PREDICTION OF DELAMINATION IN FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELLS: EFFECT OF CRITICAL ENERGY RELEASE RATE IN COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM DISELENIDE (CIGS) SOLAR CELL

In this thesis, we propose a model to predict the interfacial delamination in a flexible solar cell. The interface in a multilayer Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS) flexible solar cell was studied applying the principles of fracture mechanics to a fixed-arm-peel test.

The principles of fracture mechanics ( J-integral and cohesive model) were implemented in a finite element software to compare the experimental with the numerical peeling force. A fixed-arm-peel test was used to obtain the peeling force for different peeling angles. This peel force and material properties from the CIGS solar cell were processed in several non-linear equations, so the energy required to start the delamination was obtained.The accuracy of the model was compared by fitting the experimental and numerical peeling force, which had a difference of 0.08 %. It is demonstrated that the peeling process for 90-degree could be replicated in COMSOL® software for a CIGS solar cell.