With the increasing global demand for renewable energy, the solar photovoltaic industry has experienced rapid development. As a key supporting structure for photovoltaic power plants, the quality and cost of photovoltaic brackets have a significant impact on the performance and value of the entire photovoltaic system. Aluminum alloy, traditional carbon steel, and zinc aluminum magnesium are the mainstream in the marketPhotovoltaic bracketMaterials have their own advantages in production cost, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and service life.
In the context of the photovoltaic industry, many steel mills in China are targeting the photovoltaic market, and the production materials of brackets are also showing a diversified development trend. Photovoltaic brackets, known as the "bones" of photovoltaic power plants, are special structural components designed and installed in photovoltaic power generation systems to support, fix, and rotate photovoltaic modules.
At present, the mainstream materials for solar photovoltaic brackets generally include aluminum alloy, traditional carbon steel, and zinc aluminum magnesium, which require surface treatment.
Analysis of aluminum alloy brackets
Lightweight but lacking in stiffness, with a tensile strength of 390-420MPa and poor load-bearing capacity; Good corrosion resistance but poor corrosion resistance in alkaline environments. Mainly suitable for household distributed photovoltaic scenarios
Analysis of traditional carbon steel photovoltaic brackets
The stiffness is sufficient but the lifespan is short. Although the surface is hot-dip galvanized, the service life is only about 20 years; Heavy weight, difficult handling, slow installation, high labor costs, and high transportation costs. Mainly suitable for outdoor large-scale centralized power plant scenarios.
Analysis of zinc aluminum magnesium photovoltaic brackets
The addition of alloy elements such as Al, Mg, and Si to the coating of ultra corrosion-resistant zinc aluminum magnesium steel plate greatly improves the corrosion inhibition effect of the coating. Compared with ordinary galvanized products, the coating has less adhesion but can achieve better corrosion resistance, which is 10-20 times that of hot-dip galvanized steel plate.
Self repair refers to the process of repairing the cutting edge of zinc aluminum magnesium products. In a humid and corrosive environment, the coating material near the cutting edge dissolves into the water film attached to the exposed metal surface, continuously migrates and infects the exposed cutting edge, forming a dense protective film (white rust) composed of zinc hydroxide, alkaline zinc chloride, and magnesium hydroxide, gradually covering the exposed cutting edge metal and separating the external corrosive medium from the exposed metal substrate, This prevents further corrosion of the exposed incision. The entire process will take a long time.
The key component of long-life zinc aluminum magnesium is the addition of Mg Al Zn, which has strong and reliable chlorine resistance (edible salt/sweat/sea surface/evening wind/soil layer) and alkali corrosion resistance, ensuring no red rust for 20-30 years.
This is a coating product with excellent comprehensive performance, which can be enhanced by 10-20 times compared to zinc plating under the same coating amount. It provides excellent protection for the cutting surface and also has good welding performance. Mainly suitable for application scenarios such as BIPV, offshore photovoltaics, and desert photovoltaics.
With the continuous development of the photovoltaic industry, the materials used in the production of photovoltaic brackets will move towards more efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical directions in the future. Aluminum alloy, traditional carbon steel, and zinc aluminum magnesium will still maintain their important position in the production of photovoltaic brackets, but their application methods and scope may undergo certain changes.
