TIME OPERATED SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Submitted By:

Objective: Commercial made solar trackers are a nice addition to any solar panel array. They help increase the time that panels directly face the sun and allow them to produce their maximum power. Unfortunately they can be expensive to buy. We decided to make our own solar tracker to see if we could reduce the cost. We did not want to re-invent the wheel but wanted to make it more affordable. We started out small and came up with the idea of solar tracking using time instead of using a device that would sense where the sun is and move the panels toward it. The objective of this project is to control the position of a solar panel in accordance with the motion of sun. rief !ethodology" This project is designed with solar panels# $TC# !icrocontroller# %tepper !otor and its driving circuit. &n this project $TC is used to find or the location of %un. &t's a open loop system. () &*T$+,UCT&+* $enewable energy is rapidly gaining importance as an energy resource as fossil fuel prices fluctuate. -t the educational level# it is therefore critical for engineering and technology students to have an understanding and appreciation of the technologies associated with renewable energy. +ne of the most popular renewable energy sources is solar energy. !any researches were conducted to develop some methods to increase the efficiency of .hoto /oltaic systems 0solar panels). +ne such method is to employ a solar panel tracking system. This project deals with a $TC based solar panel tracking system. %olar tracking enables more energy to be generated because the solar panel is always able to maintain a perpendicular profile to the sun's rays. ,evelopment of solar panel tracking systems has been ongoing for several years now. -s the sun moves across the sky during the day# it is advantageous to have the solar panels track the location of the sun# such that the panels are always perpendicular to the solar energy radiated by the sun. This will tend to maximi1e the amount of power absorbed by ./ systems. &t has been estimated that the use of a tracking system# over a fixed system# can increase the power output by 234 - 534. The increase is significant enough to make tracking a viable preposition despite of the enhancement in system cost. &t is possible to align the tracking heliostat normal to sun using electronic control by a micro controller. ,esign re6uirements are" () during the time that the sun is up# the system must follow the sun's position in the sky. 7) This must be done with an active control# timed movements are useful. &t should be totally automatic and simple to operate. The operator interference should be minimal and restricted to only when it is actually re6uired. The major components of this system are as follows. () $TC 0$eal Time Clock) 7) !icrocontroller. 2) +utput mechanical transducer 0stepper motor).

U@ *
7<3 2

%tepper !otor

RTC

<=c73>(

8ig (" lock ,iagram of Time +perated %olar Tracking %ystem A BRIEF INTROD CTION TO !"#$ MICROCONTROLLER: When we have to learn about a new computer we have to familiari1e about the machine capability we are using# and we can do it by studying the internal hardware design 0devices architecture)# and also to know about the si1e# number and the si1e of the registers. - microcontroller is a single chip that contains the processor 0the C.U)# non-volatile memory for the program 0$+! or flash)# volatile memory for input and output 0$-!)# a clock and an &9+ control unit. -lso called a :computer on a chip#: billions of microcontroller units 0!CUs) are embedded each year in a myriad of products from toys to appliances to automobiles. 8or example# a single vehicle can use ;3 or more microcontrollers. The following picture describes a general block diagram of microcontroller. AT!%S#&: The -T<=%>7 is a low-power# high-performance C!+% <-bit microcontroller with <? bytes of in-system programmable 8lash memory. The device is manufactured using -tmel's highdensity nonvolatile memory technology and is compatible with the industry-standard <3C>( instruction set and pinout. The on-chip 8lash allows the program memory to be reprogrammed insystem or by a conventional nonvolatile memory pro-grammer. y combining a versatile <-bit C.U with in-system programmable 8lash on a monolithic chip# the -tmel -T<=%>7 is a powerful microcontroller# which provides a highly flexible and cost-effective solution to many# embedded control applications. The -T<=%>7 provides the following standard features" <? bytes of 8lash# 7>5 bytes of $-!# 27 &9+ lines# Watchdog timer# two data pointers# three (5-bit timer9counters# a six-vector two-level interrupt architecture# a full duplex serial port# on-chip oscillator# and clock circuitry. &n addition# the -T<=%>7 is designed with static logic for operation down to 1ero fre6uency and supports two software selectable power saving modes. The &dle !ode stops the C.U while allowing the $-!# timer9counters# serial port# and interrupt system to continue functioning. The .ower-down mode saves the $-! con-tents but free1es the oscillator# disabling all other chip functions until the next interrupt

