A
MINI PROJECT
ON
FABRICATION OF DUAL AXIS SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM
by
B.KARTHIK (188R1A0363)
G.NAVEEN SAI (188R1A0374)
B.PRAVEEN KUMAR (188R1A0361)
CH.UDAY KUMAR (188R1A0367)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Dr K. Rajendra Prasad
Professor
ENGINEERING COLLEGE
EXPLORE TO INVENT
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
CMR ENGINEERING COLLEGE
KANDLAKOYA, MEDCHAL ROAD, HYDERABAD-501401
INDEX
Introduction
Objectives
Working Principle
Results
Conclusion
References
Introduction
Solar energy systems have emerged as a viable source of renewable
energy over the past two or three decades, and are now widely used
for a variety of industrial and domestic applications.
the power developed in such applications depends fundamentally
upon the amount of solar energy captured by the collector.
thus the problem of developing tracking schemes capable of
following the trajectory of the sun throughout the course of the day
on a year-round basis has received significant coverage in this
project.
This solar project was implemented using two DC motors.
Objectives of the project:
To utilize renewable energy sources.
To get maximum power from the sunlight.
To eliminate environmental pollution by using natural energy source.
To Work efficiently under different working conditions.
Working Principle
Resistance of LDR depends on intensity of the light and it varies according to it. The higher is the intensity of
light, lower will be the LDR resistance and due to this the output voltage lowers and when the light intensity is
low, higher will be the LDR resistance and thus higher output voltage is obtained.
A potential divider circuit is used to get the output voltage from the
sensors (LDRs).The circuit is shown here.
The LDR senses the analog input in voltages between 0 to 5 volts and
provides a digital number at the output which generally ranges from 0 to
1023.
Now this will give feedback to the microcontroller using the arduino
software(IDE).
The servo motor position can be controlled by this mechanism which is
discussed later in the hardware model.
Working of Solar Panel
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts
solar energy into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices
intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while
the term photovoltaic cell is used when the source is
unspecified.
Assemblies of cells are used to make solar panel, solar
modules, or photovoltaic arrays. Photovoltaic is the field of
technology and research related to the application of solar
cells for solar energy.
Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by semi
conducting materials, such as silicon.
Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose from their atoms,
allowing them to flow through the material to produce electricity. Due to
the special composition of solar cells, only allow the electrons to move in
a single direction.
The complementary positive charges that are also created (like bubbles)
are called holes and flow in the direction opposite of the electrons in a
silicon solar panel.
An array of solar panels converts solar energy into a usable amount of
direct current (DC) electricity.
The main blocks of this project are:
Regulated Power Supply
Solar panel
Battery
Microcontroller
DC motor
LDR sensor
REGULATED POWER SUPPLY
Every embedded system requires dc voltage and that that will be 5v DC supply
So the battery voltage need to converted to 5V dc.
Digital electronic devices need digital supply and we can get supply from regulated power supply block
Rectifier is used to protect the circuit from battery polarity reversal.
+18V DC Bridge +5V DC
Regulator
rectifier
Solar panel
Battery
In isolated systems away from the grid, batteries are
used for storage of excess solar energy which can be
converted into electrical energy.
In fact for small units with output less than one
kilowatt, batteries seem to be the only technically and
economically available storage means.
Since both the photo-voltaic system and batteries are
high in capital costs, it is necessary that the overall
system be optimized with respect to available energy and
local demand pattern.
Microcontroller
A small computer on a single
chip
containing a processor, memory,
and input/output
Typically "embedded" inside
some device that they control
A microcontroller is often small
and low cost
DC motor
A DC motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical
energy, very typically through the interaction of magnetic
fields and current-carrying conductors.
The reverse process, producing electrical energy from
mechanical energy, is accomplished by
an alternator, generator or dynamo.
Many types of electric motors can be run as generators, and
vice versa.
The input of a DC motor is current/voltage and its output is
torque (speed).
LDR sensor
LDRs are made from semiconductor materials to enable them to have their light
sensitive properties. Many materials can be used, but one popular material for
these photo resistors is cadmium sulphide (CdS).
Light dependent resistors or LDRs are often used in circuits where it is necessary
to detect the presence or the level of light. They can be described by a variety of
names from light dependent resistor, LDR, photo resistor, or even photo cell
(photocell) or photoconductor.
Relation between solar panel misalignment and direct power loss
RESULT
In this Dual Axis Solar Tracker, when source light falls on the panel, the panel adjusts
its position according to maximum intensity of light falling perpendicular to it.
The objective of the project is completed. This was achieved through using light
sensors that are able to detect the amount of sunlight that reaches the solar panel. The
values obtained by the LDRs are compared and if there is any significant difference,
there is actuation of the panel using a DC motor to the point where it is almost
perpendicular to the rays of the sun.
This was achieved using a system with three stages or subsystems. Each
stage has its own role.
The stages were:-
An input stage that was responsible for converting incident light to a
voltage
A control stage that was responsible for controlling actuation and
decision making
A driver stage with the servo motor. It was responsible for actual
movement of the panel
CONCLUSION
In this 21st century, as we build up our technology, population & growth, the energy consumption per capita increases
exponentially, as well as our energy resources (e.g. fossils fuels) decrease rapidly. So, for sustainable development, we
have to think alternative methods (utilization of renewable energy sources) in order to fulfill our energy demand.
In this project, Dual Axis Solar Tracker, we’ve developed a demo model of solar tracker to track the maximum intensity
point of light source so that the voltage given at that point by the solar panel is maximum. After a lot of trial and errors
we’ve successfully completed our project and we are proud to invest some effort for our society. Now, like every other
experiment, this project has couple of imperfections.
(i) Our panel senses the light in a sensing zone, beyond which it fails to respond.
(ii) If multiple sources of light (i.e. diffused light source) appear on panel, it calculates the vector sum of light sources & moves
the panel in that point.
This project was implemented with minimal resources. The circuitry was kept simple, understandable and user friendly.
References
Solar Tracking Hardware and Software by Gerro J Prinsloo
Raj kamal –Microcontrollers Architecture, Programming, Interfacing and System Design.
Sensors and Transducers...Second Edition...’’D.Patranabis”
Atmel ATmega48A/PA/88A/PA/168A/PA/328/P-datasheet
Utilisation of Electrical Power. Author, Er. R. K. Rajput.
Arduino Programming Book. Author, Brian W. Evans
