Diseño de una tobera para dispensación de nanopasta en aplicaciones de manufactura aditiva para celdas solares

Abstract

Conventional manufacturing methods for solar panels have limitations that affect the size of the fingers and busbars, that is, the cell’s conductive lines, which capture electrons and conduct current. Consequently, additive manufacturing is considered an innovative method that allows thinner conductive fingers and stable flow in the manufacturing process. Therefore, it is necessary to design a copper nanopaste dispensing nozzle for the additive manufacturing of solar cell fingers. Three design alternatives were studied, a conical nozzle, a needle nozzle, and a conical nozzle with progressive reduction. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were performed using the software ANSYS Fluent. All proposed designs were evaluated under varying operating conditions, including nozzle diameter, flow rate, and table movement speed. The results were compared considering criteria of hydrodynamic efficiency, deposition quality and finger thickness. For the conical nozzle, the pressure drop was determined as 68,940.61 Pa at a flow rate of 1.35x10-9 m3/s, a finger width of 0.564 mm and a finger height of 0.299 mm; while for the needle nozzle, a pressure drop of 986,214 Pa, and finger width and height of 0.551 mm and 0.299 mm, respectively; for the conical nozzle with progressive reduction, a pressure drop of 77,483.1 Pa, and a finger width and height of 0.568 mm and 0.297 mm, respectively. The conical nozzle shows the best results considering its hydrodynamic efficiency, deposition quality and finger size, therefore, this design is a viable alternative for the manufacture of solar cell fingers. Keywords: Solar panels, conductive fingers, copper nanopaste, Computational Fluid Dynamics, hydrodynamic efficiency.