The hardware is driven by a set of program instructions# or software. +nce familiar with hardware and software# the user can then apply the microcontroller to the problems easily. The pin diagram of the <3>( shows all of the input9output pins uni6ue to microcontrollers"

The following are some of the capabilities of <3>( microcontroller. &nternal $+! and $-! &9+ ports with programmable pins Timers and counters %erial data communication The <3>( architecture consists of these specific features" (5 bit .C Adata pointer 0,.T$) < bit program status word 0.%W) < bit stack pointer 0%.) &nternal $+! Bk &nternal $-! of (7< bytes. B register banks# each containing < registers <3 bits of general purpose data memory 27 input9output pins arranged as four < bit ports" .3-.2 Two (5 bit timer9counters" T3-T( Two external and three internal interrupt sources +scillator and clock circuits.

RTC DS$&C!!' FEAT RES: C ,ropDin replacement for & ! -T computer clock9 calendar C .in compatible with the !C(B5<(< and ,%(7<; C Totally nonvolatile with over (3 years of operation in the absence of power C %elfDcontained subsystem includes lithium# 6uart1# and support circuitry C Counts seconds# minutes# hours# days# day of the week# date# month# and year with leap year compensation valid up to 7(33 C inary or C, representation of time# calendar# and alarm C (7D or 7BDhour clock with -! and .! in (7Dhour mode C ,aylight %avings Time option

C %electable between !otorola and &ntel bus timing C !ultiplex bus for pin efficiency C &nterfaced with software as (7< $-! locations D (> bytes of clock and control registers D ((2 bytes of general purpose $-! C .rogrammable s6uare wave output signal C usDcompatible interrupt signals 0&$E) C Three interrupts are separately softwareDmaskable and testable D TimeDofDday alarm once9second to once9day D .eriodic rates from (77 ms to >33 ms D Fnd of clock update cycle C Century register PIN DESCRIPTION -,3D-,; D !ultiplexed -ddress9,ata us *C D *o Connection !+T D us Type %election C% D Chip %elect -% D -ddress %trobe $9W D $ead9Write &nput ,% D ,ata %trobe $F%FT D $eset &nput &$E D &nterrupt $e6uest +utput %EW D %6uare Wave +utput /CC D G> /olt %upply H*, D Hround DESCRIPTION The ,%(7C<<; $eal Time Clock plus $-! is designed as a direct upgrade replacement for the ,%(7<<; in existing & ! compatible personal computers to add hardware year 7333 compliance. - century byte was added to memory location >3# 27h# as called out by the .C -T specification. @ithium energy source# 6uart1 crystal# and writeDprotection circuitry are contained within a 7BDpin dual in-line package. -s such# the ,%(7C<<; is a complete subsystem replacing (5 components in a typical application. The functions include a nonvolatile timeDofDday clock# an alarm# a one hundred Dyear calendar# programmable interrupt# s6uare wave generator# and ((2 bytes of nonvolatile static $-!. The real time clock is distinctive in that timeDofDday and memory are maintained even in the absence of power.

Ste((e) m*t*) - +te((e) m*t*) 0or +te( m*t*)) is a brushless# synchronous electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motorIs position can be controlled precisely# without any feedback mechanism 0see +pen-loop controller). %tepper motors are similar to switched reluctance motors 0which are very large stepping motors with a reduced pole count# and generally are closed-loop commutated.) Fu,d-me,t-.+ */ O(e)-ti*, %tepper motors operate differently from ,C brush motors# which rotate when voltage is applied to their terminals. %tepper motors# on the other hand# effectively have multiple :toothed: electromagnets arranged around a central gear-shaped piece of iron. -n external control circuit# such as a microcontroller# energi1es the electromagnets. To make the motor shaft turn# first one electromagnet is given power# which makes the gearIs teeth magnetically attracted to the electromagnetIs teeth. When the gearIs teeth are thus aligned to the first electromagnet# they are slightly offset from the next electromagnet. %o when the next electromagnet is turned on and the first is turned off# the gear rotates slightly to align with the next one# and from there the process is repeated. Fach of those slight rotations is called a :step#: with an integer number of steps making a full rotation. &n that way# the motor can be turned by a precise angle.

