Scientists in China have investigated the hydrodynamic performance of a new modular floating photovoltaic system. They did this with the help of a new hybrid approach, which integrates fish choice power effects of computational liquid dynamics into a potential movement solver. They analyzed the new system with different numbers of panels, either in a single chain or a parallel configuration.
A research group of the Chinese Dalian University of Technology has investigated the hydrodynamic performance of a new modular floating photovoltaic (FPV) system consisting of interconnected floating units with articulated joints.
For the research, the team has developed a new hybrid approach, which integrates fishing-flow effects from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) into a potential flow solver to improve forecast response.
“It differs from conventional floating inland vessels, the proposed FPV module in this study is designed with an open central region, resulting in a ringing geometry,” the team said. “In general, open compartment Drijvers offer significant benefits compared to conventional fixed box type designs for ocean-based floating PV systems, in particular in hard marine environments. Their semi-open structure improves hydrodynamic performance by flowing through the resonating, while the golf effects are reduced by turbulence scope, the golfing effects are reduced by the turbulence of the turbulence scaffolding. PKpanels are obtained. “
A hybrid numerical approach was used to evaluate the hydrodynamic behavior of this system. Firstly, the researchers used CFD, a method that dissolves the entire flow of water and air. It was used to measure the damping coefficient, which represents to what extent movement is reduced by viscous effects. Those damping coefficients are then transferred to a Boundary Element method (BEM), an efficient potential power solver. By using both, the new method reportedly yields a solver that is both efficient and realistic.
“Comparative validation with CFD simulations and available experimental data confirmed the power of the model to reliably predict the kinematic reactions of both single and articulated floating systems with multiple body conditions,” said the Academici. “After this validation, a series of sensitivity analyzes was performed to investigate the influence of two important parameters: the number of articulated floating modules and the geometric ranking of those modules.”
Image: Dalian University of Technology, Applied Ocean Research, CC by 4.0
The simulation analyzed the arrangement of one to six FPV modules, either in a configuration with one chain or a parallel configuration, where two channels are placed next to each other. For each configuration, the simulations were carried out over 12 regular golffrequencies. That was done to record hydrodynamic behavior under different circumstances. According to the findings of the team, movement reactions of articulated drivers are essentially consistent in different configurations, with the most important variations that occur in the vicinity of the natural frequencies of any degree of freedom.
“Increasing the number of interconnected drivers generally reduces the emergency movement and leads to decreasing differences in the dynamic response between adjacent modules, especially outside the second float,” they added. “Forces in the articulated joints take the tendency to increase with the golffrequency to a peak and then decrease, where articulations in the middle of the body generally experience slightly higher taxes than final connections.”
In conclusion, the academics said that the parallel configuration shows somewhat reduced movement amplitudes compared to the chain configuration. That, they say, indicates a damping effect when Modules are added laterally, alongside longitudinal.
The system was presented in “Hydrodynamic performance of floating solar panels with articulated modules for optimum golf adjustment“Published in Applied Ocean Research. Researchers from China Construction Power and Environment Engineering, and the German University of Duisburg – Esens participated in the research.
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