solar panel

Industry background

As the thrust for clean energy continues to pick pace, solar energy as an alternative source of energy is gaining traction among customers worldwide. Solar energy is tapped through solar panels installation that can be either ground mounted or installed over rooftops.

Customer Challenges

One of our customers M/s. Astrix Energy has been in the business of solar module installation for more than a decade. One of their business strengths is installation of solar panels over roof tops, a system in which solar modules are installed over aluminium brackets which are themselves secured over corrugated GI sheets by rivets.

The riveting process demand that the sheets be punctured that:

  • Reduces the strength of the sheet and hence the durability of the structure.
  • Invariably leads to water leakage during rainy seasons. This was one of the major concerns raised by their potential customers during the project discussion stage and sometimes could lead to the derailing of entire project.

Elixir Solution

Engineering team at Elixir recommended to use Crestabond M7-15, a metal glue for securing the mounting brackets over the GI Seets by bonding without the need for puncturing the roof top, (refer to pictures). The primer less Crestabond M7-15 adhesive with its excellent mechanical properties and proven performance in outdoor environment was a natural choice when customer approached Elixir for a solution.

metal glue

Product Testing and Validation

In consultation with customer, tensile and shear load-carrying capacity of adhesive was validated in UTM. In both the cases, adhesive joint exceeded the customer expected strength of 220 Kg Pull out load, by a factor of safety of two or more.

Tensile Load Testing

Withstood Load upto
4400N before bondline
failure

Shear Load Testing

Fixture broken
@ 7390N load – Bondline
intact

Key Benefits of Crestabond

In consultation with customer, tensile and shear load-carrying capacity of adhesive was validated in UTM. In both the cases, adhesive joint exceeded the customer expected strength of 220 Kg Pull out load, by a factor of safety of two or more.

  • No need to puncture the roof sheet which ensures the longevity of the sheet without compromising on the warranty of GI sheet.

  • No chances of water leakage and the associated quality issues.

  • Lesser number of assembly operations saves assembly time close to 25%.

  • No need for maintenance and hence lower operational and maintenance cost.

Astrix Energy has been using our solutions for more than a year now and this is what customer has to say about product and solution

We are very much happy to use Crestabond M7-15 for clamp bonding application in our roof top installations. This has helped us in avoiding puncturing of roof tops and thereby ensuring customer satisfaction and long-term durability of our installations.

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