TY - JOUR

T1 - Numerical simulation of dust deposition on rooftop of photovoltaic parking lots supporting electric vehicles charging

AU - Abdolahzadeh, Mohsen

AU - Parsa Mofrad, Nima

AU - Tayebi, Ali

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge Yasouj University, Iran for financial support to the present research.

PY - 2023/8

Y1 - 2023/8

N2 - Dust deposition on Photovoltaic (PV) surfaces reduces the amount of radiation received by the solar cell, which decreases the energy output of solar PV systems. In this study, the process of dust deposition on three different photovoltaic parking lot structures, including a mono-pitch canopy, a duo-pitch canopy, and a barrel-arch canopy is numerically investigated for the first time. The results show that a slight variation of the tilt angle has no significant effect on the dust deposition behavior. However, the size of the dust particles has a strong influence on the amount of dust deposition. The tendency for dust deposition is found to increase first for small-sized particles and then to decrease with increasing particle diameter. Duo-pitch electric vehicles parking lots (EVsPLs) provide better performance against dust deposition compared to the other EVsPLs for most particle diameters. Mono-pitch EVsPLs, however, are more effective than the others at lower Reynolds number, Re=143,000, and small-sized particles for dp≤10 μm. In addition, medium-sized particles, 50p<200 μm, are found to be more prone to deposit on PV surfaces. The main novelty of the present study is that it offers a new perspective on the selection of the best structure of parking lots depending on environmental conditions, especially in areas with high dust concentration.

AB - Dust deposition on Photovoltaic (PV) surfaces reduces the amount of radiation received by the solar cell, which decreases the energy output of solar PV systems. In this study, the process of dust deposition on three different photovoltaic parking lot structures, including a mono-pitch canopy, a duo-pitch canopy, and a barrel-arch canopy is numerically investigated for the first time. The results show that a slight variation of the tilt angle has no significant effect on the dust deposition behavior. However, the size of the dust particles has a strong influence on the amount of dust deposition. The tendency for dust deposition is found to increase first for small-sized particles and then to decrease with increasing particle diameter. Duo-pitch electric vehicles parking lots (EVsPLs) provide better performance against dust deposition compared to the other EVsPLs for most particle diameters. Mono-pitch EVsPLs, however, are more effective than the others at lower Reynolds number, Re=143,000, and small-sized particles for dp≤10 μm. In addition, medium-sized particles, 50p<200 μm, are found to be more prone to deposit on PV surfaces. The main novelty of the present study is that it offers a new perspective on the selection of the best structure of parking lots depending on environmental conditions, especially in areas with high dust concentration.

KW - Dust deposition

KW - Electric vehicle

KW - Numerical simulation

KW - Rooftop photovoltaic parking lot

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159551998&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105444

DO - 10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105444

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85159551998

VL - 239

JO - Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics

JF - Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics

SN - 0167-6105

M1 - 105444

ER -