Abstract. Generally built in desert areas, heliostat fields undergo various wind loading conditions. An ANSYS Fluent CFD model of an isolated heliostat in worst-case orientation for the drag force is realized via numerical simulations using the realizable k-ε turbulence model. This paper focuses on the gap width between the panels and its influence on the wind loading that heliostats are subjected to. An atmospheric boundary layer profile is generated based on a wind tunnel experiment. For a heliostat in upright and tilted orientations with the wind angle being zero degrees, the gap width is varied and the force and moment coefficients are calculated. In the range tested, all the coefficients globally increase with the widening of the gaps.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.