%0 Journal Article
%@ 1876-6102
%A Paggi, Marco
%A Sapora, Alberto
%D 2013
%F eprints:2044
%I Elsevier
%J Energy Procedia
%K Photovoltaics; Thermoelasticity; Fracture Mechanics;    Contact Mechanics; Computational methods
%P 506 - 515
%T Numerical modelling of microcracking in PV modules induced by thermo-mechanical loads 
%U http://eprints.imtlucca.it/2044/
%V 38
%X Abstract Micro-cracking in polycrystalline Silicon is a serious concern for the durability of photovoltaic (PV) modules due to the resulting electrical power-loss. In this contribution, a thermo-mechanical cohesive zone model is proposed to predict the evolution of micro-cracks under the action of mechanical and thermal loads. The classical nonlinear cohesive zone approach, used in fracture mechanics to depict the phenomenon of cracking as a result of progressive breakage of atomic bonds, is extended to thermo-elastic fields. The additional thermal resistance of micro-cracks due to imperfect bonding is estimated according to an analogy with a contact mechanics formulation, where the dependency on the crack opening is suitably accounted for. A numerical example shows the applicability of the proposed approach to practical problems. 
%Z This article belongs to a special issue: Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on crystalline silicon photovoltaics (SiliconPV 2013), edited by R. Brendel, A. Aberle, A. Cuevas, S. Glunz, G. Hahn, J. Poortmans, R. Sinton and A. Weeber