| Title: | Experimental and numerical investigation of the fire behavior of double-glass building integrated photovoltaic modules with PVB interlayers |
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| Authors: | ID Yu, Wanning (Author)
ID Yang, Lizhong (Author)
ID Wang, Xinyang (Author)
ID Lai, Dimeng (Author)
ID Jomaas, Grunde (Author)
ID Liew, Kim M. (Author)
ID Ju, Xiaoyu (Author) |
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| Files: |  URL - Source URL, visit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139726
 PDF - Presentation file, download (8,85 MB)
MD5: 87BCF0ABE9781DAA74C5BCA2EFA5EAF7
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| Language: | English |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: |  ZAG - Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute
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| Abstract: | Amid rising global energy demands and environmental concerns, energy-efficient, or ‘green’, buildings are becoming mandatory in building regulations worldwide. In that context, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), which merge photovoltaic (PV) modules with architectural design, are gaining widespread adoption. To assess fire safety aspects of BIPV, the fire performance of double-glass PV modules with polyvinyl butyral (PVB) encapsulation in BIPV façade systems was studied experimentally and numerically. More specifically, fire experiments were conducted under varying radiative heat fluxes to evaluate thermal degradation, fire behavior, and toxic gas emissions. Key parameters, including ignition time, heat release rate per unit area (HRRPUA), mass loss rate (MLR), and gas composition, were analyzed. The results confirm that a higher external heat flux markedly reduces ignition time while increasing HRRPUA and MLR for BIPV, which is in line with results for other materials. The primary toxic gases emitted during combustion were CO, CO2, H2, and SO2, with CO and CO2 emissions rising significantly at elevated heat fluxes. To complement the experimental results, a numerical model coupling transient heat conduction and pyrolysis kinetics was developed to predict the pre-ignition thermal response of the multilayer structure. The model employed layer discretization and temperature-dependent boundaries, demonstrating close agreement with experimental data. Therefore, it enabled systematic analyses of the sensitivity of PV module material flammability to incident radiative heat fluxes, material properties, and geometric configurations. This combined experimental and numerical approach offers a predictive framework for assessing fire risks and optimizing the fire safety design of BIPV systems. |
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| Keywords: | fire behavior, combustion stages, PV modules, heat conduction pyrolysis model, module toxicity, fire safety |
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| Publication status: | Published |
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| Publication version: | Version of Record |
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| Publication date: | 20.12.2025 |
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| Publisher: | Elsevier Science |
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| Year of publishing: | 2025 |
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| Number of pages: | str. 1-39 |
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| Numbering: | [article no.] 139726 |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/DiRROS-25167  |
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| UDC: | 621.3 |
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| ISSN on article: | 1873-6785 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.energy.2025.139726 |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 262707459 |
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| Copyright: | © 2025 The Authors |
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| Publication date in DiRROS: | 13.01.2026 |
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| Views: | 98 |
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| Downloads: | 61 |
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