TY - JOUR
T1 - A rational strength prediction approach to the design of double-glass photovoltaic modules
AU - Shitanoki, Yuki
AU - Bennison, Stephen J.
AU - Koike, Yasuhiro
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - A rational and systematic approach to estimate the load resistance and strength of various double-glass photovoltaic modules is demonstrated. The approach consists of three steps: 1) calculation of module stiffness based on a laminate effective thickness theory; 2) calculation of the highest stress concentration in the two glass plies of the module using a modified plate theory; and 3) estimation of glass breakage probability of the module against specified loads by comparing the stress concentration calculated in step 2 with allowable glass stress and associated breakage probability. In the modified plate theory, a parameter that incorporates stress mitigation by a peripheral frame and installation is introduced to enable simple and fast calculations. The allowable stress of glass in step 3 is obtained by the Weibull analysis of glass breakage data obtained by a ring-on-ring test. The calculation methodology has been validated experimentally using load tests and direct measurements of glass principal stress in a real module under load. The approach can be used for fast screening and initial design of various structures to resist specified imposed mechanical loads.
AB - A rational and systematic approach to estimate the load resistance and strength of various double-glass photovoltaic modules is demonstrated. The approach consists of three steps: 1) calculation of module stiffness based on a laminate effective thickness theory; 2) calculation of the highest stress concentration in the two glass plies of the module using a modified plate theory; and 3) estimation of glass breakage probability of the module against specified loads by comparing the stress concentration calculated in step 2 with allowable glass stress and associated breakage probability. In the modified plate theory, a parameter that incorporates stress mitigation by a peripheral frame and installation is introduced to enable simple and fast calculations. The allowable stress of glass in step 3 is obtained by the Weibull analysis of glass breakage data obtained by a ring-on-ring test. The calculation methodology has been validated experimentally using load tests and direct measurements of glass principal stress in a real module under load. The approach can be used for fast screening and initial design of various structures to resist specified imposed mechanical loads.
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U2 - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2323814
DO - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2323814
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84903144252
SN - 2156-3381
VL - 4
SP - 1071
EP - 1078
JO - IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
JF - IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
IS - 4
M1 - 6839067
ER -
