Numerical investigation of wind load on flexible photovoltaic arrays considering the impact·of water surface and·shore height·difference

Abstract Photovoltaic panels are commonly utilized in settings like fish ponds and reservoirs. Water level changes in these scenarios can cause height difference between the water surface and the shoreline, which may lead to changes in the wind load characteristics, thereby raising the likelihood of harm to the photovoltaic panels. To address the issue, this study undertakes a numerical study of flexible photovoltaic arrays subjected to wind loads considering the impact of height difference between the water surface and shore. Firstly, this study establishes a model for a single-row flexible photovoltaic frame without height difference to calculate the wind pressure coefficient, which is then compared with existing literature to verify the accuracy of the simulation. Next, three types of flexible photovoltaic arrays models with height difference are used to study how these height difference affect wind pressure coefficients. Finally, flexible photovoltaic arrays with wind barriers are established to explore the effect of wind barriers on reducing wind pressure coefficients. The results show that under a 180° wind direction, the height difference can double the surface suction of the downstream photovoltaic panels. Adding wind barriers can reduce the absolute value of the lift coefficient on flexible photovoltaic arrays to below 0.2.