1,720,964 research outputs found
Development and analysis of structural timber-glass façade systems with integrated photovoltaics
No full textThere is an increase in interest in timber as a material for the design of the load-bearing system of a building. At the same time, large glass façades are often desired in modern buildings. Additionally, the production of green energy is an increasingly important design principle for buildings. These three requirements can be combined in a structural timber-glass façade with integrated photovoltaics, which is the topic of this contribution. However, there is a lack of design rules for these systems. The timber-glass connection design is developed in this work to exploit the in-plane stiffness of the glass panel and increase the horizontal stability of the underlying timber structure. A detailed numerical model is validated with experimental tensile and shear tests on the connections. Additionally, the glass/glass photovoltaic elements are studied with a numerical model that predicts stresses and strains in the glass and the solar cells under various loading conditions. Experimental in-and out-of-plane bending tests are performed on glass/glass photovoltaic (PV) modules to validate the numerical results. With this combined numerical-experimental approach, reliable models are made that can be used for designing structural timber-glass façade elements with integrated photovoltaics
TOWARDS LIGHT-WEIGHT AND MECHANICALLY DURABLE PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES FOR FLOATING APPLICATIONS
No full textWith the increased demand of energy and the scarcity of the conventional energy sources, renewable energy becomes more necessary. Additionally, more renewable energy is required in order to achieve a 55% reduction of CO2 emission by 2030 1. Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems are the biggest contributor to the growth in renewable energy. However, further growth is limited due to the availability of suitable land. Floating PV is an attractive solution for expanding the capacity potential for renewables. Some other advantages of floating PV installations are that they enable dual use of water reservoirs and that the cooling effect on the PV modules increases their efficiency significantly. Within the project Marine Solar POtential and Technology Study (MarineSPOTS), we study the possible deployment of floating PV at the North Sea, by investigating the energy yield production, the integration to the grid, the durability and the environmental impact of such PV plant. One of the major durability concerns of a floating PV installation is the mechanical load that the PV modules undergo, due to strong winds that might occur at open water and the movement induced by the waves. This study focuses on quantifying the impact of the mentioned stressors. For the achievement of this goal, multiple simulations and experiments for validation are conducted. Initially, the effect of configuration of the PV modules (e.g. inclination and orientation) is examined. Additionally, various thicknesses of PV glass are assumed, for the optimization of the mechanical stability and weight/material consumption. Finally, a dynamic mechanical load test is compared to simulations, in order to estimate the influence of the vibration on the stresses developed within a PV module, due to varied wind speed. Preliminary results show that a low-angle east-west configuration is preferable to a high-angle south configuration from the mechanical perspective and that thinner PV glass with 2 mm thickness (glass-glass structure) may be adequate for offshore PV installations, although its durability needs to be evaluated for dynamic mechanical load due to wind and wave speed variation. Furthermore, a method to compare the mechanical stress occurring within a PV module due to varied wind speed and the stress due to dynamic mechanical load testing is being developed and will be extended to include wave induced vibrations.This work is conducted within the project “Marine Solar POtential and Technology Study” (MarineSPOTS) project and funded under with the support of the Belgian Energietransitiefonds
Development and Investigation of Lightweight Photovoltaics Modules Using Multi-Wire Interconnection Technology against Thermo-mechanical Load towards Vehicle-integrated Photovoltaics Applications
No full textVarious lightweight photovoltaics (PV) modules have been developed in recent years with adaptations to reach the increasing demands of integrated photovoltaics, such as building-or vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (B-/VIPV). However, the reliability of such a module is rarely explored, which could hinder the commercialization of lightweight PV modules in integrated PV applications. In this report, we develop lightweight PV modules using a novel multi-wire interconnection technology with a glass-fiber reinforced carrier foil. Next, we investigate the reliability of lightweight modules under thermal cycling (based on IEC 61215:2021) compared to the glass-glass structure. We show that the foil direction can greatly influence thermo-mechanical reliability due to oriented glass fibers. Microcracks in the solder joint level are detected after the aging test. Efforts to use numerical modeling to understand failure mechanisms will be provided at the conference
TOWARDS LIGHT-WEIGHT AND MECHANICALLY DURABLE PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES FOR FLOATING APPLICATIONS
No full textWith the increased demand of energy and the scarcity of the conventional energy sources, renewable energy becomes more necessary. Additionally, more renewable energy is required in order to achieve a 55% reduction of CO2 emission by 2030 1. Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems are the biggest contributor to the growth in renewable energy. However, further growth is limited due to the availability of suitable land. Floating PV is an attractive solution for expanding the capacity potential for renewables. Some other advantages of floating PV installations are that they enable dual use of water reservoirs and that the cooling effect on the PV modules increases their efficiency significantly. Within the project Marine Solar POtential and Technology Study (MarineSPOTS), we study the possible deployment of floating PV at the North Sea, by investigating the energy yield production, the integration to the grid, the durability and the environmental impact of such PV plant. One of the major durability concerns of a floating PV installation is the mechanical load that the PV modules undergo, due to strong winds that might occur at open water and the movement induced by the waves. This study focuses on quantifying the impact of the mentioned stressors. For the achievement of this goal, multiple simulations and experiments for validation are conducted. Initially, the effect of configuration of the PV modules (e.g. inclination and orientation) is examined. Additionally, various thicknesses of PV glass are assumed, for the optimization of the mechanical stability and weight/material consumption. Finally, a dynamic mechanical load test is compared to simulations, in order to estimate the influence of the vibration on the stresses developed within a PV module, due to varied wind speed. Preliminary results show that a low-angle east-west configuration is preferable to a high-angle south configuration from the mechanical perspective and that thinner PV glass with 2 mm thickness (glass-glass structure) may be adequate for offshore PV installations, although its durability needs to be evaluated for dynamic mechanical load due to wind and wave speed variation. Furthermore, a method to compare the mechanical stress occurring within a PV module due to varied wind speed and the stress due to dynamic mechanical load testing is being developed and will be extended to include wave induced vibrations.This work is conducted within the project “Marine Solar POtential and Technology Study” (MarineSPOTS) project and funded under with the support of the Belgian Energietransitiefonds
