Wind loads and local pressure distributions on parabolic dish solar collectors

Abstract

The research and development described in this document was conducted within the US Department of Energy's Solar Thermal Technology Program. The goal of this program is to advance the engineering and scientific understanding of solar thermal technology and the establish the technology base from which private industry can develop solar thermal power production options for introduction into the competitive energy market. This report presents the results of wind-tunnel tests supported through the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) by the Office of Solar Thermal Technology of the US Department of Energy as part of the SERI research effort on innovative concentrators. As gravity loads on drive mechanisms are reduced through stretched-membrane technology, the wind-load contribution of the required drive capacity increases in percentage. Reduction of wind loads can provide economy in support structure and collector drive. Wind-tunnel tests have been directed at finding methods to reduce wind loads on parabolic dish collectors. The tests investigated the mean and peak forces, moments and local pressure distributions. A significant increase in the understanding and prediction of peak parabolic dish wind loads and their reduction within a field was achieved. 49 refs., 60 figs., 4 tabs.