Publications by Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins

Glass-free lightweight PV building elements: solutions to minimize weight and maximize durability

In densely populated countries, little free land is available for the deployment of photovoltaics (PV) in field installations. In addition, 40% of the world's demand for electricity is related to buildings. These facts provide a strong argument for the acc ...

EPFL2019

Robust glass-free lightweight photovoltaic modules with improved resistance to mechanical loads and impact

Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins

In several countries, building-integrated photovoltaics (PV) solutions could contribute to the growth of total installed PV capacity. However, in some circumstances, the relative high weight (10–15 kg/m2) and lack of aesthetics of PV may constitute a barri ...

2018

Light and durable: Composite structures for building-integrated photovoltaic modules

Christophe Ballif, Fanny Sculati-Meillaud, Valentin Chapuis, Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins, Alessandro Francesco Aldo Virtuani

2018

Thermo-mechanical stability of lightweight glass-free photovoltaic modules based on a composite substrate

Christophe Ballif, Valentin Chapuis, Hengyu Li, Laure-Emmanuelle Perret Aebi, Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins, Alessandro Francesco Aldo Virtuani

Lightweight PV modules are attractive for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications, especially for renovated buildings, where the additional load bearing capacity is limited. This work focuses on the development of a lightweight, glass-free pho ...

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV2018

Ultra-lightweight PV module design for building-integrated photovoltaics

Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins

Most of the existing solutions for Building Integrated PV (BIPV) are based on conventional crystalline Silicon (c-Si) module architectures (glass-glass or glass-backsheet) exhibiting a relatively high weight (12-20 kg/m2). We are working on the development ...

2017

Hail resistance of composite-based glass-free lightweight modules for building integrated photovoltaics applications

Ana Cristina Oliveira Martins

In this work, we manufacture lightweight (5 kg/m2) photovoltaic (PV) mini-modules for building integration replacing conventional glass sheets by a composite sandwich backsheet and a polymeric frontsheet. Our test devices are subjected to hail tests accor ...

2017