A Method of Producing Low-Density, High-Strength Thin Cement Sheets: Pilot Run for a Glass-Free Solar Panel

Materials (Basel). 2023 Dec 4;16(23):7500. doi: 10.3390/ma16237500.

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative method of producing a low-density, high-strength, thin cement sheet. A seaweed powder was mixed with Portland cement, a foaming agent, calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA), and a quantity of water to create an A4-sized thin sheet with a thickness of 7 mm, which can withstand 1.5 kg in weight. This sheet was then covered with ethylene vinyl acetate and a backsheet to create a sandwiched cement sheet. The advantages of this sandwiched cement sheet are two-fold. First, it can support up to 13 kg in a static mechanical loading test, without bending, for over eight hours. Second, it can be quickly recovered at the end of its life cycle. This was a preliminary experiment to produce a large cement sheet that could satisfy the loading requirements for a solar panel. The purpose of the large, thin cement sheet is to replace the glass in a conventional solar panel and create a lightweight solar panel of less than 10 kg, which would mean that the installation of solar panels would become a one-person operation rather than a two-person operation. It would also increase the efficiency of the solar panel installation process.

Keywords: EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate); backsheet; glass-free solar panel; low-density and high-strength thin cement sheet; sandwiched cement sheet.

Grants and funding

Part of the research funding comes from grant DIM-1103 by Solarplant Technology, Taiwan.