Ste((e) m*t*) c0-)-cte)i+tic+ (. %tepper motors are constant power devices. 7. -s motor speed increases# tor6ue decreases. 2. The tor6ue curve may be extended by using current limiting drivers and increasing the driving voltage. B. %teppers exhibit more vibration than other motor types# as the discrete step tends to snap the rotor from one position to another. >. This vibration can become very bad at some speeds and can cause the motor to lose tor6ue. 5. The effect can be mitigated by accelerating 6uickly through the problem speeds range# physically damping the system# or using a micro-stepping driver. ;. !otors with a greater number of phases also exhibit smoother operation than those with fewer phases. O(e,1.**( ve)+u+ c.*+ed1.**( c*mmut-ti*, %teppers are generally commutated open loop# ie. the driver has no feedback on where the rotor actually is. %tepper motor systems must thus generally be over engineered# especially if the load inertia is high# or there is widely varying load# so that there is no possibility that the motor will lose steps. This has often caused the system designer to consider the trade-offs between a closely si1ed but expensive servomechanism system and an oversi1ed but relatively cheap stepper. - new development in stepper control is to incorporate a rotor position feedback 0eg. an encoder or resolver)# so that the commutation can be made optimal for tor6ue generation according to actual rotor position. This turns the stepper motor into a high pole count brushless servo motor# with exceptional low speed tor6ue and position resolution. -n advance on this techni6ue is to normally run the motor in open loop mode# and only enter closed loop mode if the rotor position error becomes too large -- this will allow the system to avoid hunting or oscillating# a common servo problem. T0e)e -)e t0)ee m-i, ty(e+ */ +te((e) m*t*)+: .ermanent !agnet %tepper Jybrid %ynchronous %tepper /ariable $eluctance %tepper .ermanent magnet motors use a permanent magnet 0.!) in the rotor and operate on the attraction or repulsion between the rotor .! and the stator electromagnets. /ariable reluctance 0/$) motors have a plain iron rotor and operate based on the principle of that minimum reluctance occurs with minimum gap# hence the rotor points are attracted toward the stator magnet poles. Jybrid stepper motors are named because they use use a combination of .! and /$ techni6ues to achieve maximum power in a small package si1e.

T2*1(0-+e +te((e) m*t*)+ There are two basic winding arrangements for the electromagnetic coils in a two phase stepper motor" bipolar and unipolar. ,i(*.-) m*t*)+ - unipolar stepper motor has two windings per phase# one for each direction of magnetic field. %ince in this arrangement a magnetic pole can be reversed without switching the direction of current# the commutation circuit can be made very simple 0eg. a single transistor) for each winding. Typically# given a phase# one end of each winding is made common" giving three leads per phase and six leads for a typical two phase motor. +ften# these two phase commons are internally joined# so the motor has only five leads. - microcontroller or stepper motor controller can be used to activate the drive transistors in the right order# and this ease of operation makes unipolar motors popular with hobbyistsK they are probably the cheapest way to get precise angular movements.

Unipolar stepper motor coils 08or the experimenter# one way to distinguish common wire from a coil-end wire is by measuring the resistance. $esistance between common wire and coil-end wire is always half of what it is between coil-end and coil-end wires. This is due to the fact that there is actually twice the length of coil between the ends and only half from center 0common wire) to the end.) - 6uick way to determine if the stepper motor is working is to short circuit every two pairs and try turning the shaft# whenever a higher than normal resistance is felt# it indicates that the circuit to the particular winding is closed and that the phase is working. Bi(*.-) m*t*) ipolar motors have a single winding per phase. The current in a winding needs to be reversed in order to reverse a magnetic pole# so the driving circuit must be more complicated# typically with an J-bridge arrangement. There are two leads per phase# none are common. %tatic friction effects using an J-bridge have been observed with certain drive topologies ecause windings are better utilised# they are more powerful than a unipolar motor of the same weight. <-lead stepper -n < lead stepper is wound like a unipolar stepper# but the leads are not joined to common internally to the motor. This kind of motor can be wired in several configurations" Unipolar. ipolar with series windings. This gives higher inductance but lower current per winding. ipolar with parallel windings. This re6uires higher current but can perform better as the winding inductance is reduced. ipolar with a single winding per phase. This method will run the motor on only half the available windings# which will reduce the available low speed tor6ue but re6uire less current. Jigher-phase count stepper motors !ulti-phase stepper motors with many phases tend to have much lower levels of vibration# although the cost of manufacture is higher.

