On Residual Stresses and Reference Temperatures in Thermomechanical Simulations of Photovoltaic Modules Using the Finite Element Method

Thermomechanical simulation of photovoltaic (PV) modules using the finite element method (FEM) is a useful tool to evaluate module design features in terms of structural integrity, reliability, and durability. One of the main challenges in the numerical modeling of a PV module is the incorporation of residual stresses induced by the manufacturing process. Modeling assumptions and abstractions are ...