Design Guidelines for Building and Infrastructure Integrated Photovoltaic Modules
No full textThis work was conducted within the SolarEMR project, which was carried out within the context of Interreg V-A Euregio MeuseRhine, with support from the European Regional Development Fund. The authors would like to thank Jonathan Govaerts, Aldo Kingma, Dorrit Roosen-Melsen, and Arvid Van der Heide for their valuable help
Performance of Zigzag Photovoltaic Noise Barriers near a Belgian Highway
No full textHerein, the energy performance of photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNBs) with cassette and shingles built-on designs is evaluated using imec's energy yield framework. The simulation is validated through on-site electrical and thermal measurements, and then the same design is employed for a case study near E19 road in Belgium using different scenarios. To optimize the energy yield, variations in the noise barrier height, orientation, and PV module tilt are introduced. The energy yield is then simulated to identify the optimal combination of parameters to maximize energy production. The results show that the cassette built-on PVNB with fixed cassette distance provides higher energy yield throughout the year compared to other scenarios, and a low-rise noise barrier is more energy-efficient due to reduced shading effects. Sound pressure simulation conducted in COMSOL reveals that the cassette built-on and shingles built-on have comparable performance in sound reduction, and high-rise noise barriers with small tilts (20 degrees-40 degrees) are optimal for sound pressure attenuation. The study evaluates the energy yield and acoustic performance of photovoltaic noise barriers with cassette and shingles built-on designs. Using imec's framework and validated simulations, various design parameters-such as height, orientation, and photovoltaic module tilt-are examined to optimize both energy output and noise reduction near E19 road in Belgium.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbHThis work was conducted within the Solar Energy Made Regional (SolarEMR) project, within the Interreg V-A Euregio MeuseRhine, with support from the European Regional Development Fund. The authors thank Wim Van De Wall from ZigZagSolar, Eindhoven, The Netherlands and Tatjana Vavilki from Soltech, Genk, Belgium. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Design for IGA-type discretization workflows (GECKO) project where Philip Le is a Doctoral Candidate. The Design for IGA-type discretization workflows has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101073106 Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01. [Correction added on 21 October 2024, after first online publication: Acknowledgement section has been inserted.
Development and thermo-mechanical reliability assessment of fiber reinforced polymers in lightweight PV modules towards vehicle-integrated photovoltaics
Full text linkThe authors gratefully acknowledge the Flemish government for its financial support through the funded ICON projects SNRoof and related project partners, as well as the European Union's Horizon 2020 Pro-gramme for research, technological development and demonstration for funding part of this work under Grant Agreement no. 857793. The au-thors also would like to acknowledge the partial funding by the Kuwait Foundation for the advancement of Sciences under project number P115-15 EE-01. T. Borgers and J. Govaert have patent issued to EP3790059A1
Advanced Encapsulants for Reduced Thermal Mechanical Stress in Photovoltaic Modules: A Quantitative Analysis Using FBGS
No full textIn this work, two mini-modules using a 3D multiribbon interconnection are fabricated. One with TPO and the other with glass fiber reinforced TPO (GF TPO) encapsulant. Using fiber Braggs grating sensors (FBGS) attached to the cell, in situ temperature and strain are quantified during reliability tests in the form of thermal cycling from -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C. It was found that the temperature of the cell surface reaches -36 degrees C and +81 degrees C at its minimum and maximum respectively. The measured cell strain followed the same cycling behavior between tension and compression. The strain in the GF TPO based module was found to have a lower peak-to-peak (difference between max tension and compression) value. Also, a consistent difference between strain in parallel and perpendicular directions relative to the busbars was observed, with the latter one being larger
Energy Yield Assessment of Zigzag Noise Barrier in a Moderate Climate Using an Advanced Simulation Tool
No full textPhotovoltaic noise barriers (PVNBs) are the combination of noise barriers and photovoltaic systems,
they are designed to reduce noise levels by reflection or absorption while simultaneously generating
renewable energy. The Zigzag noise barrier structure is an innovative approach to energy-harvesting
facades, and it combines the benefits of a photovoltaic system and an architectural design to achieve
energy harvesting in a sophisticated manner, while allowing architects to maintain their creative
freedom. In this work, the energy yield of a zigzag noise barrier demonstrator built in Chemelot campus
in Geleen (the Netherlands) is simulated using the imec’s E-Yield framework, for different orientations
of the barrier, and the typical meteorological year (TMY) data for the region of Genk, Belgium (25 km
away from Geleen) are utilized in this analysis
Performance study and LCA of a ZigZag PV noise barrier: Towards mass-customization of IIPV applications
No full textelectricity. In this research, the potential of ZigZag PVNBs has been investigated. The ZigZag Solar product, developed by Wallvision, has proven to offer multiple advantages in energy yield and aesthetics for building fa & ccedil;ade applications. For noise barrier applications, the ZigZag structure could offer interesting features in safety and noise cancellation (obtained by filling the ZigZag construction with Rockwool material) on top of the advantages in aesthetics and energy yield. A ZigZag PVNB has been designed and constructed at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, after which the electrical performance has been automatically monitored under Dutch climate conditions. The measurements have been compared to simulated data, which allowed optimiz
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