TESTED.COM’s Kishore Hari and Norm Chan visited Westpak’s San Jose lab with their high-speed camera crew to record the effect of impacting a solar panel with simulated 25mm (1″) diameter hail balls launched by Mr. Freeze, a specialized air gun used in solar module testing.
Meet Mr. Freeze, Westpak’s Hail Cannon!
The images of the ice balls shattering on the panel’s glass after impact at ~ 23 m/sec are pretty much what one would expect.
Taking the action up a notch or two, Westpak’s Test Engineer Jessica Sohn then loaded Mr. Freeze with 1” nylon and finally 1” steel spheres for launching.
That’s when the fun really started! Check out TESTED’s 3-minute video and high-speed slow mo to see how tough a typical solar panel is when impacted with plastic and steel!
