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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Reference Cell Performance and Modeling on a One-Axis Tracking Surface: Preprint

Performance of five silicon-based reference cells is examined on a single-axis tracking surface. The reference cells' output are modeled using one-minute sampled spectral irradiance and reference cell temperature measurements. The model also incorporates spectral responsivity data for the reference cell. The transmission of light through the glazing multiplies the sum over all appropriate wavelengths of temperature adjusted reference cell responsivity times the measured spectral irradiance. Modeled reference cell output is compared with measured reference cell output under clear sky and totally cloudy sky conditions. For each reference cell the ratio of modeled to measured output varies by less than 2% over the year.

modeling↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling Reference Cell Performance Using Measured and Modeled Spectral Data

The performance of several silicon-based reference cells is examined under clear skies on a horizontal and two-axis tracking surface during the winter of 2022. The ratio of the calculated reference cell output to the measured reference cell output is examined. For each reference cell, when using the measured spectral data, the ratio of the estimated to measured output varies by less than +/-0.6% at the P95 level. The analysis was also done using modeled spectral values obtained from the Bird spectrl2 model. The ratio between the estimated reference cell output using the modeled spectral values to the measured reference cell output varies by +/-1.1% at the P95 level.

angle of incidence↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improved Primary Reference Cell Calibrations for Higher Accuracy Photovoltaic Cell and Module Performance Measurements

The adoption of photovoltaic (PV) modules for clean electricity relies on accurate measurements of their performance, which are essential for estimating their energy production potential. Herein, the calibration chain of PV cells and modules, with particular emphasis on primary reference cell calibrations, is discussed. Also, herein, the direct sunlight method the group has developed for these calibrations is presented and critical improvements and upgrades that lead to calibration uncertainty as low as 0.45% are discussed. The ultimate motivation behind this work is to provide low‐uncertainty performance measurements of PV modules, and lowering the calibration uncertainty of primary reference cells is a key first step toward achieving this goal. As the use of solar electricity continues to grow, the demand for primary reference cell calibrations inevitably increases beyond what the small handful of primary calibration laboratories can provide today. Therefore, this work can serve as a useful guide for implementing primary PV reference cell calibrations using the outdoor method, as well as outlining the critical elements required to make these calibrations highly accurate.

Osterwald, Carl R.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Comparison of Pyranometers vs. PV Reference Cells for Evaluation of PV Array Performance

As the photovoltaics (PV) industry has grown, the need for accurately monitoring the solar resource of PV power plants has increased. Historically, the PV industry has relied on thermopile pyranometers for irradiance measurements, and a large body of historical irradiance data taken with pyranometers exists. However, interest in PV reference devices is increasing. In this paper, we discuss why PVreference devices are better suited for PV applications, and estimate the typical uncertainties in irradiance measurements made with both pyranometers and PV reference devices. We assert that the quantity of interest in monitoring a PV power plant is the equivalent irradiance under the IEC 60904-3 reference solar spectrum that would produce the same electrical response in the PV array as theincident solar radiation. For PV-plant monitoring applications, we find the uncertainties in irradiance measurements of this type to be on the order of +/-5% for thermopile pyranometers and +/-2.4% for PV reference devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Primary Reference Cell Calibrations with Reduced Measurement Uncertainty

This paper presents an overview of the improvements made since 2014 to the primary reference cell calibrations performed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Reducing the measurement uncertainty of the calibrations was the primary goal of the improvements, which were used during the recent calibrations conducted in the autumn of 2016. Changes and improvements have been made to the spectral irradiance and short-circuit current measurements, spectral irradiance modeling, and reference cell temperature corrections. Almost 6000 points were collected on 38 reference cells. Analysis of the results demonstrated reductions of expanded uncertainty from +/-1.0-1.2% in previous years down to +/-0.4-0.5% for crystalline-Si reference cells.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Equating Reference Cell and Broadband Pyranometer Data

An adjustment algorithm has been developed for broadband Class-A pyranometers, to modify the pyranometer data such that it more closely matches that of silicon-based reference cells. The adjustment algorithm uses modeled clear-sky spectral data as one of its inputs. The adjustment also uses a reference cell angle of incidence modifier. A comparison between the pyranometer and the reference cells is performed with and without the adjustment applied. The adjustment aligns the pyranometer and reference cell data to within +-2 % under clear skies when the zenith angle is less than 70 degrees .

