Floating Solar Lattice Structure for Low-Buoyancy Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing modular floating solar installations require oversizing of buoyancy for maintenance, are sensitive to deformation under environmental conditions, and are difficult to assemble without specialized lifting equipment, leading to inefficiencies and structural weaknesses.
Innovation Solution
A modular floating solar installation design featuring a polygonal mesh lattice structure that allows assembly from the bank without lifting equipment, incorporates submerged structural modules to resist compression and tension forces, and includes a service module for maintenance, with a floating service unit navigating through submerged waterways between rows of photovoltaic panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If buoyancy is oversized to accommodate maintenance personnel, then maintenance capability is improved, but material costs and structural size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The installation is divided into modular floating support devices that can be independently assembled and configured. This segmentation allows the buoyancy capacity to be precisely matched to the actual load requirements of photovoltaic panels and equipment, rather than oversizing for potential maintenance personnel loads, thereby reducing material usage while maintaining operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating support devices are designed with self-supporting frames and integrated buoyancy elements that provide sufficient capacity for their primary function of supporting photovoltaic panels. The structure is configured to be assembled from the bank without requiring additional buoyancy margin for maintenance personnel, as the modular design allows safe access methods that do not require operators to stand on the floating structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If modular plastic components are used for easy assembly, then ease of manufacture is improved, but structural resistance to deformation worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The floating support devices combine plastic modular components with metallic reinforcing elements and tensioning cables. The plastic components provide ease of assembly through molding and standardized connections, while the metallic elements and tensioned cables provide the necessary structural rigidity and resistance to deformation under environmental loads such as wind and waves.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular plastic components are pre-formed and pre-assembled into complete floating support devices with integrated frames, floats, and connection elements. This preliminary preparation allows the devices to be manufactured with optimized structural properties and then easily assembled on-site, achieving both ease of manufacture and adequate structural strength through factory-controlled fabrication.
3Ease of operation
If floating support devices are assembled from the bank without lifting equipment, then ease of operation is improved, but device weight and size are constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The floating solar installation is divided into small modular floating support devices that can be manually handled and assembled. Each module is sized and weighted to be movable by workers without mechanical lifting equipment, allowing the structure to be built incrementally from the bank and pushed into position on the water surface through human power.
Solution Approach 2:
The assembly process is designed to occur at water level, where the floating support devices can be easily positioned and connected. The modular components are configured to be assembled in a horizontal plane at the water surface, eliminating the need for vertical lifting operations and allowing workers to assemble the structure at a convenient, accessible elevation.
4Ease of manufacture
If structures are mechanically connected at water level, then ease of assembly is improved, but sensitivity to rolling, pitching, and yaw increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating support devices use submerged wings and tensioning cables anchored to the bottom to counteract the destabilizing effects of mechanical connections at water level. The submerged portions provide hydrodynamic stability that resists rolling, pitching, and yaw movements, while the tensioning system maintains proper orientation and reduces sensitivity to environmental forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system extends into the vertical dimension with submerged components and tensioning cables that reach below the water surface. This three-dimensional configuration provides rotational stability and resistance to rolling, pitching, and yaw, while the modular assembly remains simple at the water level interface where workers connect the floating devices.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient assembly and maintenance of floating solar installations with reduced material costs, improved structural resistance to deformation, and simplified installation processes, while maintaining photovoltaic panels out of the water during operation.
Implementation Method 1
said structure being configured to work in the two directions substantially of the horizontal plane of the structure by resisting the compressive forces and the tensile forces to which said structure of the network is subjected
Implementation Method 2
said structure being configured to work in the two directions substantially of the horizontal plane of the structure by resisting the compressive forces and the tensile forces to which said structure of the network is subjected
Implementation Method 3
Floating solar plant
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a floating solar installation (1) supporting photovoltaic (PV) panels, resulting from the assembly of structural modules (2) and floating modules (3) on a body of water, forming a network of floating support devices (4) supporting photovoltaic panels, said network comprising at least: - a first row of floating support devices supporting a first row (R1) of photovoltaic panels, - a second row of floating support devices supporting a second row (R2) of photovoltaic panels, and in which the first row (R1) of photovoltaic panels and the second row (R2) of photovoltaic panels are spaced apart in the transverse direction (T), perpendicular to the longitudinal direction by modules of the structure (2),and in which at least said structural modules ensuring the spacing between the first row (R1) of photovoltaic panels and the second (R2) row of photovoltaic panels are configured to be immersed, at least during the passage of a service unit.,