Study on the Adhesion Characteristics of Dust Accumulation on Solar Photovoltaic Glass

The vigorous development of photovoltaic (PV) power generation technology is crucial for addressing the high energy demand and severe environmental issues. The accumulation of dust on solar PV glass significantly decreases its ability to convert sunlight into electricity. In this study, the dust accumulation characteristics and a comparison of the particle adhesion forces on the ground and PV glass in Dengkou and Wuhan are investigated. In addition, the particle adhesion laws and dynamic behavior after deposition are studied. The results indicate that the distribution of dust particles on the PV glass and ground is non-uniform and the particle size and shape distributions diversify. The dust particles on the PV glass are mostly from the ground. The greatest and smallest mean adhesion forces are for the dust particles on the PV glass at Wuhan and the ground at Dengkou, respectively. The particle adhesion forces on PV glass mainly consist of the liquid bridge and electrostatic forces. The dominant adhesion force of particles varies across different ranges of air relative humidity. Increasing the air humidity can promote particle agglomeration and adhesion behavior, thus increasing the particle adhesion force on PV glass.