Modeling of the Influence of Dust Soiling on Photovoltaic Panels for Desert Applications the Example of the Solar Test Facility at Doha, Qatar

Nicolas Barth*, Benjamin Figgis, Amir A. Abdallah, Shahzada Pamir Aly, Said Ahzi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Performance of photovoltaics (PVs) under desert conditions, such as Qatar's climate, is decreased with the soiling of PV panels during the dry season. This is due to the scarcity of important rainfalls, together with a dust soiling rate that is specifically high owing to the availability of dust aerosols (and their easy binding under such hot and humid climate). Using a computational approach to simulate deposited dust particles, the reported study mainly addresses the shading effects. In addition, we also investigate the influence on the heat dissipation of the soiled PV panel surface, since the modules are operated at hot temperatures during the dry season. In this study, the numerical approaches are designed based on the experimental results on dust soiling that are undertaken in-field at the Solar Test Facility, Doha, Qatar.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of 2017 International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference, IRSEC 2017
EditorsYoussef Zaz, Mohamed Essaaidi
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781538628478
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Sept 2018
Event5th International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference, IRSEC 2017 - Tangier, Morocco
Duration: 4 Dec 20177 Dec 2017

Publication series

NameProceedings of 2017 International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference, IRSEC 2017

Conference

Conference5th International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference, IRSEC 2017
Country/TerritoryMorocco
CityTangier
Period4/12/177/12/17

Keywords

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Photovoltaics soiling
  • dust particles shading
  • light transmission modeling and simulation

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