scholarly journals Sun Tracking Technique Applied to a Solar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Drones ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Jorge L. Hernandez-Toral ◽  
Iván González-Hernández ◽  
Rogelio Lozano

In recent years, solar energy has been used as an energy source for many different applications. Currently in the area of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), there are research studies that incorporate this renewable energy technology to increase the vehicle’s autonomy. This technique also needs particular construction techniques and electronic boards, designed to reduce weight and increase the efficiency of all solar systems on board the UAV. As is well known, the amount of generated solar energy could be increased throughout a day a sun tracking technique is added. The present paper proves that the roll angle of a fixed wing UAV can be used to track the sun to increase the energy generated by the solar panels placed on the wing. In that case, the plane’s attitude must be compensated with the yaw angle control to be able to perform a photogrammetric mission. This will be achieved using a control strategy based on the super-twisting technique that ensures convergence in finite time even in the presence of bounded perturbations. The design of the control laws as well as the numerical simulation and real flight results are shown to validate the use of the sun tracking system.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11564
Author(s):  
Harry D. Kambezidis ◽  
Ashraf Farahat ◽  
Mansour Almazroui ◽  
Emad Ramadan

The objective of the present work is to investigate the performance of flat-plate solar panels in Saudi Arabia that continuously follow the daily motion of the sun. To that end, the annual energy sums are estimated for such surfaces at 82 locations covering all Saudi Arabia. All calculations use a surface albedo of 0.2 and another one with a near-real value. The variation of the solar energy sums on annual, seasonal, and monthly basis is given for near-real ground albedos; the analysis provides regression equations for the energy sums as function of time. A map of the annual inclined solar energy for Saudi Arabia is derived and presented. The annual energy sums are found to vary between 2159 and 4078 kWhm−2year−1. Finally, a correction factor, introduced in a recent publication, is used; it is confirmed that the linear relationship between the correction factor and the ground-albedo ratio is general enough to be graphically representable as a nomogram. A discussion regarding the differences among solar systems on horizontal, fixed-tilt, 1-axis, and 2-axis systems is presented.


Author(s):  
Kanhaiya Kumar ◽  
Lokesh Varshney ◽  
A. Ambikapathy ◽  
Inayat Ali ◽  
Ashish Rajput ◽  
...  

<p>Electricity is a major source of energy for fast growing population and the use of nonrenewable source is harmful for our environment. This reason belongs to devastating of environment, so it is required to take immediate action to solve these problems which result the solar energy development. Production of a solar energy can be maximizing if we use solar follower. The major part of solar panels is microcontroller with arrangement of LDR sensor is used to follow the sun, where the sensors is less efficient to track the sun because of the low sensitivity of LDR. We are proposing a method to track sun more effetely with the help of both LDR sensors and image processing. This type of mechanism can track sun with the help of image processing software which combines both result of sensors and processed sun image to control the solar panel. The combination of both software and hardware can control thousands of solar panels in solar power plants.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
O. Drozd ◽  
L. Scherbak

This paper is dedicated to the research of solar energy issues, namely to increase the efficiency of solar panels and to compare the performance of solar panels in different configurations. The author researches and compares the performance of solar panels with and without trackers. The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy that mankind has yet to appreciate. Solar energy is the kinetic energy of radiation (mainly light) generated by thermonuclear reactions in the bowels of the sun. Solar energy is one such alternative, the neglect of which will in the near future lead to catastrophic consequences for humanity. Solar energy is a progressive method of obtaining various types of energy through solar radiation. Solar energy is one of the most promising and dynamic renewable energy sources (RES). Each year, the increase in commissioned capacity is approximately 40-50%. In the last fifteen years alone, the proportion of solar electricity in the world has exceeded the 5% mark. To increase the efficiency of solar panels, designers and engineers are developing new devices and devices, one of which is a solar tracker. A solar tracker is a device that allows you to control the movement of the sun across the sky, as well as move the solar panel to the position where the absorption of sunlight is most effective. After the conducted experiment , calculations an comparison we can see the next results. Without the solar tracker our panel generated maximum power in 2.4 Watt. After the solar tracking system integration, our panel generated almost 20 (19.8) Watt of power! After this comparison we can tell that the generated power increase in 8.25 Watts. We can also admit that the amount of generated power depends on light intensity. But solar panels are the most effective when the solar beam falls perpendicular to solar cell and solar panel is at an angle of 75 – 85 degrees


Author(s):  
Alex Wenda ◽  
Rendy Dwi Putra

This research optimizes the absorption of solar energy in solar panels by designing mechanical systems that can move solar panels in the direction of incoming sunlight. Light-sensitive sensors are used to track the sun. The solar tracking system is designed using two axes, namely rotation axis and the tilt axis. Both axes are driven by servo motors based on light-sensitive sensors. The system was developed using an ATmega328 microcontroller unit. The test results found that using solar tracking the amount of energy produced was greater than static solar panels. Radiation generated between solar tracking and static sun can increase by 55.2%.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
M Barkah Salim ◽  
Nurlaila Rajabiah

