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Influence mechanism of dynamic and static liquid bridge forces on particle deposition behaviors in solar photovoltaic mirrors

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Abstract

Solar energy is one of the most promising forms of renewable energy for solving the energy crisis and environmental problems. Dust deposition on photovoltaic mirrors has a serious negative impact on the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar power stations. In this paper, the influence mechanism of the dynamic and static liquid bridge forces on particle deposition behaviors on solar photovoltaic mirrors is investigated. In addition, the expression and physical meaning of the particle critical separation velocity are proposed. The research results show that the static liquid bridge force can be the primary deposition force causing dust particles to adhere to photovoltaic mirrors. However, the dynamic liquid bridge force can act as a resistance force for the particle motion process and even make dust particles roll along and finally stay on the mirror. The contact force is the primary separation force that causes dust particles to flow away from the mirror. Whether dust particles adhere to the mirror depends on the relative size of the deposition and separating forces. The particle critical separation velocity describes the relative size of the collision-rebound effect and mirror adhesion effect and is expressed in Eq. (16). These research findings can provide theoretical guidance for mirror cleaning methods in the operation process of photovoltaic mirrors.

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Abbreviations

\(\overline{\omega}\) :

Lifshitz constant

l 0 :

Average distance between molecules/m

α :

Particle incident angle/(°)

θ :

Mirror installing angle/(°)

θ 1 :

Solid-liquid contact angle/(°)

g :

Gravitational acceleration component/(m·s−2)

μ l :

Dynamic viscosity/(kg·(m·s)−1)

μ t :

Turbulent viscosity/(kg·(m·s)−1)

μ s :

Friction coefficient

k n :

Spring constant in normal direction/(N·m−1)

k t :

Spring constant in tangential direction/(N·m−1)

u c :

Particle critical separation velocity/(m·s−1)

u 0 :

Particle inlet velocity/(m·s−1)

v r,n :

Normal relative velocity/(m·s−1)

v r,t :

Tangential relative velocity/(m·s−1)

R*:

Equivalent radius/m

δ n :

Normal displacement/m

δ t :

Tangential displacement/m

c n :

Damping coefficient in normal direction/(N·s·m−1)

c t :

Damping coefficient in tangential direction/(N·s·m−1)

F v :

van der Waals force/N

F l :

Liquid bridge force/N

F l,d :

Dynamic liquid bridge force/N

F l,dn :

Normal viscous component of Fl,d/N

F l,dt :

Tangential viscous component of Fl,d/N

F l,s :

Static liquid bridge force/N

F g :

Gravity force/N

F e :

Electrostatic force/N

F ee :

Mirror electrostatic force/N

F el :

Electrical double layer force/N

F es :

Electric field force/N

F b :

Buoyancy force/N

F c :

Contact force/N

F x :

Other forces/N

F cn :

Normal contact force/N

F ct :

Tangential contact force/N

m p :

Particle mass/kg

r, d p :

Particle radius, diameter/m

γ :

Liquid surface tension/(N·m−2)

V*:

Dimensionless liquid bridge volume

ρ p :

Particle density/(kg·m−3)

ρ :

Gas density/(kg·m−3)

\(\overrightarrow{\nu_{ij}}\) :

Relative velocity between particles i and j/(m·s−1)

t :

Time/s

\(\overrightarrow{n}\) :

Unit vector from particle i to particle j

\(\overrightarrow{n_{\rm{t}}}\) :

Tangential unit vector of \(\overrightarrow{n}\)

\(\overrightarrow{\nu_{\rm{s}}}\) :

Sliding velocity vector/(m·s−1)

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51975235).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xueqing Liu, Xiaodong Zhao, Luyi Lu & Jianlan Li

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  1. Xueqing Liu
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Correspondence to Jianlan Li.

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Liu, X., Zhao, X., Lu, L. et al. Influence mechanism of dynamic and static liquid bridge forces on particle deposition behaviors in solar photovoltaic mirrors. Front. Energy 15, 499–512 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-021-0742-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-021-0742-3

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