Page | 1

Project Report on
HYDRAULIC SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM
B. E. Mechanical Engineering
Acknowledgement
It is indeed a great pleasure to express my thanks and gratitude to all those who helped me. And
to all other people who directly or indirectly supported and help me to fulfill my task.
I am very thankful to my guide Prof. SHUSHRUT SIR the person who makes me to follow the
right steps during a project. I express my deep sense of gratitude to for his guidance, suggestions
and expertise at every stage. Apart from that his valuable and expertise suggestion during
documentation of my report indeed help me a lot.
Thanks to my friend and colleague who have been a source of inspiration and motivation that
helped to me during my project work.
ABSTRACT
In this project work, we have invented Hydraulic solar tracking system which will utilize
mechanical energies. At present, solar tracking system use electrical energy provided by external
supply or same solar panel for tracking operation. So efficiency of present system is less and
maintenance cost of present system is high. Whereas hydraulic solar tracking system will
consume no energy and less maintenance cost for long time.
Therefore, our invented system will be far more better than present system because through this
invented system we can get maximum efficiency of solar panel mean that we can get maximum
power generation.
.
INDEX
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Project Overview
1.2 Aim & Objective
1.3 Problem Specifications
1.4 Literature Review
1.5 Plan Of Work
1.6 Materials / Tools required
2 CANVAS ACTIVITY
2.1 AEIOU Summary
2.2 Empathy Mapping Canvas
2.3 Ideation Canvas
2.4 Product Development Canvas

3 IMPLEMENTION
3.1 Methodology
3.2 Design
3.3 Working
3.4 Assembly
4 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE SCOPE
4.1 Conclusion
4.2 Future Scope
4.3 Advantages, Disadvantages and Limitation
4.4 Refernces
5 APPENDIX
Project Progress Reports (PPR)
Patent Search Database Used
Introduction
1.1 Project Over View
Solar Energy
Energy from the sun travels to the earth in the form of electromagnetic radiation similar to radio
waves, but in a different frequency range called solar energy. Solar power is the conversion of
received solar radiation into usable energy. It is a process that consists of harnessing the sun's
present emissions of heat or light. This heat and light are the effects of the sun's constant nuclear
fusion of hydrogen nuclei. The process of fusion produces helium nuclei as well as large amounts
of energy. Available solar energy is often expressed in units of energy per time per unit area, such
as watts per square meter (W/m2). The amount of energy available from the sun outside the
earth’s atmosphere is approximately 1367 W/m2. Some of the solar energy is absorbed as it
passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. As a result, on a clear day the amount of solar energy
available at the Earth’s surface in the direction of the sun is typically 1000 W/m2. The level of
solar radiation a region receives depends on latitude and local weather conditions.
Solar Tracking
Solar tracking is the process of varying the angle of solar panels, to take advantage of the full
amount of the sun`s energy. In remote places sun is the cheap source of electricity. The output
from solar panel depends on the intensity of sunlight falling on it and also on the angle of
incidence. It means to get maximum efficiency; the solar panel must remain in front of sun during
the whole day. But due the rotation of earth the panel can’t maintain their position always in front
of sun. Thus to get maximum and a constant output, a system is required which should be capable
to constantly rotate the solar panel. Initial tests in industry suggest that this process can increase
the efficiency of a solar power system by up to 50%. Given those gains, it is an attractive way to
enhance an existing solar power system.
Solar Panel
Solar Panels are the devices for capturing the energy in sunlight. Solar photovoltaic panels
contain arrays of solar cells that convert light into electricity. The solar cells sometimes called
photovoltaic cells, photovoltaic meaning literally .light-electricity. Solar cells or PV cells rely on
the photovoltaic effect to absorb the energy of the sun and cause current to flow between two
oppositely charged layers. Crystalline silicon and Gallium arsenide are typical choices of
materials for solar cells. When exposed to sunlight, a 6 cm diameter silicon cell can produce a
current of about 0.5 A at 0.5 V. Gallium arsenide is more efficient than Crystalline silicon. A
solar panel is a collection of solar cells. Solar panels are constructed of these cells cut into
appropriate shapes, protected from radiation and handling damage on the front surface by
bonding on a cover glass, and cemented onto a substrate (either a rigid panel or a flexible
blanket).
Electrical connections are made in series-parallel to determine total output voltage.The cement
and the substrate must be thermally conductive, because the cells heat up from absorbing infrared
energy that is not converted to electricity. Since cell heating reduces the operating efficiency it is
desirable to minimize the heating. The resulting assemblies are called solar panels or solar arrays.