incident angle modifier↗
DOE OSTI2019

Method and apparatus for in-situ health monitoring of solar cells in space

Some embodiments of the present invention describe an apparatus that includes an oscillator, a ramp generator, and an inverter. The apparatus includes an oscillator, an inverter, and a ramp generator. The oscillator is configured to generate a waveform comprising a low time and a high time. The inverter is configured to receive the waveform generated by the oscillator, and invert the waveform. The ramp generator configured to increase a gate control voltage of a transistor connected to a solar cell, and rapidly decrease the gate control voltage of the transistor. During the low time of the waveform, a measurement of a current and a voltage of the solar cell is performed as the current and voltage of the solar cell are transmitted through a first channel and to a second channel. During the high time of the waveform, a measurement of a current of a shorted cell and a voltage reference is performed as the current of the shorted cell and the voltage reference are transmitted through the first channel and the second channel.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Advanced SOFC quality control and the role of manufacturing defects on stack reliability

Atrex Energy rolled out first commercial SOFC generator products in 2013. Following that we embarked on implementation of mass production in order to ramp up productivity and lower the costs in the meantime. To ensure the goal of mass production, an accurate, cost effective and consistent quality control methodology needs to be in place. The aim of this DOE funded project is to devise a machine and methodology for cell quality control using modern non-destructive testing methods and cell rejection criterion based on the empirical determination of the role of manufacturing flaws on stack degradation and reliability. The work scope encompasses two goals aimed at 1) developing automatable techniques for objective flaw detection and 2) developing an understanding of the ramifications of flaws on stack and cell reliability. By accomplishing these two goals it is likely that an advanced stage Quality Control (QC) device can be developed. This project scope encompasses: 1) Invention of a high speed automated instrument for spatial mapping of surface and sub-surface imperfections in production cells (ex situ) using modern imaging techniques. 2) Identification of rejection criteria upon which to screen cells from production by: a. Magnification of the effect of production defects on cell degradation through fabrication and testing of micro-cells which encompass these imperfections. b. The long term testing of full size production cells both as single cells and in small stacks, in order to correlate the (in situ) performance and degradation with the imperfection type (identified ex-situ) and hence be able to classify imperfections as actual defects. We first built a defect library with the cells containing imperfections classified and documented. The cells with various imperfections were tested to evaluate the imperfection potential impact on cell electrochemical performance. Evaluations were conducted on minicell, single cell and stack levels. On minicell level, pinhole, scratch, crack, contamination, and pop-out were investigated. We found: (1) none of the imperfections causes calamity type failure, (2) pinholes do not show measurable effect on minicell performance, (3) imperfection such as electrolyte abrasion, scratch, and pop out cause minicell potential to fluctuate by different degrees; the cells with such imperfections exhibit sensitivity of potential to high fuel utilization and “self healing” behavior. On single cell level we evaluated the effect of long crack and high population pinholes. The cell with a long crack does not show performance compromise at start. There is no potential fluctuation or sensitivity to high fuel utilization or catastrophic failure. The voltage degradation due to thermal cycle is slightly higher than normal cells. The cells with high population pinholes perform surprisingly as well as normal cells over a period of 3,500h. Even when subjected to cyclic load condition, the cells 4 show negligible degradation. Our cells appear to have “self immunization” feature which fends off the adversary effects of certain imperfections. Defects were also evaluated on stack level. Two stacks were made each with ten defect cells. The first stack was tested for 13,2000h under steady load condition while the second was tested for 9,000h under transient load conditions. We found: (1) voltage fluctuation and sensitivity to thermal cycle were not observed in contrast to minicell test, (2) of the various cracks examined, including longitudinal cracks, circumferential crack, crack near closed and open ends, none exhibited distinguishable impact on performance, (3) defect cells exhibited higher degradation rates on average under steady load condition; Individually some defect cells performed similarly or better than reference cells, (4) under steady load condition all the cells degrade monotonically with degradation rate increasing with time, (5) under cyclic (transient) load condition, both defect and reference cells exhibit complex dynamic behaviors, (6) fuel loss (leak) was measured occasionally for stack 1, the cells with crack showed the highest fuel loss increase, nevertheless, no correlation with performance degradation could be established with certainty, and (7) no catastrophic failure ever happened other than incremental degradation. Posttest inspection and microanalysis were carried out; the observations are summarized in what follows: (1) Electrolyte pinholes, some scratches and IC porosity became undetectable after testing. (2) The cathode covering the popout defects is intact without any cracking or delamination. (3) The scratch was covered by cathode in pristine state; Ni oxide or NiO-YSZ filled the space where electrolyte was missing. After >10,000h operation, the cathode that used to cover the scratch was missing but the size of the scratch remains unchanged; there is a fairly dense Ni oxide layer on top of the scratch. (4) All of the cracks remain their original dimensions. Current collector kept longitudinal cracks closed which mitigated the adversary effect of crack on cell performance/durability. (5) The crack at open end showed some deterioration manifested by a small oxidation zone in the vicinity of the crack. Wide spectrum of imaging techniques were surveyed and evaluated to detect tubular SOFC defects. Optical methods, with and without assistance of expression technique, were applied to detect all kinds of defects. Thermograph method in combination of CO2 leak, ultra-sound and electric potential was also extensively evaluated to detect surface and under-surface defects such as short circuit. Based on these works, laser camera has been selected to build the final QC machine vision inspection system. The Gocator laser profile sensor was setup to generate 2D surface intensity images of tubular SOFC surface which were analyzed with Sherlock machine vision software supplied by Teledyne Dalsa. The Gocator output was integrated with the Sherlock software and enabled live images to be imported by a Common Vision Blox driver. The Sherlock software was programmed to detect various surface defects from the surface intensity images generated by the Gocator. These measurements are subsequently used to make pass or fail decisions.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evaluation of Photodiode-Based Pyranometers and Reference Solar Cells on a Two-Axis Tracking System

