High strength structural glass for walk-on photovoltaic modules

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has a great potential to enable zero energy homes. To enable more surface areas without losing the other functionality work-on PV modules have been considered. These modules can be installed on platform walk ways and flat roof tops. To protect PV cells of a module, glass panels have been used for the transparent covering. Majorities of previous studies were mostly about investigating the amount of dust-deposition and transmittance ability of various coated and uncoated glazing panels. The load carrying capacity under work-on conditions has not been substantially investigated. This paper presents an experimental investigation of load carrying capacity of PV modules covered by annealed and toughened glazing panels sizes of 270 mm × 270 mm × 5 mm and 450 mm × 450 mm × 6 mm respectively. A 10 mm thick stainless steel plate was kept underneath the glazing panels to incorporate the effects of the substrate. The glazing specimens were loaded by means of the spherical indenter up to the point of failure. The breaking load was then recorded. A similar experimental procedure was conducted without the substrate material for obtaining the minimum strength capacity. Results show that the load carrying capacities of both types of glazing panels are almost doubled when the substrate material is included in the design. This study serves to verify the importance of selecting suitable types of substrate and superstrate materials in PV modules for maximising its resistance from damage that can be caused by impact by the human body, fallen objects and hail