Electrical Solar Tracking Systems

The most of today’s Solar tracking systems are electrical systems. Elements of these systems are
an electric servo drive and an electronic control system. The electric servo drive includes a
stepper motor, which rotates the solar panels with a pre-set angular displacement. The control
system gives an input signal to servo drive system to drive the stepper motor with the help of
sensor and electronic counters. In these systems, the major portion of energy produced by the
solar panel is utilized for tracking operation. If not, these systems should have a battery storage
unit or should be connected to power supply grid or the combination of both.

Mechanical Solar Tracking Systems

Mechanical engineering is one of the largest, broadest and oldest engineering disciplines and uses
principles of energy, materials, and mechanics to design and manufacture machines and devices
of all types. Mechanics, energy and heat, mathematics, engineering sciences, design and
manufacturing form the foundation of mechanical engineering. Fundamentally, mechanical
engineering involves with the mechanics of motion and the transfer of energy from one form to
another or one place to another. The various fields of application of mechanical engineering are,
 Energy conversion
 Energy resource
 Environment and Transportation
 Engineering and Technology management
 Manufacturing
 Materials and Structures
 Systems and Design
In above fields the Solar Engineering falls in the category of Energy resource. Mechanical
engineers are effectively involved in solar energy in finding new ways to produce mechanical and
electrical power for heating, refrigeration and water purification and also in the design of devices
and structure to collect solar energy. Mechanical solar tracking systems are the systems which use
the mechanical energy for operation and involve the fundamental concepts of various fields,
related to mechanical engineering. The tracking of solar panels can be effectively done with
mechanical systems. These systems are robust in design and are very less sensitive to seasonal
changes. Mechanical systems, built with high precision are well suited for tracking operation.

2.5 Aims & Objective

The need for mechanical systems for tracking operation can be better explained with the
drawbacks associated with electrical tracking systems. Those are
The present Electrical tracking systems consumes most of the energy produced by solar panels
which serves as a demerit for the Solar system.
We plan to totally neglect the wastage of electricity generated by the panels. In other words we
hope to increase the output of the solar panels.
The minimum power required for operation may not be available at all times o the day due to
change in atmosphere. Tracking will help solve this problem.
Mechanical systems can work in any environment. Dust and humidity have no ill-effects on the
system.
To simplify the system and avoid any complexity in design.
We try to make the entire system compact So that there is no issue when it comes to moving the
system.
The energy required for operation will increase with the increased size of solar Panel. Page | 9
1.3 Problem Specifications
The position of the sun keeps on changing every day. Solar panels as we know are entirely
dependent on the sun. The more the sun rays fall on the panels the more outcomes we get and it
serves our purpose of installing a solar panel. The challenge nowadays is to keep a track of the
position of the sun so that we get the maximum output from the panels. We hope to achieve this
with a Mechanical tracking system
1.4 Literature Review

One-Axis Trackers – Improved Reliability, Durability, Performance, and Cost Reduction - Final
Subcontract Technical Status Report - 2 May 2006 – 31 August 2007 by J. Shingleton Shingleton
Design, LLC Auburn, New York – The work effort focused on reducing the total cost of
electricity generated by single-axis tracking solar energy systems for utility and other large-scale
commercial applications. Developing a factory assembled, modular tracker, while building on the
strengths of the existing technology, resulted in improved performance and reliability and
reduced installation time, cost, and environmental impact.

Low cost tracker by Marliyani Binti Omar This thesis is submitted as partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering - Faculty of Electrical &
Electronics Engineering University Malaysia Pahang -MAY, 2009 - Solar tracker is invented
because solar panel disables to move toward the sunlight when the sun moves from east to west.
In order to produce maximum power output, solar tracker is design with motor so that the solar
panel will move toward the position of sun.

Atlas solar tracking by Mechatronics Company manual:-Atlas system can achieve up to 40%
more output power than fixed tilt systems. It ensures that the PV panels are optimally orientated
towards the sun, converting efficiently direct and indirect solar radiation into electricity.