The performance of photodiode-based pyranometers and reference solar cells are examined on a two-axis tracker surface. This is the third in a series of papers examining the performance of photodiode-based pyranometers and reference solar cells on fixed and tracking surfaces. Because the instruments are oriented normally to the incident radiation, angle-of-incidence effects are minimized. By removing the angle-of-incidence effects inherent in earlier studies, the change in the sensor's clear sky responsivity can be more clearly identified. It was found that the photodiode-based pyranometers demonstrate a larger change in responsivity than the reference solar cells. Spectral measurements are recommended to verify the cause of this difference.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Optical, structural, and chemical properties of flash evaporated In{sub 2}S{sub 3} buffer layer for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} solar cells

In{sub 2}S{sub 3} layers were deposited by flash evaporation technique with varying flash rates. The optical constants of layers based on Tauc-Lorentz model dielectric function were extracted from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic investigation revealed the presence of oxygen impurity in as-deposited and air-annealed layers with traces of Na inclusion in the layer grown at high flash rate. The enhancement in crystalline arrangement of as-deposited layer after air annealing was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Rutherford backscattering measurements revealed the growth of off-stoichiometric layers at all flash rates. An analytical layer growth model has been proposed supporting the results obtained by various layer characterization techniques. The solar cells were prepared with flash evaporated In{sub 2}S{sub 3} buffer layers and their performances were compared with CdS reference solar cell. A significant gain in short-circuit current was obtained after air annealing of the complete device at 200 deg. C for 20 min. A maximum conversion efficiency of 12.6% was delivered by a high flash rate In{sub 2}S{sub 3} buffered cell with open-circuit voltage close to that of CdS reference cell. The improvement in device performance after air annealing treatment is explained by thermally enhanced Cu and oxygen diffusion from Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} and i-ZnO to In{sub 2}S{sub 3} layer, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evaluation of Photodiode-Based Pyranometers and Reference Solar Cells on a Two-Axis Tracking System: Preprint

The performance of photodiode-based pyranometers and reference solar cells are examined on a two-axis tracker surface. This is the third in a series of papers examining the performance of photodiode-based pyranometers and reference solar cells on fixed and tracking surfaces. Because the instruments are oriented normally to the incident radiation, angle-of-incidence effects are minimized. By removing the angle-of-incidence effects found in earlier studies, the change in the sensor's responsivity during the day can be more clearly identified. It was found that the photodiode-based pyranometers demonstrate a larger change in responsivity than the reference solar cells. Spectral measurements are recommended to verify the cause of this difference.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Developing a Framework for Reference Cell Standards for PV Resource Applications

