The Heliostat Design Wind Loads Spreadsheet

Wind load predictions for heliostats are not provided in design codes because of their non-standard shape and the changes in wind velocity and turbulence in the lowest 10 m of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The Heliostat Design Wind Loads Spreadsheet estimates the design wind loads on different heliostat sizes based on:

(1) the dependence of wind load coefficients on turbulence intensity derived in our wind tunnel experiments,

(2) the expected wind speed and turbulence intensity profiles in the full-scale ABL.

Mean and peak design loads are calculated for a square-shaped heliostat based on the mean wind speed and the relevant aerodynamic coefficient. Critical load cases show the maximum value of the heliostat loads and aerodynamic coefficients for each load case.