TY  - CONF
AU  - Buerhop, Claudia
AU  - De Oliveira, Aline Kirsten Vidal
AU  - Mashkov, Oleskandr
AU  - Nascimento, Lucas
AU  - Braga, Marília
AU  - Rüther, Ricardo
AU  - Peters, Ian Marius
TI  - Combined Non-Destructive Techniques for On-Site Failure Analysis -Showcase of Glass Cracks with Burn Marks in a PV Power Station
PB  - IEEE
M1  - FZJ-2025-03658
SP  - -
PY  - 2025
AB  - Reliability of PV modules is important for power production and to maximize energy yield. Module faults represent a potential risk of yield loss when their causes and implications are unclear. We present a strategy to efficiently perform failure analysis in solar power parks with simple methods using the example of double glass modules with glass cracks and burn marks in a single-axis tracking multi-MWp PV power plant. In a sample of 984 modules, 8.5% exhibited glass cracks, with 86% of these located directly next to the tracker elements, as detected by visual inspection. Some 34% of the 180 modules next to the tracker had glass cracks and 47% of these also had burn marks. IR and UVF imaging showed anomalies for all modules with glass cracks and for another 15% that had no glass cracks. The targeted use of electroluminescence and for the first time in superposition with UVF imaging highlights deactivated cell areas with local hotspots. Our hypothesis is that due to short cables mechanical stresses are transferred to the junction box and weaken the solder joints to such an extent that temperature increases with glass cracks and burn marks are the result. Through the consistent use of simple methods of an extensive sample and the targeted use of more complex methods, the vulnerable positions of the modules next to the tracker could be identified; we estimate that approx. 33-46% of the modules next to the tracker in this power plant could have been affected.
T2  - 2025 IEEE 53rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
CY  - 8 Jun 2025 - 13 Jun 2025, Montreal (Canada)
Y2  - 8 Jun 2025 - 13 Jun 2025
M2  - Montreal, Canada
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)8
DO  - DOI:10.1109/PVSC59419.2025.11132595
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1046018
ER  -