Numerical model for studying collision-adhesion mechanism of dust particles over solar panel

This study investigates dust transport over photovoltaic (PV) panels, considering the effects of particle
size, wind velocity, and direction. The particle’s motion, governed by Newton’s second law, yields a system
of non-linear second-order differential equations. An algorithm is developed to solve these equations, accounting for forces including gravity, buoyancy, drag, wind, Van der Waals, electrostatic, liquid bridge forces. Results show that large wet dust particles primarily falls on ground due to gravity, especially at low wind speeds, while smaller particles remain airborne longer and deposit more at higher wind velocities. Minimal deposition on solar panel occurs at low wind speeds, but significantly increases at moderate wind speeds, especially for smaller particles. Deposition is highest at smaller wind angles and drops sharply at larger wind angles, due to strong vertical wind components. Algorithm predictions were validated against MATLAB’s ‘ode45’ and Simulink solvers. To assess the accuracy of the developed model, error metrics such
as Mean Bias Error (MBE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and average percentage error were employed. The consistently low values of these metrics confirm the model’s strong reliability in predicting dust particle trajectories across varying particle sizes, wind speeds, and directions.