Simplified Recovery Process for Resistive Solder Bond (RSB) Hotspots Caused by Poor Soldering of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules Using Resin

Koo Lee, Sung Bae Cho, Junsin Yi and Hyo Sik Chang
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Koo Lee: Graduate School of Energy Science & Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejoen 34134, Korea
Sung Bae Cho: Graduate School of Energy Science & Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejoen 34134, Korea
Junsin Yi: College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
Hyo Sik Chang: Graduate School of Energy Science & Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejoen 34134, Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: When the thickness of the solar cell wafer and the amount of Ag to be used decreases, it is the best method to recover the power of the module after use at a minimum cost and reuse the module itself. Economic recovery technology can be applied to the power degradation, caused by the resistive solder bond (RSB) hotspot by poor soldering, because the recovery process can be simplified compared to the power loss that is often greater than 30%. This study demonstrated a quick recovery of the RSB hotspot with on-site recovery technology applied with resin and verified the performance and long-term reliability of on-site recovery technology, compared to the factory recovery method, where the back sheet is removed and laminated to recover the module. Both the factory and field recovery methods confirmed recovery results closer to the initial rated power output of the samples. Each sample was degraded by the RSB hotspot to ~62–65% of the initial power output, and the recovery process successfully recovered it to ~96–99%. In on-site recovery, verification of the possible EVA solvothermal swelling, which is the effect of organic solvents contained in the resin on EVA, is essential for verifying the long-term reliability of the recovered module. In this study, the power degradations of the on-site recovered samples after a TC 200 cycle test are −2.14% and −0.95%, respectively, which are within the certification test standard of the new manufacturing module. Existing factory recovery costs not only in the recovery process, but also in a total of 22 stages, such as the transfer of the target module. The largest advantage is that the on-site recovery process can be restarted in the field after only eight stages.

Keywords: power degradation; poor soldering; module recovery; RSB hotspot; EVA swelling; on-site recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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