Effects of Cornices on Wind Loads of Solar Panels Mounted on Gable Roof Building

Zhibin Tu, Jianfeng Yao (), Xing Zhou, Dong Wang, Guohui Shen and Shice Yu
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Zhibin Tu: College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Nanxun Campus, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Huzhou 313009, China
Jianfeng Yao: College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Nanxun Campus, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Huzhou 313009, China
Xing Zhou: Hangzhou Jiangnan Talent Service Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 310009, China
Dong Wang: China Energy Engineering Group, Zhejiang Electric Power Design Institute Co., LTD., Hangzhou 310012, China
Guohui Shen: Institute of Structural Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Shice Yu: Institute of Structural Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: The effects of various parameters of the solar panel and surrounding structure on wind loads acting on solar panels have been extensively investigated in prior studies. However, the parameter of cornice length has not been considered. With varying lengths of cornices, solar panels can be positioned either near or far away from the roof corner and edge, which are the locations where the largest wind-induced suction forces are likely to occur. To examine the effects of cornices, a wind tunnel test was conducted to measure the wind pressures on a solar module installed on a residential gable roof building. The cornice lengths varied from 0 m to 1.6 m, with an interval of 0.4 m. The results show that when wind blows perpendicular to the roof ridge, cornice can reduce the mean, STD, and peak pressure coefficients on the upper and lower surfaces and resulting net values. However, it should be noted that the most unfavorable area-averaged minimum peaks in the middle and trailing zones exhibit a gradual increase with the growing cornice length. Considering the potential risk of solar module failure resulting from high wind-induced suction forces, more caution is needed when installing solar modules on roofs with larger cornices.

Keywords: solar module; gable roof building; cornice; wind loads (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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