Abstract

Solar panel systems placed either on building roofs or in the fields have become popular worldwide during the last decades since their contribution to environmental friendly energy production is remarkable. Their exposure to wind loads results to wind-induced loading which cannot be predicted efficiently because design standards and codes provide very little information. The main objective of this study is to determine and assess how different combination of parameters can affect the wind flow and thus the pressure distribution on the surface of the panels. For this purpose, wind tunnel tests were performed in the Building Aerodynamics laboratory of Concordia University.
Literature review was conducted demonstrating experimental results from previous studies for stand-alone panels and those attached to building roofs. A 1:200 scale model was fabricated consisting of a building and panels attached to the roof. The model was tested in the wind tunnel for different configurations, such as two different building heights and the case without the building, two panel locations and 4 panel inclinations for 13 angles of wind attack.
The acquired data was transformed into mean and peak force, local and area-averaged pressure coefficients. Different configurations result in different pressure distribution indicating those parameters contributing to the most critical cases. The results of the study will be made available to the wind code and standards committees for possible utilization.