WO2014023985A1

WO2014023985A1 - Grp integrated solar cells

Info

Publication number: WO2014023985A1
Application number: PCT/HR2013/000024
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomislav URODA; Nikša ČULIĆ; Klement JADREŠĆ
Original assignee: Icat D.O.O
Priority date: 2012-08-08
Filing date: 2013-07-26
Publication date: 2014-02-13
Also published as: HRP20120648A2; HRPK20120648B3

Abstract

Integration of solar cells into the GRP surface is achieved within the GRP process of shipbuilding in such a way that on the external surfaces of vessels solar cells are integrated in one of the layers of the GRP laminate (Figures 4 and 5). The term glass reinforced plastic or GRP implies the technology that uses fiber texture as reinforcement material and resin as a bonding material, resulting in the GRP product. Technical process of integrating solar cells has to be performed in accordance with the technical procedures, implying usage of certain materials and the following appropriate procedures for GRP technology. Solar cells are placed in one of the first layers of GRP laminate (4.3, 5.2). The primary purpose of this invention is to place solar cells in one of the layers when building new vessels, but this invention applies also to the already built vessels, by coating them in GRP with solar cells in one of the layers.

Description

PATENT APPLICATION

GRP INTEGRATED SOLAR CELLS

DESCRIPTION

1. Technical field of the invention

This invention relates to the vessel having solar cells integrated in the vessel surfaces, and where solar cells are transforming the energy of the sun into the electrical energy which is used for the energy system of the ship, including propulsion.

Technical field of the invention to which the invention relates is marked by the International Patent Classification with categories B63H and H01 L.

2. Technical requirement

Technical requirement, for which this invention provides solution, is how to cover all the surfaces on the vessels with the solar cells without having sub-construction, aiming to produce as much as possible of electrical energy converted from the solar energy. 3. State of the art

Water transport is one of the oldest modes of transportation. The first vessels were simple rafts, boats made out of logs; canoes made of brushwood and covered with animal skins or interconnected logs used for the upstream and downstream river transport.

Before the invention of the machines, muscle energy was used (biological energy) for vessel propulsion. In addition, sails have been used for the propulsion on the sailboats. The first sailboats were built about 3500 years BC, starting an era of global exploration and trade. Sailboats are designed for the down and side to the wind sailing, while the upwind sailing takes more time and additional skills and in ultimate cases rowing propulsion is the only propulsion left.

Until the invention of railways in the 19th century, boats and ships were the only way of goods transportation over long distances. Today there are various types of ships and boats made of different materials, wood, plastic, glass reinforced plastic, aluminum, steel and concrete.

Water transport is carried out on the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and canals. This is one of the oldest ways of transportation, which has connected the biggest cities mostly located near the sea and rivers. Today's water transport accounts for about 80% of total transport, its efficiency being higher compared to road or air transport, particularly regarding merchant ships but also other vessels, which is mostly due to small-scale infrastructure investments.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the first relatively successful steamship was built, while later on ship's boilers and steam engines have been developed, and the invention of the steam turbine took place as well.

The invention of the propeller made a big step in the development of steamships and significantly increased speed of the vessels. The propeller was invented in 1827.

After the invention of the propeller, the next big step in the shipbuilding industry was the introduction of the diesel engine. With the improvement of marine diesel engine the most efficient machine has been created for the propulsion of the vessels (with fuel consumption almost 20% less compared to steam turbines). These ships use diesel-electric propulsions, which could be combined with the gas turbine-electric and diesel-electric propulsions.

These days' concept designs are made of the vessels that will be coming out in the near future, with an emphasis on renewable energy, such as wind energy and water energy, but primarily solar energy converted trough the solar cells into electrical energy needed to power electric engines.

Today we are witnessing the impressive achievements as a result of the intensive and comprehensive research in the renewable energy resources, seen as green and clean energy with the emphasis on the solar cells, used not only on the vessels.

Among these achievements it is worth emphasizing a ship 31 meters long and equipped with 38,000 solar cells set up on a surface of 530 square meters.

