Simulating Wind-Driven Loading on PV Systems

Conference · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EDT 2024

OSTI ID:2476493

Young, Ethan; Arsalane, Walid; Stanislawski, Brooke; He, Xin; Rasmussen, Melissa; Ivanov, Chris; Dana, Scott

As PV modules continue to trend toward larger, thinner, and more flexible forms they grow more susceptible to damage from dynamic wind loading. As a result, understanding the impact of wind on PV systems, particularly when mounted on compliant solar-tracking hardware, and identifying robust, stable array layouts and stow strategies is becoming increasingly important for the PV community. We are developing an open-source software package, PVade (PV aerodynamic design engineering), to simulate the cascading fluid-structure interaction that occurs within single-axis, solar-tracking arrays to enable researchers to test hardware, layout, and tracker control changes, leading to enhanced stability and a reduction in wind-driven damage. We will give an overview of the PVade software and present the latest outcomes from our ongoing validation campaign in which we compare time series and statistical structural responses with field data. From there, we will present simulated results from a larger, multi-row array and highlight the effect of varying tracker angles on stability and the differences between positive and negative tilt angles.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office, Durable Modules Consortium (DuraMAT)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 2476493
• Report Number(s): NREL/PR-2C00-91678; MainId:93456; UUID:a5f7e803-eee5-4114-a1e5-e4c2e3fcfff8; MainAdminId:74072
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
SOLAR ENERGY
PV
fluid
interaction
loading
solar
stability
structure
tracking
wind