Non-Planar Photovoltaic Surfaces: Modeling, Optimization, and Application

Traditional photovoltaic materials like silicon are constrained to a planar form factor due to the fragility of the crystalline structure. The third generation of photovoltaics like thin-film provide the benefit of flexibility, allowing feasible application to non-planar form factors. For example, conforming flexible photovoltaics to curved building structures while retaining the aesthetics of the original architecture which was previously not possible. Adhering to non-planar or curved surfaces brings about significant change to the conventional approaches of designing practical integrations, so it is paramount to investigate. Conventional modeling takes advantage of the homogenous nature of flat surface for harvest predictions. The characteristics of a planar module yields identical performance because all cells on the module are operating under the exact same conditions. The issue arises when this homogeneity is no longer the case, producing a non-uniform gradient of incoming solar energy. The effect of this gradient remains unaddressed in the current photovoltaic modeling research. The main challenge in this area of photovoltaics is the induced current density mismatch generated under these conditions. Planar modules are able to implement arbitrary series connections because uniform operation is a viable assumption. By introducing curvature, non-uniform current densities are generated, such that the interconnection requirements of an array can no longer be arbitrarily satisfied with the series topology. This research takes a scale-invariant meshing approach to model the gradient of factors introduced by non-planar photovoltaic. This research develops a standardized foundation for future research in this area while investigating potential complications, detailing practical design considerations, and providing insight into nonplanar photovoltaic generation optimization