reliability of photovoltaic module backsheets". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3144. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1560684.
@article{osti_1560684,
title = {Tearing and reliability of photovoltaic module backsheets},
author = {Yuen, Pak Yan and Moffitt, Stephanie L. and Novoa, Fernando D. and Schelhas, Laura T. and Dauskardt, Reinhold H.},
abstractNote = {We report that the backsheet in photovoltaic modules belongs to an important class of layered materials where the tearing behavior of the individual layers does not necessarily represent the tearing behavior of the entire backsheet. Such characteristic arises from the interaction between the individual layers during the tearing process, where one layer of the backsheet is mechanically constrained by its neighboring layers and the layers may debond from each other. The mechanical constraint and debonding change the amount of energy dissipated during tearing and affect the overall tearing energy. In this article, we exposed a wide selection of backsheets with polymers including ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) to damp heat (85°C/85%RH) for up to 2000 hours. We report on the effect of damp heat on the tearing energy as a function of damp heat exposure. We developed a model that describes the tearing energy of a layered structure by accounting for the tearing of the individual layers in the backsheet, the effect of mechanical constraint, and the adhesive debonding between the layers. Additionally, we explore the relationship between the microstructural change in the polymers which resulted from the damp heat exposure and the mechanical properties using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS), and tensile testing.},
doi = {10.1002/pip.3144},
journal = {Progress in Photovoltaics},
number = 8,
volume = 27,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Wed May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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