Multi-field and multi-scale modeling of fracture for renewable energy applications

This thesis is mainly focused on the computational model- ing of solar cell cracking, multiphyics phenomena, and re- cycling of photovoltaic (PV) modules through the finite ele- ment method. Specifically, it consists of three parts. In the first part, a comprehensive hygro-thermo-mechanical com- putational framework in the 3D setting is proposed to model the coupled degradation phenomena in the PV modules for the durability analysis, and it is applied to the simulation of three international standard tests of PV modules, namely the damp heat test, the humidity freeze test, and the ther- mal cycling test. The second part is focused on the crack modeling of very thin and brittle silicon solar cells in the PV modules, and a reliable computational framework integrat- ing solid shell element formulation with phase field fracture modeling is developed using the efficient quasi-Newton so- lution scheme and global local approach. The excellent per- formance is showcased through the simulation of different boundary value problems, and then applied to predict the crack growth of silicon solar cells when the PV modules are subjected to different external loadings. The third part ad- dresses the efficient recycling of PV modules through the nu- merical modeling method by the development of 3D interface finite element with humidity-dose enhanced cohesive zone model for the peeling simulation to separate different layers, and diffusion-swelling large deformation continuum theory for the nondestructive recovery of silicon cells in the PV recy- cling using the solvent method. With these tools at hand, it is possible to design suitable virtual testing procedures for PV durability and recyclability analysis.