Finite Element Models to Predict Module-Level Degradation Mechanisms and-James Hartley-Sandia National Laboratories

P R E S E N T E D B Y Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology Scott Roberts. 45th IEEE PVSC Conference. Waikoloa, HI. June 10–15, 2018. Correlation of ribbon coefficient of thermal expansion to stresse.g. Shear stress here decreases when ribbon CTE is higherDesign parameters and bounds are selected… Many sets of parameter values are chosen by Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). …Quantities of interest are evaluated for each simulation and compared…Each set populates a simulation Current related modeling efforts10 • Some current efforts extending from module- and component-level modeling:Full scale module sensitivity analysisMini module vs. full module stress confirmation Material property characterizationCohesive zone models for encapsulant delamination Peter HackeShruti Jain et al. 2017 Future modeling efforts11 • Physics which may be added to the finite element models: Electrical-thermal (and mechanical) couplingMoisture ingress modelingFatigue damage rate and lifetime prediction??Cyclic Environmental StressorsDamage rate vs. Geographical LocationMihail Bora Nick Bosco Summary and Conclusions12 • Finite element modeling as applied to photovoltaic modules have a large application space including:• Module and cell design evaluation • Assessment of environmental effects• Evaluation of accelerated stress test protocols• Development of module- and component-level models is in progress under the DuraMAT program• The end goal is a predictive tool useful for capturing the physical phenomena affecting module lifetime• Open research areas include characterizing and implementing:• Advanced material models • Coupled physical effects- electrical-thermal behavior, moisture, and potentially many more• Questions and comments?