Simulation of sand removing by using electric field curtain for PV modules installed in arid land

Abstract

Arid land is desirable place for PV power generation because of fine weather. However, sand accumulation on PV modules decrease the generated power in such area. It is not appropriate using water to remove the sand in arid land. Electric field curtain (EFC) is one of a promising method to remove the sand without using water. In this paper, we report on the sand removal characteristics of three-phase EFC for various voltage, electrode distance, tilt angle and cover glass thickness, which corresponds to cover glass of PV module, of EFC. It is shown that high EFC voltage, large tilt angle, thin cover glass and narrow electrode distance give good sand removal characteristics.