IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v240y2025ics0960148124022389.html

The performance investigation of the flexible photovoltaic cell under non-uniform distributed illumination

Author

Listed:
  • Tian, Xinyi
  • Wang, Jun
  • Ji, Jie
  • Lu, Guodong

Abstract

Flexible solar cell is lightweight and easy to bend, which facilitates advanced photoelectric devices' research and development (building-integrated photovoltaics, PV-powered wearable devices, vehicle-integrated photovoltaics, etc.). Nevertheless, in the novel application scenarios, the real operating condition would inevitably lead to unevenly distributed illumination over the curved PV devices and influence the photoelectric conversion process. To investigate the inhomogeneous-illuminated flexible PV cell, in this study the theoretical model was developed, which involved the real-time irradiance calculation, the determination of the current density, and the two-dimensional electric field analysis using finite element method. Test rig was established to study the flexible cell's electrical performance under partial-shading and rotational-bending conditions. The collected experimental data verified the theoretical model. Furthermore, the surface voltage and the current density distribution in the nonplanar/planar cell with the tilt angle are compared. The case study of the two types of cells under actual outdoor working conditions was conducted. The results indicated that the curved PV cell could enhance the normalized performance conversion efficiency in the case of big solar incident angle on the installed façade. The highest relative deviation of the power by the non-uniform and equivalent uniform cell is 0.443 % under outdoor conditions, signifying the calculation's simplification direction.

