Impact of Cracks in Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cells on PV Module Power—A Simulation Study Based on Field Data

In this paper, we present a methodology to exploit the crack statistics of solar cells in photovoltaic (PV) modules assessed in field for simulating the power output of PV modules and module strings. The measured probability of a crack and the type of crack, depending on the position of the cell in the module, are used to simulate a statistical distribution of modules made up of cells represented by an extended two-diode model. We show that cracks have a significative effect on module power when the break resistance is higher than 0.01 Ω. We compare the modeled break resistances with the specific break resistances measured at cracks in minimodules caused by mechanical bending tests. In the range of measured break resistances, 19% of the individual modules lose more than 20% of their initial power, and up to 5% of strings consisting of 20 modules show a power loss of more than 20%.