Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T07:11:40.114Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Durability of Materials in a Stress-Response Framework: Acrylic Materials for Photovoltaic Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2012

Myles P. Murray ,
Laura S. Bruckman  and
Roger H. French
Myles P. Murray
Affiliation:
Solar Durability Lifetime Extension Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 U.S.A.
Laura S. Bruckman
Affiliation:
Solar Durability Lifetime Extension Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 U.S.A.
Roger H. French
Affiliation:
Solar Durability Lifetime Extension Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

In the development of novel materials for enhanced photovoltaic (PV) performance, it is critical to have quantitative knowledge of the initial performance, as well as the performance of these materials over the required 25-year lifetime of the PV system. Lifetime and degradation science (L&DS) allows for the development of new metrology and metrics, coupled to degradation mechanisms and rates. Induced absorbance to dose (IAD), a new metric being developed for solar radiation durability studies of solar and environmentally exposed photovoltaic materials, is defined as the rate of photodarkening or photobleaching of a material as a function of total absorbed solar radiation dose. In a reliability engineering framework, these quantitative degradation rates can be determined at various solar irradiances making possible real time and accelerated testing. The potential to predict power losses in a photovoltaic system over time caused by the accumulation of this kind of degradation can be calculated for real time applications or extrapolated for accelerated exposure conditions. Three formulations of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) used for mirror augmented PV systems were analyzed for the changes in IAD after accelerated testing.

Keywords

photovoltaicstress/strain relationshipoptical properties
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1391: Symposium J – Photonic and Plasmonic Materials for Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance , 2012 , mrsf11-1391-j05-06
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. U. S., D. O. E. Workshop on Science for Energy Technology workshop report, for DOE Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee, August 2010. http://science.energy.gov/~/media/bes/pdf/reports/files/setf_rpt.pdf Google Scholar
2. French, R.H., Rodrıguez-Parada, J. M., Yang, M. K., Derryberry, R. A., Pfeiffenberger, N. T., “Optical properties of polymeric materials for concentrator photovoltaic systems,” Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, 95, (2011), 2077–2086.Google Scholar
3. Murray, Myles P., Gordon, Devin, Brown, Scott A., Lin, Wei-Chun, Shell, Kara A., Schuetz, Mark A., Fowler, Sean, Elman, Jim, French, Roger H., “Solar radiation durability framework applied to acrylic solar mirrors,” Proc. SPIE 8112-01 (2011).Google Scholar
4. French, Roger H., Murray, Myles P., Lin, Wei-Chun, Shell, Kara A., Brown, Scott A., Schuetz, Mark A., Davis, Robert J., “Solar radiation durability of materials components and systems for low concentration photovoltaics,” IEEE Energy Tech., 2011.Google Scholar
5. French, R. H., Rodríguez-Parada, J. M., Yang, M. K., Lemon, M. F., Romano, E. C., Boydell, P., “Materials for concentrator photovoltaic systems: optical properties and solar radiation durability,” CPV-6: International Conference on Concentrating Photovoltaics, Freiburg, Germany, April 2010.Google Scholar
6. Q-Lab, Q-Lab Headquarters & Instruments Division 800 Canterbury Road Cleveland, OH 44145 USA, Tel.: +1-440-835-8700, Google Scholar
7. ASTM G154, Standard practice for operating fluorescent light apparatus for UV exposure of nonmetallic, materials, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, 2005.Google Scholar
8. ASTM E313, Standard practice for calculating yellowness and whiteness indices from instrumentally measured color coordinates, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, 2005.Google Scholar
9. Miller, D. C., Gedvilas, L. M., To, B., Kennedy, C.E. and Kurtz, S. R., “Durability of poly(methyl methacrylate) lenses used in concentrating photovoltaic modules,” Proc. SPIE 7407, 74070G (2009).Google Scholar