Two-Dimensional Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow Past A Flexible Photovoltaic Panels

In order to systematically evaluate the computational efficiency of two-dimensional large eddy simulation (2D LES) in separation flow analysis, this study constructs a multi-scale LES model for turbulent separation flow characteristics, focusing on its applicability under deep stall conditions of flexible photovoltaic systems. Based on the classical N-S equation framework, the dynamic sub-grid stress model (DSM) is used to capture the energy level chain effect in the flow separation process, and the adaptive mesh refinement technology (AMR) is used to achieve a fine resolution of 0.01H (feature height) in the near-wall area. Experimental verification shows that the average deviation of the two-dimensional LES model from the particle image velocimetry (PIV) measured data in the prediction of key flow characteristics such as vortex transport and recirculation zone evolution is only 8.7%. Through parametric research and comparison, it is found that under typical wind attack angles (α=45°), the surface pressure distribution of photovoltaic panels calculated by two-dimensional LES is consistent with the three-dimensional RANS/LES hybrid method by 92%, and the calculation time is reduced by 78%. In particular, the two-dimensional model successfully reproduced the vortex shedding frequency characteristics dominated by the Strouhal number (St≈0.15) for the dynamic aerodynamic load oscillation phenomenon caused by flow separation. The study confirmed that the two-dimensional LES method can not only accurately capture the evolution law of the separation shear layer, but its unique ability to analyze the planar vortex structure also shows unique advantages in complex fluid-solid coupling problems, providing an efficient and reliable numerical analysis tool for the aerodynamic optimization design of photovoltaic arrays.