Quantifying and predicting electricity production from photovoltaic (PV) systems is based on measured or modeled irradiance data. These solar resource data consist of global horizontal irradiance, global tilted irradiance, direct normal irradiance, and diffuse horizontal irradiance, which are either derived from satellite observations validated against ground-based measurements or directly obtained from ground-based measurements. The ground-based measurements are made using thermopile or photodiode radiometers. For a PV plant, the efficiency of the energy production is verified by comparing measured output with the modeled production, which is computed using either modeled or measured irradiance data. Thus, plant performance assessments typically include the uncertainty of the transposition and, in some cases, decomposition of a given irradiance to convert to the appropriate plane-of-array (POA) irradiance corresponding to the orientation of the PV installation. Additionally, the various types of uncertainty in radiometric measurements or the modeled irradiance and the PV module specifications influence the model results and thereby further increase the uncertainty. An alternative method of assessing the PV system performance has been to use reference cells to measure the "PV resource." When used to calculate PV performance ratios, there are inherent systematic differences between radiometers and reference cells, such as spectral, directional, temperature, time responses, nonstability, and nonlinearity differences. Reference cells tend to mimic the performance and characteristics of a PV module more closely. In this report, a framework is proposed to develop standards that will better quantify and characterize the use of reference cells for PV resource measurements. The measurement from an appropriate reference cell in the POA correlates closely with the plant performance, reduces the number of modeling steps needed to simulate PV performance, and hence reduces the uncertainties of the comparisons. Because technologically matched reference cells and PV modules respond similarly to each wavelength of light that composes the incident solar radiation, the uncertainty associated with the changing spectral distribution of incident radiation during the day and year can be greatly reduced. This will reduce the overall uncertainty in estimated PV performance. The same can be said for the angle-of-incidence effects because the reference cells are deployed in the same POA as the PV module. At that point, the main sources of uncertainty are in modeling the temperature effect differences between the reference cells and the PV module and accounting for the difference between the short-circuit current monitored by the reference cells and max power point current and voltage at which the PV module operates. These sources of uncertainty are also associated with typical irradiance measurements made by pyranometers and pyrheliometers; however, typical irradiance measurements also include uncertainties associated with the spectral mismatch between thermopile or photodiode pyranometers and the PV module, which are minimized with the use of reference cells. To enhance the use of reference cells for resource assessment, we identify the necessary data, characteristics, and calibration methodologies of reference cells and how to standardize the use of these data and methods. Further, as we develop this framework, the classification of reference cells will be essential to provide guidance for selecting PV reference cells appropriate for a specific application. As we address the calibration and sources of uncertainties of reference cells, classification schemes and expected limits of performance with respect to certain parameters become important.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation of Solar Reference Cells on a Two-Axis Tracker Using Spectral Measurements

A simple model calculating the performance of an IMT solar reference cell is proposed and tested under clear sky periods. One-minute data from EKO spectroradiometers collocated with an IMT reference cell are used for the analysis. Data are obtained at the NREL Solar Radiation Research Laboratory in Golden, Colorado and the UO Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory in Eugene, Oregon. The model is also applied and evaluated under cloudy conditions. A match of better than 1% is found between calculated clear sky values and IMT measurements for July, 2020. One- minute cloudy sky comparisons show a much larger variation, but when averaged over one hour, a standard deviation of 4% between the calculated and measured values is found.

atmospheric radiation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhanced passivation and stability of negative charge injected SiN x with higher nitrogen content on the boron diffused surface of n-type Si solar cells

This paper explores the potential of the negatively charged SiN x using plasma charge injection technology to passivate the front textured boron-diffused emitter of n-type Si solar cells. The high-x value single SiN x layer with x ≥ 1.30 (x = N/Si) previously developed for the planarized rear-side passivation of p-type silicon solar cells, with an excellent passivation and charge stability, was found to be unacceptable for the passivation on the front textured boron emitter of n-type cells due to a severe bulk lifetime degradation issue. Therefore, in this study, we investigated a new concept of depositing a dual-x SiN x with a low-x SiN x layer (x~1.01) on top of a high-x SiN x layer (x~1.30) for passivation of the front textured rough surface of boron diffused emitter in n-type cells. Here, the optimized dual-x SiN x stack reveals the promise of charge retention for more than 25 years in field operation as well as excellent passivation of boron-doped emitter without bulk lifetime degradation. N-type cells with the optimized dual-x SiN x after charge injection show comparable cell performance to Al 2 O 3 passivated reference cells. The results of cell-level light stability tests using one-cell minimodules exhibit cell performance decay characteristics similar to the traditional Al 2 O 3 /SiN x passivated reference module.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Improved Field Evaluation of Reference Cell Using Spectral Measurements: Preprint

