Deposition Characteristics of Aerosol Particles on the Surface of PV Modules: Numerical Study

Abstract

The deposition of aerosol particles can significantly affect the surface transmittance of photovoltaic (PV) modules and thus reduce photoelectric efficiency. With the aid of the control variable method, orthogonal experimental design, and stepwise linear regression method, a numerical simulation study of the deposition process of aerosol particles on the surface of a PV module is carried out in this paper. The influence laws of inflow wind velocity (v), particle diameter (d), installation angle (𝜶), and particle concentration (c) on the deposition process of aerosol particles are analyzed, respectively. The deposition mechanism of aerosol particles on the surface of the PV module is disclosed, and the prediction model of deposition rate (n) is proposed. The results show that v, d, and c all positively affect n of the aerosol particles within the value ranges of each investigation variable in this study. 𝜶 positively affects n of the aerosol particles when v is less than 3.65 m s −1 . 𝜶 negatively affects the n of the aerosol particles when v is larger than 3.65 m s −1 . The prediction model could accurately predict the n of aerosol particles. This research has a theoretical guiding significance for the formulation process of cleaning strategies for the surface of PV modules.

Influence of the Sphericity Coefficient on the Deposition Characteristics of Aerosol Particles on the Surface of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules: Numerical Simulation

“…According to the actual structure and operating environment of the photovoltaic (PV) module, the windward side and surrounding calculation domain of the photovoltaic (PV) module were set as glass and air, respectively. From Table 1 [26], firstly, the dynamic viscosity of air, installation angle of the photovoltaic (PV) module, and inflow wind speed were taken as 1.84 × 10 −5 Pa•s (annual average value of Hohhot), 40.48 • (geographical latitude of Hohhot), and 3.50 m/s, respectively. Secondly, the d was taken as 10.00, 20.00, and 30.00 µm, and the Ψ was taken as 0.73, 0.76, 0.79, 0.82, 0.85, 0.88, and 0.91, respectively [27].…”