Propagation Of Cracks in Standard Cell and Half-Cell Photovoltaic Technology

The inspection of PV systems installed in a semi-arid climate of Morocco indicates that cracks of solar cells, detected by EL thermography, represent a dominant degradation mode under these operating conditions. Indeed, solar cells are subjected to bending forces due to the effect of wind. To better understand the cracks propagation in standard cell and half-cell technology, under different mechanical loads, we used a 3D simulation. This allowed us to understand the response of each cell type and select the most resistant to mechanical stress as well. Two 3D finite element cells models were proposed. Each model represents a mini-module. In this investigation, different load intensities were applied. The result show that, under standard cell module the crack propagation is proportional to the applied mechanical load, which is not obvious for the half-cell module. The results obtained also show that the cracks propagate less in the half-cells. This is why the half-cell technology can be an alternative to increase the lifespan of PV module in arid and semi-arid regions.