Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Re: Wind load design for Photovoltaic panel installations

Depending on how much clearance there is below the panels, and how
steeply angled they are, you could use elementary aeronautics equations
for flat plates. The lift is proportional to the angle of attack (angle
to roof plane, I suppose, here), and the center of pressure is 25% back
from the leading edge. The lift is something like 2 x pi x alpha x
stagnation pressure. That's only good for angles up to about 25-30
degrees if I remember correctly, then the plate will "stall" and it
starts to look more like a drag element with Cd approaching 2. A first
year aero book, like Bertin & Smith (Aerodynamics for Engineers) covers
the basics if you're willing to wade through - or gloss over - the N-S
equations to get to the simplified answers for your case.

Jordan


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