Modeling and experimental validation of dust impact on solar cell performance

ABSTRACT

Solar cells convert the irradiance to electricity, but environmental conditions affect cell performance. In this study, a general model for dust accumulation effect on solar cell performance is proposed. An improvement is introduced to the solar cell one-diode model by considering dust impact to simulate solar cell performance and particularly I-V characteristics. In this study, the novelty is to propose a dust model and improve the single-diode model. The proposed model accounts for the impact of dust on the PV performance by taking into consideration the dust ingredients. Three major components of Oman dust (SiO₂, CaO, and Fe₂O₃) in different proportions were adopted to verify the proposed model using a 4.18 W solar cell. Also, dust samples were collected from six locations in Oman and used for validation in the lab by using a 125-W conventional PV module and solar simulator. I-V characteristics and power losses were determined to compare experimental, ideal, and proposed model results. When mixing 10 g of SiO₂, CaO, and Fe₂O₃ to form 30 g of dust on the cell, the short-circuit current is 42.86% higher in the ideal model than the measureds short-circuit current, while the short-circuit current of the proposed model was 2.79% lower than the measured values. The results obtained from the proposed model are consistently close to the results from the experimental measurements even when using different masses of dust ingredients.

KEYWORDS:

• Dust accumulation
• dust model
• solar cell performance
• photovoltaic performance

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of UKM university and SERI staff and extended acknowledgment for the provisions of grant Modal Insan (MI-2020-UKM).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Nomenclature

a (a₁, a₂, and a₃) Dust accumulated mass density (in kg/m²)

AcPV collector area (in m²)

G Solar irradiance (in W/m²)

I Current (in A)

q Elementary charge (in 1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ C)

K Boltzmann’s constant (in 1.38 × 10⁻²³ m² kg s⁻² K⁻¹)

k (k₁, k₂, and k₃) Dust elements parameter (unitless)

K_i Short-circuit current temperature coefficient (in A/K)

m Dust accumulated mass density (in kg/m²)

N Diode ideality factor (1 or 2)

n Number of parameters of the most elements with the highest percentage (greater than 80%, unitless)

R Resistance (in ohm)

T Junction temperature (in kelvin)

T_c, T_r Working and reference temperatures (in kelvin)

V Voltage (in V)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia [MI-2020-UKM].

Notes on contributors

Hussein A Kazem

Hussein A Kazem: obtained his BSc, MSc in electrical engineering from University of Technology, Iraq, also PhD from Newcastle University, UK. He is presently Associate Professor in Faculty of Engineering-Sohar University, Oman. He has been involved in the field of solar and renewable energy for more than twenty years. His main contributions are in standalone and grid-connected photovoltaic systems, solar radiation and systems modeling, solar water heating system, solar desalination, combined photovoltaic thermal or hybrid collector and solar/wind hybrid system. He has published six books and over 160 research papers in journals and conferences. He has delivered keynotes speeches at national and international conferences on renewable energy. He is a winner of some national and international awards. He had completed some national and international research grant. He is chairman of the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology Research Group in Oman.

Ali H A Al-Waeli

Ali H. A. Al-Waeli Obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering form Sohar University, Oman in 2016. In 2019, Ali obtained a PhD in renewable energy from Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) of the National University of Malaysia (UKM). He has over 26 publications in Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus indexed international journals. He is also a reviewer peer reviewer in many international journals. He is also a member of organizations such as IEEE, WSSET and IAENG. In 2018, Ali became a co-editor in the journal of management science and engineering research. He was granted a fund for a research project in 2014 by the Omani Research Council (TRC) and has successfully completed the project. He became a research assistant at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2017 and is currently working as a post-doc researcher on a research project funded by the Malaysian government. Moreover, Ali invented the ”Photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector with nano-PCM and nanofluids”. Ali is interested in research in the field of energy efficiency, renewable and sustainable energy and solar energy, particularly photovoltaics (PV).

Miqdam T Chaichan

Miqdam Tariq Chaichan received his BSc and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Baghdad University and University of Technology (UOT), Baghdad, Iraq, in 1982 and 1989, respectively. In 1983, he joined Iraqi Republic Railways Enterprise, Iraq, and in 1992–1997, he was appointed as general manager, Engineering Prevue, Baghdad, Iraq. In 1997–1999, he was head of Mechanical Engineering Department, High Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zewara, Libya. In 2003–2005, he was Technical and Commercial Manager, Giad Company, Iraqi branch, Baghdad, Iraq. In 2006–2007, he was coordinator of Automotive Engineering Department, Machines and Equipment Department, UOT, Baghdad, Iraq. In 2007–2009, he was lecturer in Sohar University, Oman. In 2009–2015, he joined Machines and Equipment Engineering Department, UOT, Iraq. In 2016, he joined Energy and Renewable Energies Technology Center, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq. Miqdam is involved in academics and research, since the last 20 years, and is associated with professional organization and engineering societies. He participates in many conferences, symposiums, and workshops. He is a referee for few international journals. Also, he is a referee and organizer for many international conferences and editor of few international journals. He has authored several publications on electrical engineering, including more than 180 papers published in scientific journals and conferences, and two books in refrigeration and air conditioning engineering.

K Sopian

Prof. Dato' Dr. Kamaruzzaman Sopian obtained his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of WisconsinMadison in 1985, MSc in Energy Resources from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 and PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from the Dorgan Solar Laboratory, University of Miami in 1997. He is presently the Professor in Renewable Energy at the Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Currently, he is the Director of the Solar Energy Research Institute, a center of excellence for the research and development in solar energy technology. He has been involved in the field of solar energy for more than twenty years. His main contributions are in solar radiation modeling, alternative material for solar absorber, solar water heating system with integrated storage system, solar desalination, solar cooling, daylighting using solar light pipes, solar assisted drying systems, gridconnected photovoltaic system, thin film silicon solar cells, combined Photovoltaic thermal or hybrid collector and solar hydrogen production system. He has published over 400 research papers in journals and conferences. He has delivered keynotes speeches at national and international conferences on renewable energy. He is the founding member of the Malaysian Institute of Energy, member of the World Renewable Energy Network based in the United Kingdom and is an associate editor of the Renewable Energy published by Elsevier Ltd. He heads several national subcommittees on renewable energy by the Malaysian government to promote awareness, market enhancement, policy studies and the applications renewable energy. He received the title of Dato' from Sultan of Perak in 2011.