Study on hydrodynamic characteristics and power generation performance of gable-type floating photovoltaic

With the continuous growth of global energy demand, solar energy as a renewable and clean energy source has received widespread attention. Floating photovoltaic (FPV) has become a research hotspot in recent years due to its advantages of saving land resources and water body cooling efficiency. The study conducted physical model tests to examine the hydrodynamic characteristics and motion response of FPV systems. A numerical model was developed to calculate power generation, and the power generation of the FPV system during motion was calculated based on experimental data. It is shown that the wave period is the dominant factor of wave transmission and reflection coefficients; different photovoltaic inclination angles have a weak influence on the motion response due to the geometric similarity of the structure. A power generation model was established, which can clarify the correlation mechanism between motion response and power generation performance. It is found that the increase in pitch amplitude will reduce the power generation efficiency. The photovoltaic inclination angle is the main factor affecting its final total power generation; the power generation gradually decreases with the increase of photovoltaic inclination angle. These results provide an experimental basis and engineering reference for the structural optimization design and power generation efficiency improvement of the FPV systems.