Cable-supported photovoltaic (PV) modules have been proposed to replace traditional beam-supported PV modules. The new system uses suspension cables to bear the loads of the PV modules and therefore has the characteristics of a long span, light weight, strong load capacity, and adaptability to complex terrains. It provides an excellent supplement to traditional structures in special sites such as sewage treatment plants, highways, farms, fishponds, and roofs with poor load-bearing conditions. However, most of the traditional cable-supported PV systems use only two cables to support the PV modules. The settlement of the support cables due to self-weight of PV modules always reduces their power generation efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to make a reasonable design to flatten the structures. Recently, the authors (He et al., 2020) proposed a new cable-supported PV system using three cables and four triangle brackets to form an inverted arch to reduce the vertical displacement of the PV modules. In this study, the structural characteristics of the new PV system with a span of 30 m are numerically investigated in terms of mode shapes, modal frequency, and nonlinear structural stiffness through using the finite element method. The increase of torsion stiffness when the torsion displacement rises benefits the stability of the new PV system. The load bearing capacity of the PV system is discussed under self-weight, static wind load, snow load, and their combination. The influences of row spacing, tilt angle, initial cable force, and cable diameter on the structural characteristics are further studied. The results verify that the new system has a strong load capacity and potential for wide application.

已经提出电缆支撑的光伏 (PV) 模块来代替传统的梁支撑的 PV 模块。新系统采用悬索来承载光伏组件的载荷，具有跨度大、重量轻、承载能力强、适应复杂地形等特点。在污水处理厂、公路、农场、鱼塘、承重条件较差的屋顶等特殊场所，对传统结构提供了极好的补充。然而，大多数传统的电缆支撑光伏系统仅使用两根电缆来支撑光伏组件。光伏组件自重导致支撑电缆的沉降总是会降低其发电效率。因此，有必要进行合理的设计，使结构变平。最近，作者（He 等人，2020) 提出了一种新的电缆支撑光伏系统，使用三根电缆和四个三角形支架形成倒拱，以减少光伏组件的垂直位移。在这项研究中，通过使用有限元方法，从振型、模态频率和非线性结构刚度方面对跨度为 30 m 的新型光伏系统的结构特性进行了数值研究。扭转位移增加时扭转刚度的增加有利于新光伏系统的稳定性。光伏系统的承载能力在自重、静风荷载、雪荷载及其组合下讨论。进一步研究了行距、倾角、初始索力和索径对结构特性的影响。