A numerical approach to the investigation of wind loading on an array of ground mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels

Aerodynamic loads on, and wind flow field around, an array of ground mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, immersed in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) for open country exposure, are investigated using the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. A full scale three-dimensional (3D) solver from OpenFOAM® (ESI Group) is employed with the Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence closure. Several azimuthal wind directions (South, 0°; Southwest, 45°; Northwest, 135° and North, 180°), for a Reynolds number of 3×106, are considered. The numerical modeling approach is validated by comparing the velocity field surrounding a ground mounted stand-alone solar panel with wind tunnel experiments. Detail analysis of wind loading on the array is provided in relation to the wind flow field surrounding the array. The results for the array configuration show that all the trailing rows are in the complete wake of the leading row for straight winds (0° and 180°), but not for oblique winds (45° and 135°). For all four wind directions studied here, the first windward row experiences the maximum wind loads in terms of drag and lift. In terms of the maximum overturning moment, the 45° and 135° wind directions are critical with similar overturning moment coefficients for each row.