Aerodynamics of ground-mounted solar panels: Test model scale effects

Aly, Aly Mousaad; Bitsuamlak, Girma

doi:10.1016/j.jweia.2013.07.007

Cited by 83 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This type of flow can be observed in various engineering applications such as heat exchangers, nuclear reactor, turbine blade, wind tunnel, fluid catalytic cracking and air foil (Ahsan, 2012;Aly and Bitsuamlak, 2013;Aly, 2014). Other examples of relevance have been mentioned by Pimentel et al (1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Numerical analysis of friction factor for a fully developed turbulent flow using k–ε turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment

Ahsan

2014

Beni-Suef University Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences

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Enhanced wall treatment keε turbulence model Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Friction factor a b s t r a c t The aim of this study is to formulate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that can illustrate the fully turbulent flow in a pipe at higher Reynolds number. The flow of fluids in a pipe network is an important and widely studied problem in any engineering industry. It is always significant to see the development of a fluid flow and pressure drop in a pipe at higher Reynolds number. A finite volume method (FVM) solver with keε turbulence model and enhanced wall treatment is used first time to investigate the flow of water at different velocities with higher Reynolds number in a 3D pipe. Numerical results have been presented to illustrate the effects of Reynolds number on turbulence intensity, average shear stress and friction factor. Friction factor is used to investigate the pressure drop along the length of the pipe. The contours of wall function are also presented to investigate the effect of enhanced wall treatment on a fluid flow. A maximum Reynolds number is also found for which the selected pipe length is sufficient to find a full developed turbulent flow at outlet. The results of CFD modeling are validated by comparing them with available data in literature. The model results have been shown good agreement with experimental and corelation data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Numerical analysis of friction factor for a fully developed turbulent flow using k–ε turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment

Ahsan

2014

Beni-Suef University Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences

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“…This scale is not commonly used for testing residential buildings in traditional boundary-layer wind tunnels. However, as discussed early in the paper (see also Aly and Bitsuamlak, 2012), a large model that allows proper pressure measurements and architectural details representation is necessary. The scale taken in this study was a result of a compromise choice between making the modules sufficiently large for pressure instrumentation and keeping the wind tunnel blockage less than 5%.…”

Section: Roof Mounted Solar Panelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerodynamic Loads on Solar Panels

Aly

Bitsuamlak

2013

Structures Congress 2013

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The existing literature has limited aerodynamic data for the evaluation of design wind loads for solar panels. Furthermore, there are no provisions in building codes and standards to guide the design of these types of structures for wind. This paper presents a systematic wind tunnel study to evaluate wind loads on solar panels mounted on low-rise gable buildings. A preliminary geometric scale effect study using a simple isolated solar panel was carried out to permit design appropriate wind tunnel experiments. Following the scale effect study, wind loads on solar panels mounted on different critical zones of low-rise residential roof are systematically investigated. The results of the current paper provide useful information for the design of the solar panels.

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“…Detailed features of some of these works can be found at the literature review conducted by Stathopoulos et al (2012). However, few studies report the effect of wind loading on ground mounted PV panels through wind tunnel test (Abiola-Ogedengbe et al 2015, Aly and Bitsuamlak 2013a, Stathopoulos et al 2014, which is the aim of the present work. Aly and Bitsuamlak (2013a) analyzed the wind load of ground mounted solar panels at different geometrical scales through experimental tests in a wind tunnel and numerical analysis using CFD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, few studies report the effect of wind loading on ground mounted PV panels through wind tunnel test (Abiola-Ogedengbe et al 2015, Aly and Bitsuamlak 2013a, Stathopoulos et al 2014, which is the aim of the present work. Aly and Bitsuamlak (2013a) analyzed the wind load of ground mounted solar panels at different geometrical scales through experimental tests in a wind tunnel and numerical analysis using CFD. Full scale dimensions of the panel were 1.336 m x 9.144 m. It was tested with scales 1:50, 1:30, 1:20, 1:10, 1:5 with 25° and 40° of angles inclination for four wind profiles and 0° wind direction at wind tunnel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%