Criterion Signalworks
Research and Development: Photovoltaic Systems
Failure testing result summary of PV cell reinforcement process DW4 (gravity flattened epoxy encapsulation)
- TCS, 2020 JAN (Revision 0)
Extreme tension/compression flexural load:
Extreme bending of cell segment shows seperation of silicon from encapsulant.
Appears to be caused by overtension of wafer, causing the photovoltaic material to seperate due to cracking.
Extreme tension/compression flexural load (backplane):
Overtension of wafer evidently resulted in broken busbars, which seperate from the practically powderized substrate.
The extreme flexural load has rendered the cell unusable as the numerous open circuits decrease efficiency massively.
However, we do not expect to encounter such extreme forces even in extreme environments, thus the destruction of the cell is expected and not of a major concern.
Intermediate point-impact load:
Repeated directional impact to cell caused the area to bow inwards, developing cracks in the process.
Seperation is undesirable but in this scenario does not cause catastrophic reduction in efficiency.
This demonstrates high structural integrity and reliability in challenging conditions which is a necessity for critical applications.
Condition testing suite:
The sample consists of two cells interlinked using series configuration solder tabs.
It adequately approximates energy harvesting setups used in the field.
This concludes failure testing result summary of PV cell reinforcement process DW4.
Next steps: Electrical tests regarding efficiency reduction caused by damage to silicon.
Revision 0: Initial commit.
TCS, 2020 JAN.
Criterion Signalworks, all rights reserved. Do not distribute.