<p>With the increasing adoption of zero-emission building concepts, rooftop photovoltaic systems have become widely used. However, the installation of photovoltaic panels alters the nearby snow distribution. To address this, it is essential to study wind-induced snow drifting specifically on photovoltaic roofs. This study employs an improved Eulerian–Eulerian (E–E) simulation method to systematically investigate the characteristics of snow redistribution around a single photovoltaic panel. Both photovoltaic panel with and without ground clearance are examined, focusing on the effects of fetch distance and panel inclination angle on snow drifting. A wind tunnel test was conducted to predict snow redistribution on the roof and photovoltaic panel, and the simulation results showed good overall agreement with the experimental data. The findings show that a longer fetch distance increases the snow transport rate but decreases the snow particle trapping efficiency. For the photovoltaic panel without a ground clearance, a greater inclination angle acts as an increase in obstacle height, reducing snow transport rate but enhancing trapping efficiency. In contrast, for the panel with a ground clearance, a larger inclination angle leads to simultaneous increases in erosion beneath the panel and deposition behind it, thereby increasing both snow transport rate and trapping efficiency. These results provide valuable insights for the design of photovoltaic roofs in snowy regions.</p>

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CFD simulations of snow drifting on flat roof with a photovoltaic panel: Impact of photovoltaic panel on nearby snow redistributions

  • Xuanyi Zhou,
  • Shan Ding,
  • Yue Wu,
  • Tiange Zhang,
  • Zhenbiao Liu

摘要

With the increasing adoption of zero-emission building concepts, rooftop photovoltaic systems have become widely used. However, the installation of photovoltaic panels alters the nearby snow distribution. To address this, it is essential to study wind-induced snow drifting specifically on photovoltaic roofs. This study employs an improved Eulerian–Eulerian (E–E) simulation method to systematically investigate the characteristics of snow redistribution around a single photovoltaic panel. Both photovoltaic panel with and without ground clearance are examined, focusing on the effects of fetch distance and panel inclination angle on snow drifting. A wind tunnel test was conducted to predict snow redistribution on the roof and photovoltaic panel, and the simulation results showed good overall agreement with the experimental data. The findings show that a longer fetch distance increases the snow transport rate but decreases the snow particle trapping efficiency. For the photovoltaic panel without a ground clearance, a greater inclination angle acts as an increase in obstacle height, reducing snow transport rate but enhancing trapping efficiency. In contrast, for the panel with a ground clearance, a larger inclination angle leads to simultaneous increases in erosion beneath the panel and deposition behind it, thereby increasing both snow transport rate and trapping efficiency. These results provide valuable insights for the design of photovoltaic roofs in snowy regions.