Experimental Study on Wind Load Characteristics of Dual-slope Solar Panels

Purposes This research has been carried out to investigate the wind load characteristics of dual-slope solar panels. Methods Wind tunnel tests with rigid models were conducted to investigate the effects of wind direction, inclination angle, and panel spacing on the surface wind pressure distributions and shape coefficients of dual-slope solar panels. The experimental results were compared with recommended values specified in three national standards including China, America, and Japan, and the shape coefficients were then suggested. Findings The results show that the extreme value of local shape coefficient occurs at the corner of windward edge of the solar panel at the wind direction of 15°. The most unfavorable wind direction for the overall shape coefficient of dual-slope solar panels is 0°, and the wind loads on the panel increase as the inclination angle increases. For solar panels with large inclination angles, the spacing has a significant influence on the wind loads acting on the structures, and the windward panel is more sensitive to spacing than the leeward panel. When the inclination angle is greater than 15°, the overall shape coefficient of the leeward panel is higher than the specification value for the structure with similar shape as the dual-slope solar panel, as given in the “Load code for the design of building structures” of China.