Wind Load Calculation Acting on PV Plant with Solar Tracking System

Abstract

The article presents an overview of photovoltaic plant design software. The considered programs do not allow to analyze the value of the wind load on a photovoltaic plant. This aspect must be taken into account when designing photovoltaic plants with solar tracking systems. A computational 3D model of the photovoltaic plant with a dual-axis solar tracking system of the Orenburg State University has been developed in the SolidWorks. An analysis of the wind loads on a plant has been carried out at wind speeds of 32 m/s, 7.9 m/s and at various inclination angles of photovoltaic modules. Revealed that the photovoltaic plant will be under significant wind load at a wind speed of 32 m/s and inclination angle $\beta=45^{\circ}$ and $\beta=79^{\circ}$. Long-term operation of the photovoltaic plant under these conditions will lead to a significant reduction in service life. In this regard, the control system must be equipped with protection of the photovoltaic plant from wind loads.