Numerical Investigation of Time-Dependent Dust Shading Effects on Fixed and Tracking Solar Photovoltaic Arrays
Document Type : Research Article
Authors
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Africa, Science Campus, Florida 1710, South Africa
Abstract
The global expansion of solar energy has been met with dust soiling which is a critical performance-limiting factor, especially in dusty climates. The present study proposed a dynamic numerical approach for quantifying the time-dependent effects of dust shading on fixed-tilt, single-axis tracking, and dual-axis tracking PV systems. The approach was to distinguish between direct and diffuse irradiance and account for diurnal and seasonal solar geometry while incorporating angular-dependent shading dynamics. Single-axis and dual-axis trackers achieved daily yields of 5.02 kWh/day and 5.16 kWh/day respectively under a surface-soiling fraction of 32.7% determined from binary image segmentation and pixel-area ratio surpassing the clean fixed-tilt baseline of 4.41 kWh/day. A laboratory validation was used to confirm the ability of model to capture angular-dependent losses. A techno-economic analysis done revealed a trade-off where tracking systems maximise the absolute energy generated. However, fixed-tilt systems delivered superior cost-effectiveness due to lower capital and maintenance requirements. The results revealed the need for a dynamic, time-resolved model to improve optimisation and performance prediction, and guide maintenance strategies in soiling-prone environments.
Keywords
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