The application of dynamic wind load on photovoltaic (PV) solar systems mounted on flat roofs influenced their structural behavior significantly. It is implied that when the PV solar system is exposed to extreme weather characteristics such as low temperatures, these might influence the load distribution along each layer of the solar panel, which is composed by multiple layers of different materials. Therefore, the high record of weather characteristics as one scenario in addition to the field experiment were designed to describe parametric structural behavior of PV solar system help to increase the precision of study. According to the mentioned procedures different parameters of weather characteristics measured with instrumentation at the site of PV panel installation at the University of Ottawa where the low temperature equal to -24.3° C and wind speed of 11.8 recorded. The mechanical and thermal properties of full-scale specimen and load application that computed based on weather record for every two minutes of January and February from northern side of specimen, introduced to FEM software SAP 2000. Moreover, the support structure and connection used to assemble real specimen considered in modeling with respect to average temperature equal to -7° C that caused to simulate 36 different cases to compare with simultaneous experiment designed to measured strain within same period. The second investigation involved instrumenting a full-scale PV solar panel specimen with 13 half-bridge strain gauges on both surfaces of the PV solar panel, which were used to measure strain values in longitudinal and transversal directions of solar panel and also on the top and bottom edges of the same panel. According to an equivalent uniform Young’s modulus numerically determined for the five layers of the PV solar panel, and with respect to the Hook’s law, the stresses were found to be equal to 50 Mpa for strain gauges at the mid area of PV solar panel,. This value was used to calibrate boundary conditions of the FE model namely the Fix-Equal and the Pin-Equal conditions along the edges of the solar panel and along the mounting frame.

Intérêt du sujet : Dans le domaine de la grande consommation, de nombreuses innovations échouent sur le marché européen. L’innovation étant une des variables clé du modèle économique des sociétés occidentales, l’identification des vecteurs de réussite ou d’échec des produits nouveaux est fondamentale pour le succès des entreprises. Parmi les trois groupes de déterminants de l’acceptation des produits nouveaux (les caractéristiques liées à la personne, au produit ou au système social), nous nous intéressons au dernier, jusque là négligé par la littérature.Objectif : Identifier les freins sociaux qui interviennent dans le processus de diffusion d’une innovation.Contribution attendue : Les apports théoriques attendus de ce travail doctoral sont triples :(1) la prise en compte de la théorie des représentations sociales pour la compréhension du comportement d’achat innovateur; (2) la détermination des éléments de la représentation sociale des panneaux solaires photovoltaïques et la mise en évidence d’une potentielle segmentation par la représentation; (3) et l’identification de freins potentiels à l’acceptation de produits nouveaux.Méthode : Deux études ont été menées : tout d’abord une étude de la représentation sociale des panneaux solaires photovoltaïques au travers de deux méthodes (n=97 et n=205) ; puis une étude des motivations à l’achat de panneaux solaires photovoltaïques par les récits de vie(n=16). Principaux résultats : Ce travail doctoral a permis de mettre en évidence trois freins à la diffusion des panneaux solaires photovoltaïques : (1) le changement social induit par l’acceptation de l’innovation; (2) la potentielle multiplicité des représentations sociales et le problème que cela engendre sur la communication interpersonnelle; (3) et le refus d’appartenance au groupe de référence perçu du produit nouveau. / Topic of interest: in the fast moving consumer good, many innovations fail to introduce the European market. Innovation is a key variable in the economic model of Western societies,therefore identifying the success or the failure antecedents is crucial for the company’s success. Among the three groups of antecedents of the acceptance of new products(personal, product and social characteristics), we will focus on the last one, which has been neglected in the diffusion literature.Objective: Understanding the social barriers which intervene in the innovation diffusion process.Contribution expected: The expected theoretical contributions are threefold: (1) introducing the social representation’s theory to understand the innovative consumer behavior; (2)determining the photovoltaic solar panels’ social representation’s association and highlighting a potential segmentation through the social representation; and (3) identifying the potential barriers to innovation acceptance.Method: Two studies were conducted: first, a study on the social representation of photovoltaic solar panels using two methods (n=97 and n=205); then a study on the motivation in installing photovoltaic solar panel using life stories (n=16)Main results: This doctoral work highlight three barriers to photovoltaic solar panels diffusion: (1) the social change induced by the innovation’s acceptance; (2) the potential multiplicity of the social representations and the way it affects the interpersonal communication;