Title :
A Finite-Element Approach to Analyze the Thermal Effect of Defects on Silicon-Based PV Cells
Author :
Vergura, Silvano ; Acciani, Giuseppe ; Falcone, Ottavio
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electrotechnics, Electron. of Politec. di Bari, Bari, Italy
Abstract :
The paper introduces the issue of the typical defects in photovoltaic (PV) cells and focuses the attention on three specific defects: linear edge shunt, hole, and conductive intrusion. These defects are modeled by means of finite-element method and implemented in Comsol Multiphysics environment to analyze the temperature distribution in the whole defected PV cell. All the three typologies of silicon-based PV cells are considered: monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous. Numerical issues (simulation times, degrees of freedom, mesh elements, and grid dependence analysis) are reported.
Keywords :
amorphous semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; finite element analysis; solar cells; temperature distribution; thermal analysis; Comsol multiphysics environment; Si; amorphous topology; conductive intrusion defect; finite element approach; hole defect; linear edge shunt; monocrystalline typology; photovoltaic cells; polycrystalline typology; silicon-based PV cells; temperature distribution; thermal effect analysis; Conductivity; Finite element methods; Heat transfer; Materials; Mathematical model; Solid modeling; Thermal analysis; Defects; PV cell; finite-element method (FEM); silicon; thermal;
Journal_Title :
Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TIE.2011.2163286
