System and method for flexible solar tracker and testing
AssigneeFCX Solar LLC
InventorsChristopher Thomas Needham, Frank Carl Oudheusden
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a technique of configuring flexible photovoltaic tracker systems with high damping and low angle stow positions. Under dynamic environmental loads implementing a high amount of damping (e.g., greater than 25% of critical damping, greater than 50% of critical damping) or a very high amount of damping (e.g., 100% or greater of critical damping, infinite damping) enables the flexible tracker system to prevent problematic aeroelastic behaviors while positioned in a low stow angle. The disclosed technique is further applied to a prototyping process during wind tunnel testing.
Claims19
A method of prototyping a solar tracker in a wind tunnel comprising:
- configuring a scale model of a flexible solar tracker system in a wind tunnel in a low angle stow position, the scale model including a damper assembly that passively shift between multiple damping ratio stages based on damper speed, wherein a first damping ratio stage corresponding to slower damper speeds has a lesser total system damping ratio than a second damping ratio stage corresponding to faster damper speeds;
- in response to said configuring, executing a dynamic loading wind tunnel test on the flexible solar tracker system that causes the damper assembly to passively shift between the multiple damping ratio stages;
- and
- generating multiple total system damping measurements based on the dynamic wind loading test.
A method of prototyping a solar tracker in a wind tunnel comprising:
- configuring a scale model of a flexible solar tracker system in a wind tunnel in a low angle stow position, the flexible solar tracker system having a variable total system damping via a damper assembly that passively shifts between two damping ratio stages based on damper speed, wherein a first damping ratio stage corresponding to slower damper speeds causes a system damping ratio under 25% of critical damping and a second damping ratio stage corresponding to faster damper speeds causes a system damping ratio at or greater than critical damping;
- in response to said configuring, executing a dynamic loading wind tunnel test on the flexible solar tracker system that causes the damper assembly to passively shift between the multiple damping ratio stages;
- and
- generating multiple total system damping measurements based on the dynamic wind loading test.
A system comprising:
- a flexible solar tracker equipped with a damper assembly that passively shifts between two damping ratio stages based on damper speed, wherein a first damping ratio stage corresponding to slower damper speeds has a lesser total system damping ratio than a second damping ratio stage corresponding to faster damper speeds;
- a base affixed to the flexible solar tracker and mounted inside a wind tunnel;
- and
- a set of panels affixed to the flexible solar tracker and configured in a low angle stow position associated with a dynamic loading wind tunnel test on the flexible solar tracker system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.