Polymer encapsulants are an essential component in photovoltaic (PV) devices, providing mechanical support, optical coupling, and electrical and physical isolation. However, moisture ingress into the module can degrade these polymers and subsequently the performance of the device. In this paper, we report experimental measurements of the temporal evolution of moisture content in ethylene‐vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant in a double‐glass PV module. Using physical properties of EVA as determined by water vapour transmission rate measurements, we simulate diffusion of water into the module using a finite element model. The model accounts for realistic geometry of our module and is used to simulate accelerated test conditions and outdoor operation in geographic locations. Using the calculated results, we propose two schemes using the accelerated test results to understand the behaviour of modules operating in humid climates. Finally, we show that the time needed to reach the saturation water concentration can be increased by as much as a factor of two by reducing the initial water content in EVA films.

中文翻译：

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双层玻璃光伏组件进水的测量和建模

聚合物密封剂是光伏（PV）装置中的重要组成部分，可提供机械支撑，光耦合以及电气和物理隔离。但是，湿气进入模块会降解这些聚合物，进而降低设备的性能。在本文中，我们报告了双层玻璃PV组件中乙烯醋酸乙烯酯（EVA）密封胶中水分随时间变化的实验测量结果。使用由水蒸气透过率测量确定的EVA物理特性，我们使用有限元模型模拟水向模块中的扩散。该模型考虑了我们模块的实际几何形状，并用于模拟加速的测试条件和地理位置中的室外操作。使用计算结果，我们提出两种使用加速测试结果的方案，以了解在潮湿气候下运行的模块的行为。最后，我们表明，通过降低EVA膜中的初始水含量，达到饱和水浓度所需的时间可以增加两倍。