SHRI B. V. V.

SANGHA’S
BILURU GURUBASAVA MAHASWAMIJI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MUDHOL
A TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON

“SOLAR POWERED AIRPLANES”

Presented by
Name: PRAJWAL S UTTUR
USN: 2LB16ME021

Under the guidance of : Prof P. S. PARADDI (B E ,M.Tech)

Seminar Coordinator : Prof Umeshkumar Huded (B E, M.Tech)
Department of Mechanical Engineering BGMIT Mudhol 587313, Karnataka, India
 CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Basic Concepts
3. Solar Irradiance
4. Solar Cell
5. Maximum Power Point Tracker
6. Energy Storage
7. Electric Motor
8. Solar Power Airplane Advantages and Disadvantages
9. Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

 The amount of energy the sun sends towards our planet is 35000 times more than
we currently produced and consume.
 This energy can be easily used for practical purposes.
 A solar Airplane (Aircraft) is one which collects energy from the sun by the means of
Photovoltaic solar cells.
 The energy may used to drive the electric motor to power the Airplanes (Aircrafts).
 Our basic principle is use solar power by means of Airplane (Aircraft) and this thing
can be done by the solar panels which covers hole surface of wing.
 During the night the only energy available comes from the battery.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

How the solar Planes look

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 BASIC CONCEPTS
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

 Solar power conversion into electric energy by means of Aircraft.

 It can be done by solar panels which covers the definite surface area of wings.
 A converter ensures that the solar panels are working at their maximum power
point.
 The electric energy is used to charge battery which drives electric motor.
 Propeller is mounted on motor shaft produces thrust continuously.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 SOLAR IRRADIANCE

 Solar irradiance is a measure of the irradiance (Power per unit area on Earths
surface) produced by SUN in form of electromagnetic radiations.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 SOLAR CELLS

 A solar cell or Photovoltaic cell is a device that converts solar energy into electricity
by the Photovoltaic effect.
 It is very widely used in space application because it allows a clean and long
duration source of energy requiring almost no maintenance.
 Solar cells are composed of various semiconducting materials, constituting one or
more layers.

DEPARTMENT OF MECH ANICAL ENGINEERING

 MAXIMUM POWERPOINT TRACKER
 A solar cell has a working point on its current to voltage curve where the power
retrieved is maximum.
 The constantly changing irradiance conditions, and thus get the highest amount of
energy, a so called maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is required.
 An MPPT is basically DC/DC converter with variable and adjustable gain between
the input and output voltage.
 The input being the solar panels and the output the battery.
 It contains electronics that monitor both the current and the voltage on each side.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 ENERGY STORAGE OR POWER STORAGE
 When the energy production is not constant and continuous , a good energy
storage method is necessary.
 Different ways to store energy :
• Chemical (Hydrogen,Biofuels)
• Electrochemical (Batteries, Fuel cells)
• Electrical (Capacitor, Super capacitor, Super conducting magnetic
energy storage)
• Mechanical (Compressed air and Fly wheel)
• Thermal

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 ELECTROCHEMICAL BATTERIES
 Electrochemical batteries are energy storage devices, which are able to convert
chemically stored energy into electrical energy during discharging.
 They are composed of a cathode and an anode, made of two dissimilar metals
that are in contact with an electrolyte.
 When all elements are in contact with each other, a flow of electron is
produced.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 FUEL CELLS
 A fuel cell is system where the chemical energy of reactants, often a gaseous
fuel and the oxygen.
 The fuel cell consists of two electrodes, known as the anode and cathode that
are separated by an electrolyte.
 A fuel cell on a solar airplane to store the energy during the day and reuse it
during the night

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 ELECTRIC MOTOR
 An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy.
 There are a very large variety of electric motors that coexist because of the
different supply sources, sizes, torques and speeds depending on the
application.
 In the present case , DC (Direct current or Continuous Current) motor will be used
as solar airplane is designed to run on DC electric power supplies by battery.
 The advantages of DC motors are numerous :
1. Very precise speed control.
2. High efficiency.
3. Reliability with longer lifetime
4. Their power to weight ratio exceptionally high.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 SOLAR POWER AIRPLANE ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES
 Advantages :
1. Sunlight is renewable day after day.
2. After equipment and set up costs, solar energy is free and we save money.
3. Solar energy is a clean energy. It does not pollute air.
4. Solar energy which not used during the day can be stored in a battery system.

 Disadvantages :
1. Collecting solar energy depends on location and weather conditions.
2. Equipment is expensive at initially.
3. Solar panels and other collectors take up a lot space.
4. We cannot produce solar electricity at night.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 CONCLUSION
 It has the advantage and very versatile and usable for less than one meter wingspan to
manned airplanes.
 The design methodology consists of simple 5 parameters linked to the design of the airplane
and they are follows,
1. Solar Cell
2. Energy Storage
3. Electric Motor
4. Aerodynamics of wings
5. Propeller
 It should helpful to getting the layout of a solar airplane with suitable size, weight and
powering information.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

THANK YOU