Computer Aided Engineering

MEMB3044

LECTURER: DR Mohd Rashdan Bin Isa

Mini Project

SECTION: 01

1 Alrashid Abdullah Haroon S ME0106145

2 Abdulrahman algharib ME0105602

3 Izzeddin A M Doudin ME0106161

4 Gawlan Dheyab ME0104754

5 ALHARBI MESHAL MANSOUR A ME0105314

Table of Contents
Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………1,2
Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..2,3
Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Design 1 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4,7

Design 2……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7,10

Analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11,12
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14

Abstract
In this report we had seen a flat photovoltaic panel system which has objective to minimize
its weight without affecting its strength. It should take wind forces at different angles. The
report shows analysis of these forces and conducting simulations to understand how this will
affect the bracket. We also reducing cost of manufacturing by keeping design simple. We
had to use two different designs and choose the best one. We will do cfd on panel for
different angles, forces we get from there we are adding those forces on our bracket in FEA.
Bracket which is best against these forces also has less mass will be our priority. So weight
and surface area of bracket are our parameters to govern cost and manufacturing ease.

Introduction

For flat-panel photovoltaic systems, trackers are used to minimize the angle of incidence
between the incoming sunlight and a photovoltaic panel, sometimes known as the cosine
error. Reducing this angle increases the amount of energy produced from a fixed amount of
installed power generating capacity [1]. An example of a single axis tracker that follows the
position of the sun as it moves from east to west is shown in Figure 1. These are usually
used in utility-scale projects. A single axis tracker can increase energy production between
25% to 35% [2].
Flat panel pv systems  are used to minimise wastage of solar energy by changing angles  in
direction of sunlight. material cost and manufacturing of these materials is expensive.
Change in angle can cost change in wind forces acting on the system. This project proposes
a change in design with an objective to optimise the sign of the bracket for sun tracking
system attached to the solar panel. We had considered several constraints such as weight of
the system,wind direction etc. Dimension of the panel remains constant; material cannot be
changed too. Objective of this report to online analyse wind pressure on panels at different
angles such as 0, 22.5, 45 and 90. will get the forces out of these and for those forces take
stresses inside this design and if design shows less stress and displacement, we will choose
that design but also our main priority is to get mass optimization. Report has two iterations of
designs; one is better than the other and we also have some room to improve it further.
Finally, Design was analysed using CFD and FEA in CREO.

Methodology

The plate's width and height should be 3.5m m and 5m. The bracket length is 75 cm.

Fig.1. Solar Panel System with bracket

First of all we will use CAD software to design model off brackets and in this case we are
using CREO for designing and simulating and star CCM +. We have considered the ideal air
flow is steady, 3 dimensional and incompressible. To minimise our computational resources
effort we are using one tenth of the model original size. There was a velocity inlet from which
we are drawing air with 60km/h and a pressure outlet to exit air which was at environment
condition. Also we have added symmetry to the wall condition to one of the sides, except the
ground wall we have all walls with slip boundary conditions. Wall of the panel has no slip
boundary condition. The Physics domain is ideal air, isentropic, incompressible, steady and
in direction at 60km/hr. for CFD analysis we use drag and lift monitors plots to extract
results. This calculation you are using to conduct what is the effect of air pressure on panels
is the resultant force and this is given in the result section. These forces are applied in
CREO FEA of brackets in order to find out stresses and displacement, we have assumed Al
alloy material for brackets in FEA simulations.
For CFD analysis we have used drag and lift monitor plots to extract final results and these
values we had taken into consideration to find out final forces on the main model. We have
done fea simulation twice on two different models after getting their final stresses and
displacement plots. Accepted design on the basis of how much weight is reduced and
stresses, displacement values. We ran our simulations for cfd with 1000 iterations, to ensure
good quality of cfd. At 90 degrees we are getting high stress and displacement as compared
to other angles.

RESULTS
Design 1

In this design, we are using angled L shape as shown in below figure , simple for manufacturing and
easy for installation

Fig.2. Creo Design 1

For different angles CFD which we have conducted earlier we have got forces , we used those forces
for simulations

At 90 deg
 Fig.3 &4 shows 2.5257e7 Pa of stress and 0.00063103 m displacement

At 45
 Fig.5 &6 .shows 6.75 e7 Pa of stress and 0.0011616 m displacement

At 22.5
 Fig.7&8. shows 6.75 e7 Pa of stress and 0.0011616 m displacement

At 0
 Fig.9 &10 shows 2.67e6 Pa of stress and 4.6278 e-5 m displacement

Hence from above results we get maximum stress values are between 90 deg to 45 deg orientations
overall Factor of safety was well above 10 hence design was safe hence we can proceed for mass
optimization. Following figure shows mass , center of mass , surface area, volume etc.
 Fig.11 Weight of Design 1

Design 2

In this design we are trying to reduce mass with little change in structural integrity. Two slots with
additional extrude near hole , we are getting 14.15 Kg with the new design hence achieving a 12.6 %
reduction in mass. We have added extra extrude just to add extra thickness and fixture end because
our stresses are concentrating there.

Fig.12 CREO of Design 2

Fig.13 Weight of Design 2
At 90

Fig.14 &15. shows 1.1085 e8 Pa of stress and 0.0011928 m displacement

At 45

Fig.16 &17. shows 1.7445 e8 Pa of stress and 0.0020694 m displacement

At 22.5

Fig.18 &19. shows 1.7445 e8 Pa of stress and 0.0020694 m displacement

At 0

Fig.20 &21. shows 6.679e6 Pa of stress and 7.9263e-5m displacement

From above results its clear that we are getting a factor of safety 2.5 but still it's enough for design
since we are gaining reduction in mass. Also angles between 90 to 45 are dominating stresses and
displacement regimes. When panels are at 0 deg we are having less stresses and displacements in
both cases .

Following figures shows pressure distributions at different orientation of panel

Fig.22. At 0 deg

Fig.23. At 45 deg
 Fig.24.At 90 deg

Fig.25 At 22.5 deg

Using theory behind drag and lift forces we have calculated forces we get on the actual model , we
are calculating drag and lift coefficients from Star Ccm + and using the following formula we are
estimating forces for the actual model ( which was scaled in CFD).
 Table.1.

Angle(deg) CFD Model Force (N) Coeff. Final Forces (N)

Drag Lift Drag Lift Drag Lift

90 105 0.04 3.89 0 10015.7 0

45 24 83 0.89 2.92 2300.16 8200.8

22.5 2.5 83 0.876 2.92 2301.38 8200.2

0 1.1 3.2 0.044 0.112 110.3 321.4

Forces we are applying are on two brackets to get the effect of symmetry; we are dividing them by
2 . from above data it's clear that maximum force lies in between 90 and 45 deg when wind speed is
60 km/hr. Forces from analytical calculations match with cfd values hence its validated.

Conclusion
We are successfully maintaining the strength of the bracket while reducing material mass. We get
lighter and less costly products which are easy to manufacture and which withstand higher stresses.
CFD and FEA of star ccm+ & CREO interface helped us to finalize this design and to conduct further
optimizations. CFD is helping to reduce time in analytical calculations and gives great insights on
design changes and optimization.

References
[1] Wikipedia Various. Solar tracker. URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_tracker.
[2] Catherine Lane. What is a solar tracker and is it worth the investment? URL https://www.
solarreviews.com/blog/are-solar-axis-trackers-worth-the-additionalinvestment
[3]Frank White Fluid Mechanics 7th Edition