Use of the Wind Tunnel Test Method for Obtaining Design Wind Loads on Roof-Mounted Solar Arrays
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 2
Abstract
ASCE 7 does not provide design wind loads for roof-mounted solar panels. This paper discusses the use of the wind tunnel test method, called Method 3 in ASCE 7-05, which was originally intended for obtaining design wind loads for individual buildings. Because roof-mounted solar arrays are generally mounted in many configurations on many buildings of many different shapes, additional requirements are necessary to use Method 3 in this situation. The paper describes these additional requirements.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
G. A. Kopp is grateful to SunLink Corp. for the use of the data presented herein and to Mr. Chris Tilley and Mr. Rob Ward for many useful discussions pertaining to codification and design issues for roof-mounted solar arrays.
References
ASCE. (1999). “Wind tunnel model studies of buildings and structures.” ASCE manual of practice number 67, Reston, VA.
ASCE. (2006). “Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.” ASCE7-05, Reston, VA.
ASCE. (2010). “Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.” ASCE7-10, Reston, VA.
Banks, D., Meroney, R. N., Sarkar, P. P., Zhao, Z., and Wu, F. (2000). “Flow visualization of conical vortices on flat roofs with simultaneous surface pressure measurement.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 84(1), 65–85.
Castro, I. P. (1982). “Discussion of ‘Scaling parameters for a time-averaged separation bubble’.” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 104(3), 404–405.
Cochran, L., and Derickson, R. (2010). “A physical modeler’s view of computational wind engineering.” Proc., 5th Int. Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering, International Association of Wind Engineers, Chapel Hill, NC.
Kopp, G. A., Farquhar, S., and Morrison, M. J. (2012). “Aerodynamic mechanisms for wind loads on tilted, roof-mounted, solar arrays.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 111, 40–52.
Lin, J. X., and Surry, D. (1998). “The variation of peak loads with tributary area near corners on flat low building roofs.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 77–78(1), 185–196.
Meroney, R. N., and Neff, D. E. (2010). “Wind effects on roof-mounted solar photovoltaic arrays: CFD and wind-tunnel evaluation.” Proc., 5th Int. Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering, International Association of Wind Engineers, Chapel Hill, NC.
Smits, A. J. (1982). “Scaling parameters for a time-averaged separation bubble.” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 104(2), 178–184.
Stathopoulos, T. (1979). “Turbulent wind action on low-rise buildings.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
Stathopoulos, T. (2003). “Wind loads on low-buildings: in the wake of Alan Davenport’s contributions.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 91(12–15), 1565–1585.
Surry, D. (1982). “Consequences of distortions in the flow including mismatching scales and intensities of turbulence.” Wind tunnel modeling for civil engineering applications, T. A. Reinhold, ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 137–185.
Tieleman, H. W. (2003). “Wind tunnel simulation of wind loading on low-rise structures: A review.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 91(12–15), 1627–1649.
Visscher, B., and Kopp, G. A. (2007). “Trajectories of roof sheathing panels under high winds.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 95(8), 697–713.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2011
Accepted: May 16, 2012
Published online: May 18, 2012
Published in print: Feb 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.