Evaluations of Wind Effect on PV Module by Non-uniform Mechanical Loads System and Mean-Surface Pressure Pattern

Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy

“…As presented in our previous report [ 46 ], various types of cell cracks were observed in the PV module after the nonuniform mechanical loading test, which included Mode B/C cracks (with inactive cell area(s) detectable in the EL image) and Mode A cracks (without any inactive cell area) [ 15 , 19 ], as shown in Fig 3A . Based on the rating criteria, the individual PV cells with cell cracks were divided into two groups, particularly, the cracked cells with or without the inactive cell area were categorized as hard-cracked (HC) or minorly cracked (MC) cells, respectively.…”

“…The spatial distributions of these cell groups in the PV module are shown in Fig 3B , accompanied by the cell address, defined by the location of the respective PV cells within the PV module. Although the distribution of these cracked cells (HC and MC cells) within the PV module did not sufficiently coincide with that of the MSPP applied to the PV module, these cells are likely to be located in steep regions in the applied MSPP [ 46 ]. To quantitatively assess the extent of power loss attributed to the cell cracks, the respective maximum powers of the individual PV cells were measured and indicated in the cell matrix of the PV module ( Fig 3C ) as values normalized with the pristine P max in individual PV cells (4.997 W/cell).…”