Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
(OP)
I am a recent grad and I just landed a job with a company that doesn't have an engineering department. I am required to do some preliminary engineering analysis for some custom/extruded shapes of steel and/or aluminum. Simply put, I want to determine the unsupported span for the shapes.
I have been toying with RISA 3D and Virtual Analysis but it appears that code checks won't show up in the results. I have used ShapeBuilder to get the shape properties but when I import that in analysis it won't work.
Is there a way to perform preliminary analysis using a standard shape that is similar to the custom shape's properties? Any hints or tricks would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
I have been toying with RISA 3D and Virtual Analysis but it appears that code checks won't show up in the results. I have used ShapeBuilder to get the shape properties but when I import that in analysis it won't work.
Is there a way to perform preliminary analysis using a standard shape that is similar to the custom shape's properties? Any hints or tricks would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your responses.






RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
I don't know of anything like that for aluminum. It may exist, but I don't know of it.
Others may have more sage advice. But, my recommendation would be to do two things:
1) Use the closest section you can make out of the more standard shapes that the program has available in it.
2) Pull open some tables from manufacturers for similar shapes.
Validate the two methods against each other. And, when all else fails, use Excel or MathCAD to start in on some manual calculations.
RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
Of course, you can always output stress-based results (if the shape is defined with the full data, not just as a section set) and compare that fairly easily to an allowable-stress based limit state.
RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
@JoshPlum, I will certainly do that. It appears that I would have to do some manual calculations. I have never used MathCAD or Excel for that purpose. Any starting tips?
@lomarandil, would it be possible to elaborate on your second point a little bit. Excuse my lack of experience with structural analysis.
Thank you.
RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems
RE: Structural Analysis of Solar Array Systems