Zachary: Solar PV panelssit on top of single axis trackers. These trackers, and therefore the panels, rotate throughout the day to track the sun, facing from the east to the west. Tracking the sun in this way is.
The local wind climate surrounding the solar power plant is also a vital factor. Specifically, the wind speed and predominant wind directions can influence how the power plants' panels and their structures respond. The dynamic properties of the trackers have a massive influence on the design as well.
Wind tunnel tests are hence needed to examine the aerodynamic stability of the tracker array under different influencing factors, such as incoming flow conditions, tracking angles, and layouts. These findings will then help solar tracker manufacturers to determine the parameters in the design of the solar tracker structure.
How does wind affect a solar tracker?
The key results of this experiment are the wind loads acting on the solar tracker, comprising the forces due to the mean incoming wind as well as the fluctuations induced by turbulence (buffeting), which depends upon the terrain characteristics in the nearby of the plant site.
How do solar trackers and solar farms respond to wind loads?
The structural response of solar trackers and solar farms to wind loads is typically evaluated in a wind tunnel. These experiments also enable cost-effective assessments of various design configurations before field deployment. A crucial aspect of such testing is the accurate characterization of the wind flow within the test section.
Do solar plants affect tracker response?
This article examines several key parameters of solar plants and evaluates their influence on tracker response, emphasizing wind-induced aeroelastic effects. These parameters include the layout arrangement of solar plants and the inter-row spacing.
Why do solar trackers fail?
While the aero-elastic phenomena of torsional galloping, flutter and divergence were known to bridge aerodynamicists, the propensity of solar trackers to undergo such responses, often resulting in catastrophic failures at wind speeds well below the design level event, came as a surprise to wind engineers anecdotally only a few years back.