Impact of Transportation on Indian Roads, on PV Modules

This study aims to understand how well the ASTM D4169 Assurance Level II standard for the laboratory simulation of vibrations experienced by PV modules during transportation, prescribed in IEC62759-1:2015, emulate the transportation conditions in India. For this study, transportation vibration data was collected from the field for standard 20 module pallet which are commonly used for large scale applications and from cassette type of packing which are suitable for low volume residential applications. It was found that the PSD profile of transportation vibration data collected from trucks on Indian roads do not fit the ASTM standard, and that the magnitudes of vibration are higher than ASTM D4169 at low frequency. The lateral vibrations are found to be severe for the vertical placement of the modules in the truck. It is seen that the manual handling of modules result in high values of acceleration. The findings are important for the development of vibration test profiles for road conditions in India and elsewhere.