Numerical study of wind forces on parabolic solar collectors

Concentrated solar power is an established technology for megawatt-scale power generation. Recent advances in lower-cost and lighter materials have made kilowatt-scale concentrated solar power applications feasible. Despite the importance of designing support structures for solar collectors, very little reliable work has been done to investigate the forces of the wind on parabolic solar collectors. In the present study, two-dimensional numerical turbulent flow simulations around parabolic solar collectors are performed. Force and torque data are presented for several collector orientations and for wind speeds 8.9 m/s (20 mph) ≤V≤ 49.2 m/s (110 mph). The aperture width of the parabola, which corresponds to aperture widths used for kilowatt-scale as well as some megawatt-scale applications, is also varied from 1.2 m (4 ft) ≤a≤3.7 m (12 ft).