IMPORTANCE OF STEEL STRUCTURE IN ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER PLANT
A rooftop photovoltaic power station is a photovoltaic system that has its electricity- generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. For installation of rooftop photovoltaic power station, we need various components of the rooftop solar system.
This system includes photovoltaic modules, mounting system, cables, solar inverter and other electrical accessories.A rooftop photovoltaic power station is a photovoltaic system that has its electricity- generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. For installation of rooftop photovoltaic power station, we need various components of the rooftop solar system.
This system includes photovoltaic modules, mounting system, cables, solar inverter and other electrical accessories.Each and every component of the system is important in the installation of rooftop solar power plant. In this white paper we will focus only on the important of steel structure mounting.
Desirable properties of steel structure for the installation of rooftop solar power plant
• High strength – As we know in rooftop solar sometimes the height of the modules is high and the pressure of air at that height is very high so there is possibility of structure breakage. We should choose a material that strength is high enough to resist that air pressure. Mild steel is very strong due to very low amount of carbon it contain. Mild steel has a high resistance to breakage. Mild steel as opposed to high carbon steels, is quite malleable, even when cold. This means it has high tensile and impact strength. High carbon steel usually shatter or crack under stress, while mild steel does not. Shear strength of structure is most important factor in rooftop because the possibility of structure breakage due to shear stress is much higher. Mild steel also has great shear strength.
• Hard and Malleable – Unlike other grades of carbon steel, which tend to be brittle, mild steel is hard, yet malleable, making it the ideal choice for the construction of structure of rooftop plant.
• Machined and easily shaped – Mild steel can be machined and shaped easily due to its inherent flexibility. It can be hardened with carburizing, making it the ideal material for producing structure.
• Weldability – Compared to other types of steel, this type is ideal for welding purposes, as it conduct electric current effectively without tarnishing the metal surface in any way.
• High Stiffness – Stiffness is the rigidity of an object, the extent to which it resists deformation in respond to applied force. In the rooftop solar power plant we need a structure that is stiff enough with respect to the load of modules. Sometimes we have set power plant at height of 10-12m, so at that height the speed of the wind is very high. This high speed wind applied large amount of force on the panel and try to deflect them or separate them from structure. So we need a material that is highly stiff. We choose steel because the stiffness of steel is suitable for rooftop structure. The frames and leg assembles of the array structures is made of MS hot dip galvanized of suitable section of angle, channel, tubes or any other sections conforming to IS : 2062 for steel structure to meet the design criteria.
• Resistance to corrosion – Protection from corrosion is one of the most challenging part in the rooftop solar power plant. Corrosion destroy the material strength and plant can be break suddenly which can be harm human life. To protect from corrosion we use galvanize steel or iron. Galvanizing protect base metal from three ways.o It forms a coating of zinc which, when intact, prevents corrosive substance from reaching the underlying steel.o The zinc serve as sacrificial anode so that even if the coating is scratched, the exposed steel will still be protected by the remaining zinc.o The zinc protect its base metal by corroding before iron. For better results, application of chromates over zinc is also seen as an industrial trend.
• Availability – As we know that iron is most abundant metal in earth curst, so it can be easily available for the manufacturing of mild steel.Conclusion On behalf of these properties of steel we can say that steel is the most suitable material for the structure of rooftop solar plants.
