Doubly Curved Laminated Solar Panels With Stronger Interlayer Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solar panels with flat designs are heavy and difficult to shape into complex geometries, leading to material damage and reduced efficiency in mobile applications like electric vehicles, where durability, weight, and aesthetic considerations are crucial. Existing adhesives for laminating solar panels face challenges with interlayer adhesion, bubble formation, and waviness, complicating the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
The use of thin, thermally or chemically strengthened glass or polymer preforms with flexible adhesive layers to create doubly curved solar panels, which are lightweight, durable, and resistant to environmental stress, along with improved adhesion techniques such as plasma treatment and the use of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes to simplify the lamination process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional flat tempered glass solar panels are used, then durability and structural strength are improved, but weight increases significantly and shaping into complex geometries becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin glass sheets (0.5-2.0 mm) instead of thick tempered glass, combined with flexible polymer encapsulants and adhesive layers that allow the solar panel to conform to curved surfaces while maintaining structural integrity and reducing overall weight for mobile applications
Solution Approach 2:
The solar panel employs a composite structure combining thin glass substrates with polymer encapsulants (EVA, POE, PVB) and adhesive layers, creating a lightweight composite material that provides both structural strength and flexibility for shaping into complex geometries
2Weight of moving object
If polymer layers are used instead of tempered glass to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases and durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary surface treatments (plasma, corona, or flame treatment) to glass substrates before lamination to enhance adhesion, and uses pre-formed curved glass substrates that are strengthened through thermal or chemical processes before final assembly, simplifying the overall manufacturing process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies material parameters by using thin glass sheets with specific thickness ranges (0.5-2.0 mm) and controlling the properties of polymer encapsulants and adhesives to achieve optimal balance between weight reduction, manufacturing ease, and durability for mobile solar applications
3Adaptability or versatility
If solar cells are bent to match complex panel shapes using conventional manufacturing processes, then shape adaptability is improved, but manufacturing yield decreases due to cell damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary strengthening of glass substrates through thermal or chemical processes before bending, and uses pre-formed curved substrates that match the desired panel geometry, allowing solar cells to be installed on pre-curved surfaces rather than bending the cells themselves, thereby preventing cell damage and maintaining high manufacturing yield
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pre-formed curved glass substrates with controlled radii of curvature that match the desired panel shape, allowing the solar cells to remain flat while the substrate provides the necessary curvature, thus avoiding stress-induced cell failure during manufacturing
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional adhesives are used for lamination, then ease of manufacture is improved, but interlayer adhesion is insufficient and bubble formation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary surface treatments (plasma, corona, or flame treatment) to glass substrates before lamination to activate surface groups and enhance adhesion properties, ensuring strong interlayer bonding while maintaining ease of manufacture through a simplified single-step lamination process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent selects adhesive and encapsulant materials with specific properties (viscosity, curing characteristics, adhesion strength) optimized for the lamination process, using materials like POE, EVA, and PVB that provide strong adhesion while allowing easy manufacturing through controlled curing processes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of lightweight, durable, and aesthetically pleasing solar panels with improved interlayer adhesion, reduced manufacturing complexity, and enhanced resistance to environmental factors, suitable for high-efficiency, low-weight applications in electric vehicles and other mobile systems.
Implementation Method 1
The adhesion layer may be subjected to a plasma, corona, or flame treatment to improve adhesion between layers
Implementation Method 2
thin, thermally or chemically strengthened glass preforms
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus, system and method for a two-axis of curvature solar panel with doubly-curved solar cells. The solar panel comprises substrate and superstrate preforms having two-axis of curvature geometry and at least one rigid layer. The preforms may comprise one or more strengthened glass and/or polymer layers. A core comprising lower and upper encapsulant layers sandwiching a solar cell array is disposed between substrate and superstrate preforms forming a lamination stack. The solar cells may be tacked to the lower encapsulant layer. The preforms may be formed by flat lamination followed by thermoforming. The curved solar panel may comprise a flange suitable for assisting the assembly process and be made of materials with disparate mechanical and thermal properties. Aspects of the solar cells are recited that provide for the enabling double bendability of the cells within a doubly curved solar panel.