| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79358 | Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells | 2011 | 6 Pages |
Cracks in crystalline silicon solar cells influence the photovoltaic (PV) module power output in accelerated aging tests. A detailed insight into the formation of cracks offers the potential to optimize the PV module design in order to reduce the risk of power degradation in its lifetime. In this paper we present a statistical analysis on the crack formation in 27 crystalline silicon PV modules caused by a standard mechanical load test according to IEC 61215 10.16. The criticality of cracks depends strongly on the crack orientation, therefore we analyze both the spatial distribution of cracks and its dependence on the orientation of the cracks in the tested PV modules. We find that 50% of the damaged cells are cracked parallel to the busbars, which is a crack orientation with high potential impact on the power output of the PV module. A simplified numerical analysis is used to give an explanation for the statistical data and we propose a strategy for the reduction of the crack criticality.
Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► We study the crack initiation in silicon solar cells by static mechanical load tests. ► Cracks parallel to the busbars lead to the highest potentially separated cell area. ► 50% of the cracks in our test were parallel to the busbars. ► Diagonal cracks appear predominantly in the corners of the modules. ► A 90° rotation of the busbars has the potential to reduce crack criticality by 50%.