With the intention of providing as much as possible of electrical energy gathered from solar energy trough the solar cells for a certain vessel, it is more common to find a specially designed vessel where surface is designed in advance for the placement of the solar panels in a predeterminated location.

State of the art found in the patent documents (DE29610516U, EP0825104, JP7179195, JP62068199, US3982963, US5131341 , US5720452, US8152577) generally includes technical solutions of various types of mechanical devices for fixing solar cells to the various types of existing vessels, whereby some of the patent documents (DE29610516, GB1598751, JP2007224538, US4371139, US4421943) represent technical solutions of mechanical devices that provide adjustment of solar cells inclination angle toward the surface where they are placed, while a large number of patent documents (CA2063243, US4695785, US4873480, US4999560, US5001415, US5131341 , US8152577) relate to technical solutions of electrical connections and electrical circuits which are used for voltage adjustment and accumulation of electrical energy gathered from the solar cells. Some of the patent documents (DE4136379, EP0825104, JP7179195, JP62068199, US3982963, US5131341 , US5720452, US8152577) elaborate various types of solar panels placement on the vessel surfaces, while a number of patent documents (GB2405742, DE3836259, US2002182946) provide technical solutions of combined energy sources for vessels where, besides solar energy, other sources of energy such as liquid and gaseous fuels, wind and waves are present. It is not known that state of the art includes any technical solution related to all exposed surfaces of the new or already built vessels as it is described through the invention presented in this application.

According to the invention, technical solution is defined in the context of glass reinforced plastic technology, which means the technology of building new vessels by using glass fiber texture as an element of strength and resin as a bonding material. Glass fiber texture, made of fibers can be from different materials like carbon, kevlar or other materials designed for the building in the glass reinforced plastic. Resin as a bonding material in this technology can be of different chemical structures, best known as polyester, vinyl-ester, epoxy and similar. By joining glass fiber texture with resin, glass reinforced plastic (or GRP) product comes as a result.

There are several technologies of building the vessels in glass reinforced plastic that presume existence of mould construction 1.1 where layers are placed in the following order: 2.1 a gel-coat layer, a layer of glass fiber texture and a layer of resin 2.2, and so forth until the requested dimensions of laminate 1.2. Before placement of the first layer, the mould must be waxed with separator, which provides that GRP cast does not glue to the mould.

It is common that gel-coat is used as the first layer when building in GRP technology, which represents the external layer in the casted product, and it is possible to add different colours in the gel-coat thus providing the required final finish and colour of the casted product. In addition to the layers of glass fiber texture, core materials are sometimes used for GRP sandwich structures, increasing the thickness of the laminate and thus improving mechanical characteristics of laminated structure with minimal weight addition.

The lamination process can be carried out also by more advanced technological processes such as vacuum infusion in which the layers of glass fiber texture are laid down one by one and, when all layers are placed, the whole structure is covered by the bedding material and vacuumed. Resin as a bonding material is then released through specific inlet channels, passing thus through all the layers. This technological process as well as the process of extrusion of surplus resin is conducted with the intention to increase the ratio of glass fibers and resin, which contributes to additional strength of the structure and reduces the weight of the vessel. Laminate shown in Figure 2 is the basic structure of glass reinforced plastic products, which is defined by the number of layers of glass fiber texture 2.2, its thickness, type of textile, thickness of core material that can be placed, type of resin, gel-coat (outer layer) and other elements.

Before the building of any structure, laminate layout should be designed in accordance with the required technical characteristics of the GRP laminate, primarily strength, which is for the vessels aligned with the rules of the Register of Shipping. The laminate layout varies for different parts of the vessel, but also for particular areas within the surface, and it ranges from the simplest versions like two layers of glass fiber texture and resin in between up to the multiple layers of different types and thickness of glass fiber texture and core materials.

A constituent part of the technical solution based on the invention is:

A solar cell (Figure 3.2) is the basic element for conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. Dimensions of 125x125 mm or 156x156 mm are the most common ones and the usual voltage value is 0.5 V per solar cell. Solar cells can be made of different materials, the most widely used being mono-crystal silicon and poly-crystal silicon due to their market-friendly price.

