{"title":"Shape effects on aerodynamic loading of heliostats","authors":"H. Merarda, M. Aksas, T. Andrianne","doi":"10.1051/meca/2020086","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The effect of the shape of the mirror of a heliostat is studied through wind tunnel tests in uniform smooth and turbulent flow conditions. Three shapes are investigated: square (reference case), octagonal and circular geometries. The forces and moments are measured on reduced scale models of heliostats in low, medium and strong turbulence wind conditions in a uniform wind profile. The turbulence intensity of the flow is adjusted in the wind tunnel test section by the adjunction of passive grids upstream the model. The experimental results are presented for several elevation and azimuth angles. The results showed that: in smooth flow conditions, the geometry of the mirror has very limited effect on the mean force coefficient, while impacting the fluctuating part of the aerodynamic loads. In turbulence flow conditions, the circular mirror/panel is advantageous for the aerodynamic design of the elevation drive and mirror support structure.","PeriodicalId":49018,"journal":{"name":"Mechanics & Industry","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2020-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Mechanics & Industry","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1051/meca/2020086","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
The effect of the shape of the mirror of a heliostat is studied through wind tunnel tests in uniform smooth and turbulent flow conditions. Three shapes are investigated: square (reference case), octagonal and circular geometries. The forces and moments are measured on reduced scale models of heliostats in low, medium and strong turbulence wind conditions in a uniform wind profile. The turbulence intensity of the flow is adjusted in the wind tunnel test section by the adjunction of passive grids upstream the model. The experimental results are presented for several elevation and azimuth angles. The results showed that: in smooth flow conditions, the geometry of the mirror has very limited effect on the mean force coefficient, while impacting the fluctuating part of the aerodynamic loads. In turbulence flow conditions, the circular mirror/panel is advantageous for the aerodynamic design of the elevation drive and mirror support structure.
期刊介绍:
An International Journal on Mechanical Sciences and Engineering Applications
With papers from industry, Research and Development departments and academic institutions, this journal acts as an interface between research and industry, coordinating and disseminating scientific and technical mechanical research in relation to industrial activities.
Targeted readers are technicians, engineers, executives, researchers, and teachers who are working in industrial companies as managers or in Research and Development departments, technical centres, laboratories, universities, technical and engineering schools. The journal is an AFM (Association Française de Mécanique) publication.