Experimental study of aerodynamic loads on ground-mounted solar panel arrays: The panel spacing and inclination angle effect

Abstract

The influence of panel inclination, wind direction, and longitudinal panel spacing on the wind loads of the model of ground-mounted solar panel arrays scaled 1:20 in a wind tunnel was investigated for a Reynolds number of 1.3 × 105. The experiments were carried out at the panel inclination of 25° and 45°, dimensionless panel spacing in tandem of 0.5 and 1, and the wind directions of the incoming flow were varied from 0° to 180° at 30° intervals. A constant temperature anemometer was used to measure the velocity and turbulence intensities, and a pressure scanner system measured static pressures. The results indicated that the net pressure coefficients of the solar panels were increased with the panel inclination angle and spacing between solar panels, and the maximum wind loads were obtained on the first windward panel. It was also observed that in terms of maximum uplift and drag, 180° and 0° was found to be the critical wind direction, respectively. In contrast, in terms of overturning moments, 30° and 150° were the critical wind directions.