Study on Mean Wind Pressure Coefficients and Sheltering Effect of Super-Large Low-Inclination Photovoltaic Panel Arrays

CFD numerical simulations are conducted to investigate wind effects on super-large, low-inclination floating PV arrays, with emphasis on the influence of streamwise pitch and tilt angle on the mean wind pressure coefficients and the sheltering effect. Following validation of the CFD model against wind-tunnel measurements, the validated CFD numerical simulation method is applied to these arrays under 0° and 180° wind directions to examine the effects of streamwise pitch and tilt angle and the corresponding variation patterns. Results show that due to the sheltering effect, mean wind pressure coefficients decrease with increasing row number and eventually stabilize; compared with the 0° wind direction, mean wind pressure coefficients of all rows are higher under the 180° wind direction, indicating the array sustains greater wind loads. Moreover, except for the first row, the coefficients for the other rows increase with increasing streamwise pitch. Further flow-field analysis reveals that, under low tilt angles, both the coefficients and the sheltering effect are far more sensitive to tilt-angle changes, whereas the streamwise pitch modulates the coefficients by influencing the sheltering effect between adjacent PV panels. After clarifying the applicable scope of the numerical simulation model and computational method, empirical formulas for the first-row mean wind pressure coefficient and the average wind load reduction coefficient both accounting for the influence of streamwise pitch of the solar panel array are proposed, with recommended parameter values derived via fitting analysis. Compared with conventional methods, the holistic wind load calculation method based on the average reduction coefficient is concise, intuitive and broadly applicable, which provides a reasonable and efficient approach for accurate wind load prediction of large-scale PV arrays.