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Micro cracks distribution and power degradation of polycrystalline solar cells wafer: Observations constructed from the analysis of 4000 samples

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  • Dhimish, Mahmoud

Abstract

In this paper, the impact of Photovoltaic (PV) micro cracks is assessed through the analysis of 4000 polycrystalline silicon solar cells. The inspection of the cracks has been carried out using an electron microscopy, which facilitate the detection of the cracks though the acquisition of both Everhart-Thornley Detector (ETD) and the Back Scatted Electron Diffraction (BSED) image, where it was found that the size micro cracks are ranging from 50 μm to a maximum of 4 mm. Micro cracks have been categorized into two main categories, including cracks in the solar cell front or rear contact. Several remarkable observations have been found, including but not limited to, (i) the output power loss due to micro cracks varies from 0.9% to 42.8%, subject to micro crack type and size, (ii) cracks in solar cells fingers reduce the finger width, resulting an increase in the output power loss by at least 1.7%, and (iii) there is a substantial correlation between PV hot-spots and the presence of micro cracks, while minimum increase in the cell temperature is observed at 7.6 °C.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhimish, Mahmoud, 2020. "Micro cracks distribution and power degradation of polycrystalline solar cells wafer: Observations constructed from the analysis of 4000 samples," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 466-477.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:145:y:2020:i:c:p:466-477
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.06.057
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hassan, Sharmarke & Dhimish, Mahmoud, 2023. "Enhancing solar photovoltaic modules quality assurance through convolutional neural network-aided automated defect detection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    2. Somin Park & Younghyun Cho & Seulki Kim & Koo Lee & Junsin Yi, 2022. "Effect of Cell Electrical Mismatch on Output of Crystalline Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Dag, H.I. & Buker, M.S., 2020. "Performance evaluation and degradation assessment of crystalline silicon based photovoltaic rooftop technologies under outdoor conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1292-1300.
    4. Zhang, Jinxia & Chen, Xinyi & Wei, Haikun & Zhang, Kanjian, 2024. "A lightweight network for photovoltaic cell defect detection in electroluminescence images based on neural architecture search and knowledge distillation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    5. Waqar Akram, M. & Li, Guiqiang & Jin, Yi & Chen, Xiao, 2022. "Failures of Photovoltaic modules and their Detection: A Review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    6. Papargyri, Lamprini & Papanastasiou, Panos & Georghiou, George E., 2022. "Effect of materials and design on PV cracking under mechanical loading," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 433-444.
    7. Dhimish, Mahmoud & Ahmad, Ameer & Tyrrell, Andy M., 2022. "Inequalities in photovoltaics modules reliability: From packaging to PV installation site," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 805-814.
    8. Mathhar Bdour & Zakariya Dalala & Mohammad Al-Addous & Ashraf Radaideh & Aseel Al-Sadi, 2020. "A Comprehensive Evaluation on Types of Microcracks and Possible Effects on Power Degradation in Photovoltaic Solar Panels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Mahmoud Dhimish, 2020. "Performance Ratio and Degradation Rate Analysis of 10-Year Field Exposed Residential Photovoltaic Installations in the UK and Ireland," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Koo Lee & Sung Bae Cho & Junsin Yi & Hyo Sik Chang, 2022. "Simplified Recovery Process for Resistive Solder Bond (RSB) Hotspots Caused by Poor Soldering of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules Using Resin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, June.

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