Structural Design of Flexible Solar Generators
Abstract
Flexible cell and blanket technology is promising a reduction of array mass and packaging volume at similar power ranges as provided by rigid substrate generators and at similar costs. Main characteristics of the cells are their flexible substrates and photovoltaic layers, their low specific mass, and their expected low costs.Utilizing these properties for solar arrays of a specific power in the range 100 W/kg at low costs, the flexibility of cells is supposed to be the key for several concepts of packaging and wing deployment. The presented concept is designed for a 15 m2 wing, capable of 1.5 kW, assuming a cell efficiency of 10%.
- Publication:
-
ESA Special Publication
- Pub Date:
- May 2005
- Bibcode:
- 2005ESASP.589E..38S