Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire

Mountain photovoltaic (PV) power stations cover vast areas and contain dense equipment. Once direct current arc faults occur in PV modules, they can pose a serious thermal threat to surrounding facilities and combustible materials, potentially resulting in a PV array fire accident. In this work, a s...

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Main Authors: Jingwen Xiao, Dong Lin, Jia Zeng, Shuai Zhang, Jinlong Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Fire
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/4/143
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author Jingwen Xiao
Dong Lin
Jia Zeng
Shuai Zhang
Jinlong Zhao
author_facet Jingwen Xiao
Dong Lin
Jia Zeng
Shuai Zhang
Jinlong Zhao
author_sort Jingwen Xiao
collection DOAJ
description Mountain photovoltaic (PV) power stations cover vast areas and contain dense equipment. Once direct current arc faults occur in PV modules, they can pose a serious thermal threat to surrounding facilities and combustible materials, potentially resulting in a PV array fire accident. In this work, a series of PV module fire experiments were conducted to investigate the burning characteristics of PV modules exposed to the pool fire. The burning process, burning damage extent, and temperature distribution were measured and analyzed. The results showed that the surfaces of PV modules exhibited different burning characteristics due to the pool fire. Based on different characteristics, the front side was classified into four zones: intact zone, delamination zone, carbonization zone and burn-through zone. The back side was similarly divided into four zones: undamaged backsheet zone, burnt TPT zone, cell detachment zone and burn-through zone. Meanwhile, the burning process and surface temperature rise rate of intact PV modules were significantly lower than those of cracked modules at the same inclination angle. Cracked modules exhibited a heightened susceptibility to being rapidly burnt through by the pool fire. As the inclination angle increased from 0° to 60°, the burning damage extent and the expansion rate of high-temperature regions initially ascended and subsequently decreased, reaching their maximum at the inclination angle of 15°. These findings can offer valuable insights that can serve as a reference for the fire protection design and risk assessment of mountain PV power stations, ensuring their safe operation.
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spelling doaj-art-30ae5f63f46c4fea964a5fff2cfbb27e2025-08-20T02:28:20ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552025-04-018414310.3390/fire8040143Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool FireJingwen Xiao0Dong Lin1Jia Zeng2Shuai Zhang3Jinlong Zhao4Institute of Safety, Environmental and Technical Supervision Research, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company, Chengdu 610017, ChinaInstitute of Safety, Environmental and Technical Supervision Research, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company, Chengdu 610017, ChinaInstitute of Safety, Environmental and Technical Supervision Research, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company, Chengdu 610017, ChinaInner Mongolia Research Institute, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Ordos 017001, ChinaInner Mongolia Research Institute, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Ordos 017001, ChinaMountain photovoltaic (PV) power stations cover vast areas and contain dense equipment. Once direct current arc faults occur in PV modules, they can pose a serious thermal threat to surrounding facilities and combustible materials, potentially resulting in a PV array fire accident. In this work, a series of PV module fire experiments were conducted to investigate the burning characteristics of PV modules exposed to the pool fire. The burning process, burning damage extent, and temperature distribution were measured and analyzed. The results showed that the surfaces of PV modules exhibited different burning characteristics due to the pool fire. Based on different characteristics, the front side was classified into four zones: intact zone, delamination zone, carbonization zone and burn-through zone. The back side was similarly divided into four zones: undamaged backsheet zone, burnt TPT zone, cell detachment zone and burn-through zone. Meanwhile, the burning process and surface temperature rise rate of intact PV modules were significantly lower than those of cracked modules at the same inclination angle. Cracked modules exhibited a heightened susceptibility to being rapidly burnt through by the pool fire. As the inclination angle increased from 0° to 60°, the burning damage extent and the expansion rate of high-temperature regions initially ascended and subsequently decreased, reaching their maximum at the inclination angle of 15°. These findings can offer valuable insights that can serve as a reference for the fire protection design and risk assessment of mountain PV power stations, ensuring their safe operation.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/4/143PV moduleburning processburning damage extenttemperature distribution
spellingShingle Jingwen Xiao
Dong Lin
Jia Zeng
Shuai Zhang
Jinlong Zhao
Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
Fire
PV module
burning process
burning damage extent
temperature distribution
title Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
title_full Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
title_fullStr Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
title_short Experimental Study on the Burning Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules with Different Inclination Angles Under the Pool Fire
title_sort experimental study on the burning characteristics of photovoltaic modules with different inclination angles under the pool fire
topic PV module
burning process
burning damage extent
temperature distribution
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/4/143
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AT jiazeng experimentalstudyontheburningcharacteristicsofphotovoltaicmoduleswithdifferentinclinationanglesunderthepoolfire
AT shuaizhang experimentalstudyontheburningcharacteristicsofphotovoltaicmoduleswithdifferentinclinationanglesunderthepoolfire
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