A solar module 3.1 consists of several interconnected solar cells and is a final product available on the market. Its dimensions are determined by a number of cells that are interconnected in order to reach a certain voltage value (e.g 12V, 24V, 48V).

4. Summary of Invention

The essence of a solution to the presented technical problem lies in the fact that on the external surfaces of vessels, primarily in the hull, solar cells are integrated inside the GRP laminate as one of the layers of the laminate (Figures 4 and 5).

Solar cells shall be placed in accordance with the required standards. The primary purpose of this invention is to place solar cells in one of the GRP layers when creating new vessels, but also the vessels already built from other materials can be coated with GRP laminate, with solar cells being placed in one of the layers. The process of building vessels in GRP technology, including the integration of solar cells, is similar to the standard procedures of building vessels, the difference being that between one of the first layers of glass fiber texture the solar cells are placed, which are later on combined into modules. It is not predefined between which layers the solar cells are placed, but it is left to vessel designer to make a decision. The possibility of adjusting the number of GRP layers in front of the sollar cells gives the choice to the designer to decide either to have better mechanical protection of solar cells with a higher number of GRP layers or to provide that more solar energy comes through the only few GRP layers to the solar cells, providing production of more electrical energy. It also does not have to be defined in advance whether it will be the first outer layer of gel-coat or it will be the layer of glass fiber texture. If the gel-coat is to be applied first (Figures 4.1 , 5.1), it must provide transparency for the solar energy to pass trough that layer. The assumption is that the solar cells will usually be placed between the first and the second layers of glass fiber texture.

Solar cells can also be placed on some of the other materials from which vessels are built, but they must be integrated into GRP laminate in which that material is coated. The process of building is similar to the building in the mould, the difference being that in this case the solar cells are placed in one of the last layers of glass fiber texture in order to be exposed to the sun energy to the greatest possible extent.

As described above, solar cells integrated into the GRP laminate of the hull and other parts of the vessels constitute, together with the laminate, one entity. In such an entity, solar cells are connected by serial and parallel connections creating certain modules with the corresponding voltage levels, which are further connected via electrical element in the energy system of the vessel.

Interconnections of individual cells are manifold, providing the functionality of the system in case of a breakdown of connections between individual cells or modules, or in case of failure of individual cells or modules. The module size is defined by the voltage of the ship's power system, while the electrical components are used in many different combinations, providing stable marine power system. Integration of the various individual electrical elements (converters) between solar cells modules and the vessel power system plays important role in the moments when certain structure of the vessel is damaged, causing the damage of solar cells in that area. The same applies when a fault occurs on a single solar cell or module. In these circumstances, electrical converters are stabilizing the voltage of damaged module, and that module can be connected to the energy system of the ship.

5. Short description of drawings

Figure 1 : Building in glass reinforced plastic (GRP)

Position 1.1 : Mould of the vessel;

Position 1.2: Laminate with GRP layers;

Figure 2: Laminate

Position 2.1 : Gel-coat, varnish or other final layer;

Position 2.2: Various GRP layers (glass fibber texture + resin);

Figure 3: Solar module

Position 3.1 : Solar module;

Position 3.2: Solar cells;

Figure 4: GRP integrated solar cells beneath the last layer of glass fiber texture

Position 4.1 : Gel-coat, varnish or other final layer;

Position 4.2: Layer of glass fiber texture;

Position 4.3: Solar cells layer;

Position 4.4: Various GRP layers;

Figure 5: GRP integrated solar cells beneath a gel-coat layer

Position 5.1 : Gel-coat, varnish or other final layer;

Position 5.2: Solar cells layer;

Position 5.3: Various GRP layers;

6. Detailed description of at least one embodiment of invention

In the following detailed description, reference is made to accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the inventions may be practiced. Elements of embodiments that characterize present invention are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. The elements of invention, already known in the art, and their way of construction, are defined with details required to clearly comprehend the scope of this invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that mechanical, procedural, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

When integrating solar cells into the GRP laminate of the hull (Figures 4 and 5), it is necessary to perform a GRP technological process of lamination according to the professional standars (Figures 1 and 2). It is also possible to cover the existing parts of the vessel, made of different materials, with GRP layers including a layer of solar cells. The above mentioned embodiments of the invention are presented in the text to follow.

