Wind load analysis of a solar tracker for concentrator photovoltaics

This work studied the air flow over a two-axis solar tracker with two CPV modules installed. Both the velocity distribution and wind load were analyzed in order to quantify the effects of elevation angle and wind speed on the structural strength of tracker. The air flow is simulated as turbulent, incompressible flow upto 30 m/s and the k-ε turbulence model is utilized for characterizing the flow turbulence. The range of elevation angle is varied between 0° to 90°. As the elevation angle increases, the wind load on the tracker reduces, and large recirculation zone and the suction pressure field are identified on the leeward side of the tracker. The maximum wind load always located on the pedestal of tracker. As the elevation angle decreases, the pedestal experiences increasing wind load. Such wind load distribution on the CPV modules and tracker has been used as the load-input for analyzing the structural deformation of the whole system (CPV modules and tracker). This deformation causes different levels of off-set angle on the CPV module which may reduce the tracking accuracy and degrade the electricity output of CPV system.