Durability and Reliability of Polymers and Other Materials in Photovoltaic Modules

Dr. Hsinjin Edwin Yang received a B.S. in Chemistry from Fu-Jen University (TAIWAN), and a Ph.D. in Polymer Physical Chemistry from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA). Dr. Yang is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). He has over 28 years of success in technical leader and management experiences at companies, such as Eastman Kodak, Eastman Chemical, Essilor (Global leader in Ophthalmic lenses), Baxter (Global leader in Biomedical Devices and Pharmaceuticals) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) (Global leader in safety certifications and testing of industrial products), and his own consulting business called Pioneer Scientific Solutions. He has issued over 20 patents, published over 50 papers and offered more than 70 invited seminars/lectures in the technical conferences, academia and industrials worldwide. He has made significant and creative contributions to plastics science and technology in the following areas: Durability and safety of solar photovoltaic polymers/ materials; Quantitative understanding of polymers flammability; Innovative injection-compression molding design and process for zero birefringence polycarbonate lens; Discovering many miscible blends of polyesters and polycarbonates; Establishing the correlation between free volume behaviors and barrier performance of polymers; Service life prediction of performance plastics. Roger French is the F. Alex Nason Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He is the founder of the Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension Center, a world class-research center dedicated to lifetime and degradation science. He previously worked in Central Research and Development at DuPont, and was Adjunct Professor of Materials Science at the University of Pennsylvania Laura Bruckman is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She is currently working at the Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension Centre at Case Western, with specific research interests in quantitative spectroscopy, data science and analytics, polymer material degradation, and photovoltaics.

1. Introduction to Solar Photovoltaic Cells 2. Criteria for the Selection of PV Cell Components 3. Overview: Power Degradation and Failure of PV Systems 4. Overview: durability vs. reliability of common PV polymers/materials 5. Degradation Science and Pathways of PV Systems 6. Degradation processes of PV cells and interconnections 7. Degradation process and mechanism of Encapsulant 8. Degradation process and mechanism of Back Sheet 9. Unique aspects of BIPV Durability and Reliability, including roof integration 10. Degradation processes and mechanisms of PV Wires and Connectors 11. Degradation processes and mechanisms of PV System Adhesives/Sealants and Junction Boxes 12. Accelerated environmental chambers and testing of PV: Q-Lab, Atlas and SPHERE 13. Results of Module Level Testing 14. Service Life Prediction of PV via materials degradation 15. Future Perspectives