Ste((e) m*t*) d)ive ci)cuit+ %tepper motor performance is strongly dependent on the drive circuit. Tor6ue curves may be extended to greater speeds if the stator poles can be reversed more 6uickly# the limiting factor being the winding inductance. To overcome the inductance and switch the windings 6uickly# one must increase the drive voltage. This leads further to the necessity of limiting the current that these high voltages may otherwise induce. L3R d)ive ci)cuit+ @9$ drive circuits are also referred to as constant voltage drives because a constant positive or negative voltage is applied to each winding to set the step positions. Jowever# it is winding current# not voltage that applies tor6ue to the stepper motor shaft. The current & in each winding is related to the applied voltage / by the winding inductance @ and the winding resistance $. The resistance $ determines the maximum current according to +hmIs law &L/9$. The inductance @ determines the maximum rate of change of the current in the winding according to the formula for an &nductor d&9dt L /9@. Thus when controlled by an @9$ drive# the maximum speed of a stepper motor is limited by its inductance since at some speed# the voltage / will be changing faster than the current & can keep up. With an @9$ drive it is possible to control a low voltage resistive motor with a higher voltage drive simply by adding an external resistor in series with each winding. This will waste power in the resistors# and generate heat. &t is therefore considered a low performing option# albeit simple and cheap. C0*((e) d)ive ci)cuit+ Chopper drive circuits are also referred to as constant current drives because they generate a somewhat constant current in each winding rather than applying a constant voltage. +n each new step# a very high voltage is applied to the winding initially. This causes the current in the winding to rise 6uickly since d&9dt L /9@ where / is very large. The current in each winding is monitored by the controller# usually by measuring the voltage across a small sense resistor in series with each winding. When the current exceeds a specified current limit# the voltage is turned off or :chopped:# typically using power transistors. When the winding current drops below the specified limit# the voltage is turned on again. &n this way# the current is held relatively constant for a particular step position. This re6uires additional electronics to sense winding currents# and control the switching# but it allows stepper motors to be driven with higher tor6ue at higher speeds than @9$ drives. &ntegrated electronics for this purpose are widely available. .hase current waveforms - stepper motor is a polyphase -C synchronous motor 0see Theory below)# and it is ideally driven by sinusoidal current. - full step waveform is a gross approximation of a sinusoid# and is the reason why the motor exhibits so much vibration. /arious drive techni6ues have been developed to better approximate a sinusoidal drive waveform" these are half stepping and microstepping. 8ull step drive 0two phases on) This is the usual method for full step driving the motor. oth phases are always on. The motor will have full rated tor6ue. 4-ve d)ive &n this drive method only a single phase is activated at a time. &t has the same number of steps as the full step drive# but the motor will have significantly less than rated tor6ue. &t is rarely used. 5-./ +te((i,6 When half stepping# the drive alternates between two phases on and a single phase on. This increases the angular resolution# but the motor also has less tor6ue at the half step position

