Abstract: This study investigated the interconnection bar and aluminum frame structure used in the packaging materials of photovoltaic modules to reduce the problem of hidden cracks in the failure of photovoltaic modules. By analyzing the reasons of hidden cracks in photovoltaic modules, a scheme to reduce the hidden cracks of photovoltaic modules under external force was proposed. The influence of the photovoltaic modules on the hidden crack was experimentally studied with different tensile ratio of the interconnecting bar,with or without the bending of the interconnecting bar and with or without the beam on the aluminum frame. Experiments revealed that setting reasonable tensile ratio of the interconnecting bar, bending degree of interconnecting bar, aluminum frame, and crossbeam, among other measures, could help in reducing the percentage of hidden cracks of photovoltaic modules and improve the reliability of photovoltaic modules. 

Key words: photovoltaic module；cracking；packaging materials；structural optimization, reliability