Numerical Simulation of Wind Effect on a Rooftop Solar Array

The recent demand of alternative energy sources increases the installation of Photovoltaic (PV) Solar arrays. The arrays are often vulnerable to wind loading. These systems are usually installed in two different locations: (1) mounted on building tops or (2) installed in the open ground. Guidelines are rarely available for the design of these solar arrays due to wind action. Some researchers have tried to analyse the system considering it as a mono-slope roof. Limited wind tunnel studies are preformed on this aspect worldwide. This paper investigates the wind action on a Roof-top Solar Array (RSA) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A solar power generation facility of capacity 100 KW has been installed at CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee with roof mounted solar arrays. The wind action on a single solar array is considered in the study, where array is located at different location of the roof. Results of the CFD simulations are compared with Indian Standard (IS) 875 part 3 Codal provisions which may be used as an approximate estimate of wind load on a solar array. The results show that the solar array is subject to significant suction under wind loading which may cause lifting of the array if it is not properly designed.