FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

ASSIGNMENT TITLE:
COMPLEX ENGINEERING PROBLEM

SUBMITTED TO: PROFESSOR JAWAD SARWAR

SUBMITTED BY: 2018-ME-64 (HAFIZ AHMAD ABDULLAH)
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64

COMPLEX ENGINEERING PROBLEM

OBJECTIVE:
The main objective of this assessment is to:
 Design, and analyze a mounting system based upon a photovoltaic carport.
 Develop a systematic behavior of the design under consideration.
 Apply the necessary finite element techniques in light of appropriate conventions.
SAMPLE DESIGN PATTERN AND STRUCTURE:

PARAMETERS AT HAND:
The provided parameters which will be utilized in solving the situation along with their assigned
values are listed in the following table:
SR. NO. PARAMETERS SPECIFICATIONS
1 Installation Angle 15 degree
2 Max. Wind Speed up to 42 m/s
3 Max Snow Load up to 1.4 kN/m2
4 Span (East-West) 5m
7 Standard Ground Clearance 2.5 m
8 Panel Array Landscape
9 Rows 5 by 6

10 Panel Specifications Jinko JKM540M-72HL4

Table 1.1 (Parameter Configurations)

PAGE 1 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64

SOLUTION
The solution for this analysis will be carried in out by completing the following steps in an
orderly pattern.
1) Development of the required design of the photovoltaic carport mounting system.
2) Structure Assembly according to design requirements.
3) Application and Calculation of the Load applied on the Panel Array.
4) Determination of Support Reactions and relevant displacements using Finite Elements
techniques.
5) Formation of the Stiffness Matrix with respect to the structure of assembly.
6) Creation of appropriate coding in MATLAB to apply the techniques and obtain the
desired results.

ASSUMPTIONS
Following Assumptions are made to ease up the scenario and the impending calculations:
 All panels and their relative cells contain the same dimensions i.e. same area.
 Reaction Moment is ignored and rotation is being restricted by utilizing nuts and bolts.
 Assuming Lift and Drag Coefficients are taken as 1.
 The solution will be 3 dimensional instead of 2 dimensional.
 Supports are being provided by beams accordingly.
2  Fixed supports are assumed on the containment areas.

SELECTION OF CRITERION
The need is to propagate a design that will sustain the loading as well as meet the required
benchmarks. For this purpose, the design should be made corresponding to selection of
parameters. So, the design estimation is provided below:
DESIGN VARIABLES:
 No. of Rows for the panel array = 5
 Ground Clearance = 2.5 m
 No. of Panels Selected = 2
 Estimated Span Length = 5 m (adjustments to be made in the horizontal orientation)
 No. of Columns selected for the panel array = 2 (w.r.t. span length and no. of rows)
 Weight of 1 panel = 28.9 kg
 Type of Cell used in Solar Panels = P-type Monocrystalline
 Front Glass = 3.2 mm or 0.0032 m, Anti-Reflection Covering, High Transmission, Low
Iron, Annealed Glass
 Configuration for the Junction Box = IP68 Rated
 Frame Type = Anodized Aluminum Alloy
 Area for each panel in panel array:

2274 mm * 1134 mm  2578716 mm 2  2.578716 m 2

PAGE 2 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64

 Volume for each panel in panel array:

2274 mm * 1134 mm * 35 mm  90255060 mm3  0.09025 m3

 Calculation for
FSnow :

FSnow  Total Area of Panel * Max Snow Load

FWind and its components i.e. Drag Force and Lift Force:
 Calculation for
2 2
FWind  FLift 2  FDrag 2 FDrag   CD A cos15 V FLift   CL A sin15 V
, 2, 2

 Total Downward Force = Weight of the Panel Array +

FSnow

PHOTOVALTAIC CARPORT DESIGN

In this section, the consideration of design is taken into account. The software used for this
purpose is referred to as 3D SKETCHUP PRO (only for designing purpose). It is to be noted
that the panel selected in the orientation and designing is not Jinko JKM540M-72HL4 but
Jetion: JT280-(37)-P1655*992 because of the unavailability of the mentioned specs. So, a
different version with close parameters is selected into the consideration.
3 Two main orientations were developed in this section. First is the development of the required
truss section to support the panels of the provided specifications. The second one is the creation
and adaptation of panels as the final draft of the design. They are discussed below:
PRESENTATION OF INTERFACE IN SKETCHUP:

PAGE 3 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
Figure 1.1 (Interface 1)

4 Figure 1.2 (Interface 2)

PAGE 4 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
Figure 1.3 (Interface 3)

TRUSS SECTION:
The 3D Model of the created truss section can be viewed in the figure presented below:

5 Figure 1.4 (Truss Section/Structure)

Next is the identification of nodes in the created truss section and it is also displayed in the
following figure:

PAGE 5 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
Figure 1.5 (Nodes and Elements representation)

It can be observed that the above-presented truss structure contains 16 nodes and a total no. of 20
elements which will later on play an important role in the formation of the essential Stiffness
Matrix and determination of displacements followed up the relevant support reactions.
DESIGN FOR THE SOLAR PV PANELS:
The final model with the panels is given below. The model is shown in all aspects/views to get a
better sense in terms of solving the section at hand:
 Front View
 Top View
 Isometric View

Figure 1.6 (Front View)

PAGE 6 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
Figure 1.7 (Top View)

7
Figure 1.8 (Isometric View)

LOAD DETERMINATION ON THE PANEL ARRAY

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM:

PAGE 7 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
Figure 1.9 (Parametric Behavior of Forces acting on the Carport Panel Structure)

CALCULATION FOR SNOW LOAD/FORCE:

Firstly,
FSnow will be evaluated by using the provided dimensions and values:

FSnow  Total Area of Panel * Max Snow Load

FSnow  [(2274 mm  2274 mm) *(1134 mm)]*1.4kNm 2

FSnow  [(2.274 m  2.274 m) * (1.134 m)]*1.4 kNm 2

FSnow  5.157432 m 2 *1.4kNm 2

FSnow  7.2204 kN

COMPONENT DETERMINATION:
Drag Force is the horizontal component for the Wind Force and its calculation is provided
below:
2
FDrag   CD A cos15 V
2
1 2
FDrag  (1.225 kgm 3 )* (1) *5.157432cos15 * (42 ms )
8 2
FDrag  5.3825 kN

Similarly, Lift Force is the vertical component involved and its evaluation is given in the
following:
2
FLift   CL A sin15 V
2
1 2
FLift  (1.225 kgm 3 ) * (1) *5.157432sin15 * (42 ms )
2
FLift 1.4422 kN

CALCULATION FOR WIND FORCE/LOAD AND ITS ORIENTATION:

The wind load is calculated from the following equation:

FWind  FLift 2  FDrag 2

FWind  (5.3825) 2  (1.4422) 2

FWind  5572.347 N  5.572347 kN

PAGE 8 OF 11
 FEA CEP 2018-ME-64
As far as the orientation of the wind force is concerned, it is obtained from the following
formula:

FLift
  tan 1 ( )
FDrag

1.4432
  tan 1 ( )
5.3825

  14.999637  15 (CROSS PROOF)

ANALYSIS USING FINITE ELEMENT TECHNIQUES

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

PAGE 9 OF 11