Suggested Citation

  • Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun & Ji, Jie & Lu, Guodong, 2025. "The performance investigation of the flexible photovoltaic cell under non-uniform distributed illumination," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:240:y:2025:i:c:s0960148124022389
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.122170
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148124022389
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2024.122170?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Song, Zhiying & Ji, Jie & Zhang, Yuzhe & Cai, Jingyong & Li, Zhaomeng, 2022. "Experimental and numerical investigation on a photovoltaic heat pump with two condensers: A micro-channel heat pipe/thermoelectric generator condenser and a submerged coil condenser," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    2. Ke, Wei & Ji, Jie & Zhang, Chengyan & Song, Zhiying & Wang, Chuyao & Xie, Hao & Tian, Xinyi, 2024. "Performance analysis of a novel hybrid CdTe-PCM multi-layer ventilated window system for building application: An experimental and numerical study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    3. Yadav, Anurag Singh & Mukherjee, V., 2021. "Conventional and advanced PV array configurations to extract maximum power under partial shading conditions: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 977-1005.
    4. Xiang Shi & Yong Zuo & Peng Zhai & Jiahao Shen & Yangyiwei Yang & Zhen Gao & Meng Liao & Jingxia Wu & Jiawei Wang & Xiaojie Xu & Qi Tong & Bo Zhang & Bingjie Wang & Xuemei Sun & Lihua Zhang & Qibing P, 2021. "Large-area display textiles integrated with functional systems," Nature, Nature, vol. 591(7849), pages 240-245, March.
    5. Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun & Yuan, Shuang & Ji, Jie & Ke, Wei & Wang, Chuyao, 2023. "Investigation on the electrical performance of a curved PV roof integrated with CIGS cells for traditional Chinese houses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    6. Wenzhu Liu & Yujing Liu & Ziqiang Yang & Changqing Xu & Xiaodong Li & Shenglei Huang & Jianhua Shi & Junling Du & Anjun Han & Yuhao Yang & Guoning Xu & Jian Yu & Jiajia Ling & Jun Peng & Liping Yu & B, 2023. "Flexible solar cells based on foldable silicon wafers with blunted edges," Nature, Nature, vol. 617(7962), pages 717-723, May.
    7. Abdelrazik, A.S. & Shboul, Bashar & Elwardany, Mohamed & Zohny, R.N. & Osama, Ahmed, 2022. "The recent advancements in the building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) systems: An updated review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    8. Pochont, Nitin Ralph & Sekhar Y, Raja, 2023. "Recent trends in photovoltaic technologies for sustainable transportation in passenger vehicles – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tian, Xinyi & Lu, Yashun & Wang, Jun & Lu, Guodong & Jiang, Mingjun & Khan, Shoaib Ahmed & Ji, Jie & Luo, Chenglong, 2025. "Modeling and analysis of flexible curved PV cells under uneven irradiation considering varied parameters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun & Ji, Jie & Wang, Chuyao & Ke, Wei & Yuan, Shuang, 2023. "A multifunctional curved CIGS photovoltaic/thermal roof system: A numerical and experimental investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    2. Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun & Ke, Wei & Ji, Jie, 2024. "Performance assessment of the curved-type multi-channel PV roof for space-heating and electricity generation in winter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    3. Zhou, Yi-Peng & Chen, Yang & Li, Jing-Zhi & Ran, Chen-Xin & Wu, Zhong-Bin, 2025. "Effects of spatio-temporal variations of solar light on the multiscale optical and electrical characteristics of ultrathin tandem solar cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PB).
    4. Songlin Zhang & Mengjuan Zhou & Mingyang Liu & Zi Hao Guo & Hao Qu & Wenshuai Chen & Swee Ching Tan, 2023. "Ambient-conditions spinning of functional soft fibers via engineering molecular chain networks and phase separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Dimitriou, T. & Skandalos, N. & Basak, A. & Chakraborty, S. & D’Agostino, D. & Maduta, C. & Panchabikesan, K. & Parker, D. & Karamanis, D., 2026. "Cooling the city, powering the future: A critical assessment of nature-based and technological cooling strategies for urban BIPV systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    6. Zupeng Liu & Zhao Liu & Xia Lei & Yujue Yang & Titao Jing, 2025. "Ultra low-field-emission stretchable electroluminescent devices enabled by a transparent and high-κ dielectric gel," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Pan, Zhongjie & Liu, Jia & Wu, Huijun & Luo, Diqian & Huang, Jialong, 2025. "Theoretical-experimental-simulation research on thermal-daylight-electrical performance of PV glazing in high-rise office building in the Greater Bay Area," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    8. Zhao, Jiangwei & Wang, Hao & Xu, Zhiwen & Zhao, Weiwei, 2025. "Optimal reconfiguration of PV array based on non-equilateral digital image processing technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    9. Li, Xue & Chen, Ken & Su, Jianglei Michael & Zhou, Hai & Ren, Zhongyi & Zhao, Bin & Pei, Gang, 2025. "Performance study of a vacuum photovoltaic/thermal collector with spectral selectivity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    10. Yadav, Anurag Singh & Maurya, Ajay Kumar & Shekhar, Himanshu & Mukherjee, V., 2025. "A comparative study and performance evaluation of rearranged TCT PV arrangement under shading conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    11. Shrivastava, Manish & Singh, Ashok Kumar & Gautam, Desh Deepak, 2025. "Critical observation on partially shaded PV modules and effects on sustainable applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    12. Yunqi Wang & Yang Wang & Hong Zhu & Chunyu You & Yang Zong & Zhi Zheng & Xiang Dong & Yuhang Hu & Xiangzhong Chen & Enming Song & Jizhai Cui & Gaoshan Huang & Yongfeng Mei, 2025. "Conformal integration of multifunctional nanomembranes on fibers towards intelligent optical platform," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Witko, Tomasz, 2026. "Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of installing photovoltaic panels in tram tracks at major stops in Krakow's Nowa Huta district," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PD).
    14. Ma, Chao & Wang, Guanghui & Wang, Dingbiao & Wang, Bin & Xiang, Sa, 2025. "Design and optimization analysis of a novel coupled wind-solar energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    15. Murugesan, Palpandian & David, Prince Winston & Murugesan, Pravin & Periyasamy, Pounraj, 2023. "Battery based mismatch reduction technique for partial shaded solar PV system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    16. Águila-León, Jesús & Vargas-Salgado, Carlos & Díaz-Bello, Dácil & Montagud-Montalvá, Carla, 2024. "Optimizing photovoltaic systems: A meta-optimization approach with GWO-Enhanced PSO algorithm for improving MPPT controllers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    17. Luu, Le Quyen & Cellura, Maurizio & Guarino, Francesco & Longo, Sonia, 2025. "Eco-design of emerging BIPV modules based on LCA and LCC," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    18. Dongxu Ma & Ming Ji & Hongbo Yi & Qingyu Wang & Fu Fan & Bo Feng & Mengjie Zheng & Yiqin Chen & Huigao Duan, 2024. "Pushing the thinness limit of silver films for flexible optoelectronic devices via ion-beam thinning-back process," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Haojie Lu & Yong Zhang & Mengjia Zhu & Shuo Li & Huarun Liang & Peng Bi & Shuai Wang & Haomin Wang & Linli Gan & Xun-En Wu & Yingying Zhang, 2024. "Intelligent perceptual textiles based on ionic-conductive and strong silk fibers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    20. Ku, Jiyoon & Kim, Sung-Min & Park, Hyeong-Dong, 2024. "Energy-saving path planning navigation for solar-powered vehicles considering shadows," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:240:y:2025:i:c:s0960148124022389. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.