Effect of purlin spacing change on bending resistance of solar panel

Effect of purlin spacing change on bending resistance of solar panel

If we take a square sun panel (equal length and width) supported by a steel frame on all four sides, and apply some type of load, this will cause the sun panel to deflect. Now, let's keep these same connection parameters and increase the length of the paper, then apply the load to get the same deflection as before. We found that, up to a certain asymptotic plate length, the load required to achieve the same deflection decreases gradually.

Once this asymptotic plate length is exceeded, there is no need to change the load level to reach the original deflection level. Therefore, we can conclude that beyond a certain solar panel length, the purlins supporting the sheet along its width do not contribute to the flexural properties of the sheet and are therefore unnecessary. In these cases, we can say that these sun panels perform as if they were connected to the construct in an edge/edge configuration.