TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimizing front metallization patterns
T2 - Efficiency with aesthetics in free-form solar cells
AU - Gupta, Deepak K.
AU - Langelaar, Matthijs
AU - Barink, M
AU - van Keulen, Fred
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Free-form solar cells are cells of unconventional shapes (e.g. hexagonal, leaf-shaped etc). Their flexible shape adds to the aesthetics of the surroundings as well as allows to place them over objects where conventional solar cells might not fit. Evidently, these cells need to be efficient as well, and one of the important factors that controls their performance is the front metallization design. In this paper, we present the application of topology optimization (TO) to optimize the front metallization patterns for free-form solar cells. TO distributes the electrode material on the solar cell front surface in an efficient manner, such that the total power output is maximized. To demonstrate the capability of the proposed methodology, we use it to optimize front metal grids for several complex solar cell shapes e.g. circular, hexagonal, leaf-shaped, motorbike fairings, etc. The results presented here demonstrate the capability of TO to generate efficient designs for these free-form shapes.
AB - Free-form solar cells are cells of unconventional shapes (e.g. hexagonal, leaf-shaped etc). Their flexible shape adds to the aesthetics of the surroundings as well as allows to place them over objects where conventional solar cells might not fit. Evidently, these cells need to be efficient as well, and one of the important factors that controls their performance is the front metallization design. In this paper, we present the application of topology optimization (TO) to optimize the front metallization patterns for free-form solar cells. TO distributes the electrode material on the solar cell front surface in an efficient manner, such that the total power output is maximized. To demonstrate the capability of the proposed methodology, we use it to optimize front metal grids for several complex solar cell shapes e.g. circular, hexagonal, leaf-shaped, motorbike fairings, etc. The results presented here demonstrate the capability of TO to generate efficient designs for these free-form shapes.
KW - Free-form
KW - Front metallization
KW - Optimal design
KW - Solar cells
KW - Topology optimization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943634195&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6fba5499-0012-4708-a25c-c532da59e85c
U2 - 10.1016/j.renene.2015.09.071
DO - 10.1016/j.renene.2015.09.071
M3 - Article
SN - 0960-1481
VL - 86
SP - 1332
EP - 1339
JO - Renewable Energy
JF - Renewable Energy
ER -