Reliability Study of c-Si PV Module Mounted on a Concrete Slab by Thermal Cycling Using Electroluminescence Scanning: Application in Future Solar Roadways

Abstract

Several tests were conducted to ratify the reliability and durability of the solar photovoltaic (PV) devices before deployment in the real field (non-ideal conditions). In the real field, the temperature of the PV modules was varied during the day and night. Nowadays, people have been bearing in mind the deployment of PV modules on concrete roads to make use of the space accessible on roads. In this regard, a comparative study on the failure and degradation behaviors of crystalline Si PV modules with and without a concrete slab was executed via a thermal cycling stress test. The impact of the concrete slab on the performance degradation of PV modules was evaluated. Electroluminescence (EL) results showed that the defect due to thermal cycling (TC) stress was reduced in the PV module with a concrete slab. The power loss due to the thermal cycling was reduced by approximately 1% using a concrete slab for 200 cycles. The Rsh value was reduced to approximately 91% and 71% after thermal cycling of 200 cycles for reference PV modules, respectively. The value of I0 was increased to approximately 3.1 and 2.9 times the initial value for the PV modules without and with concrete, respectively. © 2020 by the authors.