0where only a single phase is on). This may be mitigated by increasing the current in the active winding to compensate. The advantage of half stepping is that the drive electronics need not change to support it. Mic)*+te((i,6 What is commonly referred to as microstepping is actual :sine cosine microstepping: in which the winding current approximates a sinusoidal -C waveform. %ine cosine microstepping is the most common form# but other waveforms are used. $egardless of the waveform used# as the microsteps become smaller# motor operation becomes more smooth# thereby greatly reducing resonance in any parts the motor may be connected to# as well as the motor itself. &t should be noted that while microstepping appears to make running at very high resolution possible# this resolution is rarely achievable in practice regardless of the controller# due to mechanical stiction and other sources of error between the specified and actual positions. &n professional e6uipment gearheads are the preferred way to increase angular resolution. %tep si1e repeatability is an important step motor feature and a fundamental reason for their use in positioning. Fxample" many modern hybrid step motors are rated such that the travel of every 8ull step 0example (.< ,egrees per 8ull step or 733 8ull steps per revolution) will be within 24 or >4 of the travel of every other 8ull stepK as long as the motor is operated with in its specified operating ranges. %everal manufacturers show that their motors can easily maintain the 24 or >4 e6uality of step travel si1e as step si1e is reduced from 8ull stepping down to (9(3th stepping. Then# as the microstepping divisor number grows# step si1e repeatability degrades. -t large step si1e reductions it is possible to issue many microstep commands before any motion occurs at all and then the motion can be a :jump: to a new position. T0e*)y - step motor can be viewed as a synchronous -C motor with the number of poles 0on both rotor and stator) increased# taking care that they have no common denominator. -dditionally# soft magnetic material with many teeth on the rotor and stator cheaply multiplies the number of poles 0reluctance motor). !odern steppers are of hybrid design# having both permanent magnets and soft iron cores. To achieve full rated tor6ue# the coils in a stepper motor must reach their full rated current during each step. Winding inductance and reverse F!8 generated by a moving rotor tend to resist changes in drive current# so that as the motor speeds up# less and less time is spent at full current -- thus reducing motor tor6ue. -s speeds further increase# the current will not reach the rated value# and eventually the motor will cease to produce tor6ue. Pu..1i, t*)7ue This is the measure of the tor6ue produced by a stepper motor when it is operated without an acceleration state. -t low speeds the stepper motor can synchronise itself with an applied step fre6uency# and this .ull-&n tor6ue must overcome friction and inertia. Pu..1*ut t*)7ue The stepper motor pull-out tor6ue is measured by accelerating the motor to the desired speed and then increasing the tor6ue loading until the motor stalls or :pulls out of synchronism: with the step fre6uency. This measurement is taken across a wide range of speeds and the results are used to generate the stepper motorIs dynamic performance curve. -s noted below this curve is affected by drive voltage# drive current and current switching techni6ues. &t is normally recommended to use a safety factor of between >34 and (334 when comparing your desired tor6ue output to the published :pull-+ut: tor6ue performance curve of a step motor.

Dete,t t*)7ue

%ynchronous electric motors using permanent magnets have a remnant position holding tor6ue 0called detent torque# and sometimes included in the specifications) when not driven electrically. %oft iron reluctance cores do not exhibit this behavior. Ste((e) m*t*) )-ti,6+ -,d +(eci/ic-ti*,+ %tepper motors nameplates typically give only the winding current and occasionally the voltage and winding resistance. The rated voltage will produce the rated winding current at ,C" but this is mostly a meaningless rating# as all modern drivers are current limiting and the drive voltages greatly exceed the motor rated voltage. - stepperIs low speed tor6ue will vary directly with current. Jow 6uickly the tor6ue falls off at faster speeds depends on the winding inductance and the drive circuitry it is attached to# especially the driving voltage. %teppers should be si1ed according to published tor6ue curve# which is specified by the manufacturer at particular drive voltages and9or using their own drive circuitry. &t is not guaranteed that you will achieve the same performance given different drive circuitry# so the pair should be chosen with great care. A((.ic-ti*,+ Computer-controlled stepper motors are one of the most versatile forms of positioning systems. They are typically digitally controlled as part of an open loop system# and are simpler and more rugged than closed loop servo systems. &ndustrial applications are in high speed pick and place e6uipment and multi-axis machine C*C machines often directly driving lead screws or ballscrews. &n the field of lasers and optics they are fre6uently used in precision positioning e6uipment such as linear actuators# linear stages# rotation stages# goniometers# and mirror mounts. +ther uses are in packaging machinery# and positioning of valve pilot stages for fluid control systems. Commercially# stepper motors are used in floppy disk drives# flatbed scanners# computer printers# plotters# slot machines# and many more devices.