Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Wind Load Characteristics on Multi-row Arrays of Solar Tracking Systems

This study examines the wind load behavior of single- and multi-row solar tracking arrays through wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. It includes a validation of numerical methods against experimental data. The validity of simplifying the full surface pressure integration method into a weighted approach based on pressure measurement areas was first systematically explored, demonstrating a less than 5% error. Wind load characteristics were analyzed under various tilt angles and wind directions. The results show that the wind load on the first row increases progressively with the tilt angle, peaking at 60°, while the second row peaks at 20°. For wind direction, the first row’s load intensifies to a maximum at 90°, while the second row exhibits double peaks at 50° and 90°. Furthermore, comprehensive numerical simulations were conducted to extend the research to multi-row solar tracking systems, including 4-row, 8-row, and 12-row systems. The wind loads on each row in the array exhibit significant differences, but their variation patterns do not change significantly with an increase in the number of rows. The first row experiences the largest wind load, and at lower tilt angles (≤15°), the wind load tends to decrease as the number of rows increases. However, when the tilt angle surpasses 30°, the second row’s load is minimized. The last row’s load slightly exceeds the penultimate row’s load.