Wind Loading Calculations

By Gay Canough
Calculating Drag Force
1 2
𝐹𝐹𝑑𝑑 = − 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑑𝑑 𝑣𝑣�
2
• Fd is the force of drag,
• ρ is the density of the fluid (Note that for the Earth's atmosphere, the
density can be found using the barometric formula. It is 1.293 kg/m3 at
0°C and 1 atmosphere,
• v is the speed of the object relative to the fluid, (say the wind speed)
• A is the reference area, (say the area of PV perpendicular to wind)
• Cd is the drag coefficient (a dimensionless constant, e.g. 0.25 to 0.45 for
a car), and
• 𝑣𝑣� is the unit vector indicating the direction of the velocity (the negative
sign indicating the drag is opposite to that of velocity).
Wind Force
1)

3’-5”
Wind

2)
35º
5’-6”

4) 3)
6)

8)
7)
5)
Example
• Tilted at 20º.
• Projected height = module length x sin(20)
64.6 x sin(20) = 22in.
• Projected area = projected height x width
22 x 39.1 = 860sq. in. = 0.55sq. meters

64.6”
Projected height
20º
Drag Force
• If wind speed = 100mph (44.7 m/s)
• Then, the drag force is:
• ½ x 1.293kg/cubic meter x (44.7)2 x 0.5045 sq.
meters x 1 (drag coefficient for flat plate)
= 651.6 Newtons = 146.4 pounds-force
Sliding Resistance
• Area perpendicular to the wind =
• Vertical area of the feet +
• Vertical area of the rail +
• Vertical area of the module frame.
Sliding Resistance
• Vertical area of one rack foot = 32” wide x 2.5” tall (under
rail) = 80 sq. in. = 0.55sf
• 3 feet = 0.55 x 3 = 1.66sf
• Vertical area of rail – 2.5” x 266” long = 665 sq. in =
4.61sf
• Vertical area of PV frame = 2” x 266” = 532 sq. in. =
3.69sf

• Total square footage to the wind = 1.66+4.61+3.69 =

9.96 square feet = 0.92 sq. meters
Sliding Resistance and Drag Force
1 2
𝐹𝐹𝑑𝑑 = − 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣�
2

• Drag force = -1/2 x 1.293kg/cubic meter x 44.72 x 0.92

sq. meters x 1 = 1188 Newtons = 267 pounds-force

• Friction of the rack and ballast has to be at least this to

resist the wind.
Sliding Resistance and Friction
• Solve for the weight needed by taking:
• Friction coefficient x m x g = 1188N
• Solve for m.
• Assume friction coefficient = 0.72
• Gravitational acceleration (g) = 9.8
meters/second
• M = 1188/(0.72 x 9.8) = 168.36kg = 371
pounds
Uplift
• Calculated using velocity pressure (VP)
• VP = 0.00256 x Kz x Kxt x Kd x V2 x I
• Kz = velocity pressure coefficient at height z,
• Kzt = topographic factor,
• Kd = directionality factor,
• V = max 3 second gust speed
• I = Importance factor,
• 0.00256 is related to air density and units
Uplift Example
• Kz = 0.7 (wind exposure cat B urban, residence, 25’ tall)
• Kzt = 1 (no terrain speedup factor)
• Kd = 0.85 (from ASCE, framework like PV rack)
• V = 100mph
• I = 1 (category II buildings/wind speeds between 85-100mph)

Vp = 0.00256 x Kz x Kzt x Kd x V2 x I
0.00256 x 0.7 x 1 x 0.85 x 100 x 100 x 1 = 15.23 psf

• Therefore, VP = 15.23 psf on a monolithic flat panel at

100mph