Theoretical model of optical transmission and reflection characteristics of dusty PV modules

摘要

Modeling radiative transfer on a dusty photovoltaic (PV) module is a complicated problem. In this work, an improved optical light pathway model was established based on a three-layer system (dust particles-cover glass-solar cell); this system models radiative transfer by considering absorption, reflection, and transmission. Transmittance and reflectance formulae based on the light transmission and reflection pathway were obtained. Optical experiments were conducted for incident light with a spectral range of 0.30-0.7 mu m to verify the improved model. The results show that when the thickness of the particle layer was larger than the sum of the minimum and maximum diameters, the theoretical spectral transmittance and reflectance agree well with the experimental data. The relative errors of spectrum transmittance and reflectance were 1.17-16.79% and 4.17-11.68%, respectively. Spectral transmittance through the composite layers was very low, and the dust particle composition and layer thickness had strong inhibiting effects on the transmission of incident light.