Abstract
Clean, plentiful, and easy-to-harvest solar energy is the ultimate renewable energy. It is becoming more important as the world begins to take notice of the burgeoning carbon emission problems that come with burning fossil fuels. Thin-film solar cells have been increasingly used for energy harvesting. This paper studies the strain effect on their performances under compression and tension. To this end, compression and tension tests were conducted using an MTS machine. Since the solar cells are flexible, they were bonded to fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) plates. A projector was used to illuminate the cells during the tests to simulate 100% sun. J-V characteristic curves were measured at different strains until the samples failed. It can be concluded that there are strain thresholds for both compression and tension. Solar cells worked properly below the threshold but degraded rapidly once the threshold was passed.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Earth and Space 2016 |
Subtitle of host publication | Engineering for Extreme Environments - Proceedings of the 15th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments |
Editors | Ramesh B. Malla, Juan H. Agui, Paul J. van Susante |
Publisher | AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS |
Pages | 869-880 |
Number of pages | 12 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780784479971 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
MoE publication type | A4 Article in a conference publication |
Event | International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments, Earth and Space - Orlando, United States Duration: 11 Apr 2016 → 15 Apr 2016 Conference number: 15 |
Publication series
Name | Earth and Space 2016: Engineering for Extreme Environments - Proceedings of the 15th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments |
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Conference
Conference | International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments, Earth and Space |
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Country | United States |
City | Orlando |
Period | 11/04/2016 → 15/04/2016 |