Durability assessment of photovoltaic (PV) products under environmental thermal cycling

Durability and reliability assessment is a key aspect of new product development. The focus of this paper is to assess the durability of the electrical joint of a PV product by examining its fatigue life under cyclic temperature excursions experienced throughout the product life cycle. An in progress method is presented for product life prediction as function of its deployment location. The life prediction approach consists of four parts: (i) collection and qualification of temperature history data from life cycle environments; (ii) thermal cycle modeling using 2D and 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA); (iii) experimental characterization of metal joint fatigue data; (iv) damage accumulation modeling based on the previous parts in order to assess product durability.