Mould lamination (Figure 4 and 5):

1. Wax the mould

2. Apply a gel-coat layer of transparent colour. This gel-coat layer can be omitted, which depends on design requirements.

3. Apply a layer of resin

4. Apply the first layer of glass fiber texture. If a gel-coat layer is present, this layer of glass fiber texture can be omitted

5. Apply a layer of resin

6. Postion a layer of the solar cells, taking care that electrical connections between cells are uninterrupted.

7. Apply layer of resin 8. Apply the second layer end each next layer of glass fiber texture (laminate), with layers of resin in between. Instead of glass fiber texture, the core material can be placed in some layers. It is very important to take care that electrical wiring of all solar cells is available or that it comes out in front of all laminate layers.

9. Connect solar cells into solar modules (Figure 3) according to the predefined wiring diagram, taking care of primary and secondary connections and all the electrical elements of the solar module.

The lamination procedure can be carried out also in the vacuum infusion technology, taking care that the applied vacuum does not damage sollar cells. The application of this technological process has to be enforced in accordance with procedures defined under paragraphs 1-6 as specified, while paragraph 8 is replaced with vacuum infusion technology.

Coating vessel surfaces made of other materials into GRP (Figure 4 and 5):

1. Create openings (socket holes) in the existing material for the wiring of the solar cells.

2. Prepare the surface for better adhesion of materials. Depending on the surface conditions, cleaning, degreasing, sandblasting or layer of bonding material must be applied.

3. Apply a layer of resin

4. Apply the first end each next layer of glass fiber texture (laminate), with layers of resin in between. Apply a layer of resin.

5. Postion a layer of the solar cells, taking care that electrical connections between cells are uninterrupted, and that wiring comes through openings (socket holes) in the surface material.

6. Apply a layer of resin

7. Apply the final layer of glass fiber texture (or more layers) with layers of resin in between.

8. Cover the surface with transparent material and grind it for smooth finish, taking care of transparency being careful not to damage the solar cells. 9. Connect solar cells to solar modules (Figure 3) according to the predefined wiring diagram, taking care of primary and secondary connections and all the electrical elements of the solar module.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalents arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Solar cells integrated into the glass reinforced plastic surface of the vessel comprising of glass fiber texture, core material, raisin and gel-coat characterized in that the layers of solar cells (4.3, 5.2) are integrated into one of the first layers of the glass reinforced plastic laminate (1.2) when either building a new glass reinforced plastic vessel or coating the vessels already built in other materials into glass reinforced plastic, where the glass reinforced plastic consists of glass fiber texture and resin as a bonding material, so that solar cells together with glass reinforced plastic create one entity.

2. Solar cells integrated into the glass reinforced plastic surface of the vessel according to claim 1 , characterized in that the solar cell layers (4.3, 5.2) can be placed between any of the two layers of the glass reinforced plastic laminate (1.2), taking into account that more layers of glass reinforced plastic in front of the solar cells create better mechanical protection, while fewer layers of glass reinforced plastic in front of the solar cells provide higher transparency with better absorption of solar energy.

3. Solar cells integrated into the glass reinforced plastic surface of the vessel according to claim 1 , characterized in that the solar cells layers (4.3, 5.2) are mainly placed between the first and the second layers of glass fiber texture.

4. Solar cells integrated into the glass reinforced plastic surface of the vessel based on the above mentioned claims, characterized in that the glass fiber texture consists of fibers which can be made of carbon, kevlar or other material for building in glass reinforced plastic technology, while resin as a bonding material may be of different chemical structure, the most popular being polyester, vinyl- ester and epoxy.

5. Solar cells integrated into the glass reinforced plastic surface of the vessel based on the above mentioned claims, characterized in that the solar cells are connected with multiple, serial and parallel, connections making the particular power module, which is further connected with electric elements in the energy system of the vessel. 1/5

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Fig. 2

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Fig. 4

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Fig. 5