Application of a Numerical Simulation to the Estimation of Wind Loads on Photovoltaic Panels Installed Parallel to Sloped Roofs of Residential Houses

Many residential houses with sloped roofs are equipped with photovoltaic (PV) systems. In Japan, PV systems are generally designed based on JIS C 8955, which specifies wind force coefficients for designing PV panels. However, no specification is provided to the PV panels installed near the roof edges where high suctions are induced. When installing PV panels in such high-suction zones, we need to evaluate the wind loads on the PV panels appropriately, usually by performing a wind tunnel experiment. However, it is difficult to make wind tunnel models of PV panels with the same geometric scale as that for the building, e.g., 1/100, because the thickness of PV panels and the distance between PV panels and a roof are both several centimeters. Therefore, in the present paper a numerical simulation is applied to the estimation of pressures in the space between the lower surface of PV panels and the roof surface, called “layer pressures”, using the unsteady Bernoulli equation and the time histories of external pressure coefficients obtained from a wind tunnel experiment. An assumption of the weak compressibility of the air and an adiabatic condition is made for predicting the layer pressures from the flow speed through the gaps. The simulation method is validated by a wind tunnel experiment using a model of square-roof building.