1025 Effects of inflow turbulence on wind structure around a photovoltaic panel

Abstract

A wind-tunnel test was conducted to investigate wind fields behind an inclined flat panel on a floor, which corresponds to a photovoltaic panel on the ground. The tilt angle of the panel was 20°, which is typical value in real power stations and yields flow separations behind the panel. Two kinds of inflow turbulence were used: one has a disturbance where each of the active grid bars flaps in a random way to mimic the atmospheric turbulence (caseM) and the other has no additional disturbance, where all grid bars remain at rest (caseC). The comparison of cases C and M clearly shows that the inflow turbulence has serious effects on wind fluctuation behind a panel; the strong inflow turbulence activates wind fluctuation processes in the low-frequency regions.