Solar Panel Micro Cracks

Micro cracks that appear during production are usually caused by inexperienced operators and poorly tuned production equipment and they can be remedied by improving production processes.

Solar panel micro cracks.

Micro cracks in solar cells are a frequent and complicated challenge for manufacturers of solar photovoltaic pv modules. Even though they are nearly impossible to avoid in the long run their potential impacts. Micro fractures also known as micro cracks represent a form of solar cell degradation. Silicon solar cells are made of very thin wafers usually around 0 20mm thick.

Some manufacturers test solar panels with infra red scanning cameras that detect and isolate micro cracked cells during processing. Transport and handling induced micro cracks happen after solar modules have been packaged and shipped out of the production facility. Although they have some ability to flex they can suffer from pressure stress induced cracks which are so small they are impossible to see with the naked eye. What are micro cracks.

Solar panel micro cracks explained potential impact micro cracks. The long term effect of micro cracks on panel life expectancy and performance are still being researched. Small imperfections in the silicon cell can lead to larger micro cracks. Micro crack in a mono crystalline solar pv module.

Solar panel micro cracks can occur within 3 stages. Micro cracks can be caused by poor handling of the solar cells during assembly usually through non automated systems. The reported losses due to crack defects range from 5 to 10 per. While it is difficult to assess in detail their impact on the overall efficiency and longevity of a solar panel they are one of the main sources of malfunctioning or even inactive cells.

Occurrence within either stage is quite simply due to stress. During manufacture during transport installation and when the solar panel is subject to it s installed environment. The key element of the strategy is the use of fuzzy logic. Micro cracks in the solar cells can affect total poweroutput of solar module as cells with cracks get disconnected from other cells.

Micro cracks can also occur during manual soldering when varying. These are called micro cracks. The silicon used in the solar cells is very thin and expands and contracts as a result of thermal cycling. These cracks result in overall increase inproduction costs also.