Case Study: Savio S.p.A. achieves 13.5% rafter weight reduction and major material & cost savings with Altair's HyperWorks OptiStruct

Optimization of Photovoltaic (PV) Mounting Structures Savings on Material and Cost

Savio S.p.A., via its Thesan subsidiary, faced a challenge to reduce weight and material costs for ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) structures on a 5 MW field (1,700 arrays, ~204 t steel, ~€170,000 material cost) while keeping strict safety and stiffness requirements. To lower costly aluminum rafter weight and reduce transport costs to remote sites without compromising structural performance, the team turned to Altair and its HyperWorks OptiStruct optimization tools.

Using Altair’s OptiStruct, Thesan defined a design space, applied realistic wind, snow and dead-load boundary conditions, and optimized wall thicknesses and profile shape; results were validated by FE analysis. Altair’s solution reduced the rafter from 2.06 kg/m to 1.78 kg/m (−13.5%), delivered more than 15 tons of aluminum savings, produced about a 10% reduction in steel parts, and yielded clear manufacturing, transportation and competitive benefits for Savio S.p.A.

Savio S.p.A.

Roberto Vadori

R&D Technical Officer