Spectral irradiance measurements as opposed to modeled spectral values are used to evaluate the effects of changing spectral distributions on the output of reference solar cells. Comparisons are made on a one-axis tracking surface to a Class A pyranometer. The ratio of the reference cells to reference pyranometers exhibit a bias over the day. Spectral and temperature modeling reproduce most but not all changes in the ratio over the day. Sources for this difference in modeling and performance of the reference cells are examined.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Impact of Irradiation-Induced Filter Heating on Calibration of NIR-Longpass-Filtered Reference Solar Cells

Reference solar cells play a crucial role in determining the performance of photovoltaic (PV) devices. In the performance calibration chain of mainstream single-junction PV technologies, common reference cell types include Si, KG-filtered Si, and GaAs cells. For emerging multijunction (MJ) PV technologies, such as CdTe/Si and perovskite/Si, Si reference cells with colored glass near-infrared-longpass (LP) filters like Schott RG-715 and 850 glass have been proposed. They offer a better spectral response that matches the bottom junctions of the emerging MJs, which could lead to lower uncertainties in performance measurements. However, this article reveals a prominent decrease in short-circuit current (ISC) during National Renewable Energy Laboratory's primary calibration over the course of minutes when using this type of LP-filtered reference cell, which could result in unacceptable measurement errors. Unlike quartz or KG filter glasses, LP colored glass filters demonstrate temperature-sensitive cut-on wavelength. When incident irradiance reaches these LP-filtered reference cells, the increased temperature due to light absorption causes a shift of the cut-on to longer wavelength. As a result, the device I SC exhibits a continuous decrease (approximately a 2.5% drop with RG850 LP filter in a 5-min duration) even when the device temperature is controlled at 25 degrees C. To address the temperature gradient issue between colored glass LP filter and the reference cell, we propose the direct integration of thin-film LP semiconductor layer on reference cells. This type of LP-filter-integrated cell has shown minimal temperature-related I SC variation and can serve as a more reliable reference cell source for accurate performance measurements.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

A cell wall reference profile for Miscanthus bioenergy crops highlights compositional and structural variations associated with development and organ origin

Summary Miscanthus spp. are promising lignocellulosic energy crops, but cell wall recalcitrance to deconstruction still hinders their widespread use as bioenergy and biomaterial feedstocks. Identification of cell wall characteristics desirable for biorefining applications is crucial for lignocellulosic biomass improvement. However, the task of scoring biomass quality is often complicated by the lack of a reference for a given feedstock. A multidimensional cell wall analysis was performed to generate a reference profile for leaf and stem biomass from several miscanthus genotypes harvested at three developmentally distinct time points. A comprehensive suite of 155 monoclonal antibodies was used to monitor changes in distribution, structure and extractability of noncellulosic cell wall matrix glycans. Glycan microarrays complemented with immunohistochemistry elucidated the nature of compositional variation, and in situ distribution of carbohydrate epitopes. Key observations demonstrated that there are crucial differences in miscanthus cell wall glycomes, which may impact biomass amenability to deconstruction. For the first time, variations in miscanthus cell wall glycan components were comprehensively characterized across different harvests, organs and genotypes, to generate a representative reference profile for miscanthus cell wall biomass. Ultimately, this portrait of the miscanthus cell wall will help to steer breeding and genetic engineering strategies for the development of superior energy crops.

Plant Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2012

Calibration and Rating of Photovoltaics: Preprint

Rating the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules is critical to determining the cost per watt, and efficiency is useful to assess the relative progress among PV concepts. Procedures for determining the efficiency for PV technologies from 1-sun to low concentration to high concentration are discussed. We also discuss the state of the art in primary and secondary calibration of PV referencecells used by calibration laboratories around the world. Finally, we consider challenges to rating PV technologies and areas for improvement.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