The sun is a source of energy that cannot be used up. Therefore, the utilization of solar energy must be a priority. With the many types of solar panels that have been developed, researchers conducted an analysis of 150 watt monocrystalline solar panels. The purpose of this study is to know the amount of current and voltage produced by solar panels in some conditions of the sky, namely cloudy, bright cloudy, and bright. The research method used was the experiment. From the data that has been obtained, it can be found that the energy produced by solar panels during cloudy ranges from 0.6-0.8 amperes, when it is cloudy, 0.9-1.9 amperes, and when bright 2.0-3.2 amperes. The amount of electrical energy that can be produced is 8%. However, if the sunny state can produce twice that Suggestions for readers are if you want to take data to make sure the solar panels are completely exposed to the sun during data collection and in the open area. Much better if the angle is adjusted in the direction of sunlight.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Tae-Yong Park ◽  
Joo-Yong Jung ◽  
Hyun-Ung Oh

Cube satellites have a limitation for generating power because of their cubic structure and extremely small size. In addition, the incidence angle between the sun and the solar panels continuously varies owing to the revolution and rotation of the satellite according to the attitude control strategy. This angle is an important parameter for determining the power generation performance of the cube satellite. In this study, we performed an experimental feasibility study that uses a Fresnel lens as a solar-energy collection system for cube satellite applications, so that the power generation efficiency can be enhanced under the worst incidence angle condition between the sun and solar panels by concentrating and redirecting solar energy onto the solar panels with a commercial Fresnel lens. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed system, we conducted a power-measurement test using a solar simulator and Fresnel lenses at various angles to the light source. In addition, we predicted the on-orbit power-generation enhancement achieved by employing the solar-energy collection system with various attitude control strategies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 724-725 ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu En Wu ◽  
Kuo Chan Huang

This paper presents a smart dual-axis solar tracking system, its architecture includes sensors, embedded controllers, AC motors, Integrated electric putter design biaxial institutions, and the GSM automatic report of fault notification, to achieve autonomous tracking solar track system and adjust the solar panels to reach the maximum smooth by tracking the solar azimuth angle and elevation angle, and ensure that the solar panels with the sun to maintain the vertical in any time and any place, thus achieving the best power efficiency. This system proposed a dual-axis design, and an embedded controller used as the main system controller to detect voltage difference and determine the solar azimuth angle with four groups of CDS as a sensing element. To lock the sun, the solar panels be perpendicular via the moving of AC motor (EW) and motorized faders (north-south). The control system software using C language can be extremely fast and accurate tracking of the solar angle, and dual-axis operation with recovery mode to save the power loss. Finally, we have the actual analysis and verification of benefit of power generation in this paper, from this experimental results, we can verify the integration of build dual-axis solar tracking system and solar power system have promoted 30% generating power capacity more than fixed solar power system and has low failure rate. It can improve the problem of traditional tracking system reliability and greatly enhance the usefulness of this system.


F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1381
Author(s):  
Jacek Harazin ◽  
Andrzej Wróbel

Roof mounted solar panels come in form of fixed panels, unable to adjust to sun’s position during day and throughout the year. As an effect, the efficiency of such solution is usually dependent on the roof slope and position of the building in relation to sun’s day arc during seasons. These problems can be bypassed in free standing solar installations by equipping solar panels with solar tracker installations. Thanks to solar tracking, solar panels can be dynamically positioned perpendicular to the sun position and gather energy more efficiently throughout the day. This article presents a possibility of creating a roof mounted solar tracking panel to increase its efficiency. A prototype of solar tracking panel with two axes of movement was designed with an intention of an easy adaptation to being mounted on sloped surfaces of building roofs. A reference stationary panel was used to compare the efficiency of both solutions. A 5-day study was carried out to determine if the proposed solution could provide any benefits. Based on the study, the authors made an attempt to draw a conclusion whether the design could considerably increase the solar energy output to be worth the extra spending associated with solar tracker installation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
S Udhayakumar ◽  
R A Sindhu ◽  
R Srivasthan ◽  
Y Yogaraj

The harvesting of solar energy is gaining increasing attention as it is pollution free and is available in abundance. Various researches and experiments are being carried out to improve the efficiency of power conversion by altering the material of the photovoltaic panels, by incorporating tracking systems and by making use of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms. The conventional rigidly fixed solar panels limit their area of exposure to the sun during the entire day. The use of tracker increases the area of panel exposed to direct beam of the sun, thus increasing the power generated. MPPT algorithm tracks the maximum power point attained at all loads and extracts the power from the panel at that voltage. Despite the variations in the external environment, the power obtained from the panel is always maximum. This paper reviews various tracking methods and MPPT techniques to increase the energy harvesting capacity of the panel and in turn improve its efficiency.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Robby Rachmatullah ◽  
Dessyana Kardha ◽  
Dani Triwiyanto

The transfer of electrical energy sources from non-renewable fossil fuels to alternative renewable fuels can be made by utilizing solar energy. The working system of arduino uno solar tracking system for STMIK AUB garden lights is by capturing solar energy through solar panels which are then stored inside the battery where the charging process is controlled by solar charge controller. LDR functions to receive and identify the radiated light quantities which are then forwarded into the arduino uno and processed to drive the DC motor that has become one with the solar panel. If the day begins to darken the LDR will inform the arduino uno and then it will be processed by arduino uno to turn on the DC light.


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