Hawe hydraulics manual :- HAWE Hydraulics offers compact positioning systems, which consist
of a hydraulic power pack with a control system that is directly attached. The electric motor and
pump in this closed system is submerged for protection against rain, condensation, and dirt.
HAWE’s modular products mean we can easily adjust power and movement speeds according to
customers’ requirements, as well as provide easier access for maintenance. With various product
sizes, low friction, and minimized stick or slip effect, tracking movements can be controlled
reliably and accurately. Dampened over-center valves ensure smooth movements, which protects
the entire structure.
1.5 Plan Of Work
We search for project related to solar power related, and we got some points to study from that
we select the solar tracker.

To study about solar energy and its efficiency.

To study about PV cells.

To study on the PV plate and its overall structure, like its power output, setting angle (the angle at
which solar panel is going to fit), sun light intensity in day hours, etc.

To study on sun tracker systems like electrical solar tracker, mechanical tracker and hydraulic
tracker.

To study on hydraulic tracker and how to implement it in tracking system project.

To study on hydraulic system and its components mainly piston, control valves, check valves and
hydraulic oil.

Study on structural design of hydraulic solar tracker.

1.6 Materials / Tools required

1. Panel Seat
2. Column
3. Base
4. Weight
5. Weight Holder
6. Double Acting Cylinder
7. Check Valve
8. Flow Control Valve
9. Reservoir
10.Rod End Mounting
11.Piston End Hing
12.Connector Hose
13.Counter Weight Platform
14.T-Connector
15.Hose Clips
16.Connector Nozzles
IMPLEMENTION

3.1 Methodology

The methodology of design for the design of mechanical tracking system is explained by following
steps,

Determining sunray orientation and time range to which the panel has to be tracked.

Calculating the required angular velocity of the panel.

Calculating the system pressure and cylinder (actuator) discharge.

calculating the weight/force required to create the required pressure.

Selecting cylinder of suitable diameter and stroke length.

Selecting the suitable grade of hydraulic oil.

Calculating the capacity of reservoir.

Designing the hydraulic circuit with Quick Return facility to reduce the time required for bringing the
panel to its original position.

Selecting required mechanical components of suitable dimensions and material.

Preparing production drawings and fabrication of mechanical elements.

Assembly of the device.

Demonstration.

3.2 Design

3.2.1 Hydraulic Sytem Circuit Design

The schematic arrangement of a hydraulic power system is illustrated by the figure Notations:

Pump with electric motor

Flow control valves

Pressure regulating valve

Reservoirs

Pressure gauges

Cylinder with load

Direction control valve

Filter
Process

Power Supply:

The power supply segment comprises the prime mover, and the pump. The fluid from pump passes
through a filter, where foreign particles are removed. The pump supplies the input power to fluid to
convert it into hydraulic power.

Control System:

The control unit is intermediate but most important part between the power supply and output
segments. Control unit comprises different valves for various purposes. A typical control unit
includes the types of valves, a. Directional control valves: to control the direction of actuator
movement. b. Pressure control valves: to control the fluid pressure, this in turn controls the output
force. c. Flow control valves: to control the flow rate of the fluid, to regulate the speed of the
actuator

Output:

The output segment of hydraulic system includes the actuator and the load. The function of actuator
is to convert the fluid power back to mechanical power. Depending upon the end use the actuator
can be either linear type (hydraulic cylinder) or rotary type (hydraulic motor).
Characteristics of Hydraulic systems:

01. High forces (torques) with compact size.

02. Step less change (control or regulation) of speed.

03. Suitable for heavy duty operations.

04. Suitable for heavy load applications.

05. Simple overload protection.

06. Higher response time.

07. Hydraulic means of transferring energy are usually slower when compared to pneumatics

08. Suitable for controlling fast movement process and for high precision movement.

09. High capital cost.

10. Flexibility may not be as good as pneumatics or electrics.

11. Unavoidable leakages, due to higher system pressure.

12. Prone to fire hazards.

3.2.2 Mechanical Design:

This section of design includes the details of hardware elements used in the tracking system and also
the design analysis of those elements

1. Machine Design

Machine design is the creation of new and better machines and improving the existing once. A new
machine is one which is more economical in the overall cost of production and operation.

2. Mechanics

Mechanics may be defined as that science which describes and predicts the conditions of rest or
motion of bodies under the action of forces. Mechanics is a physical science, since it deals with the
study of physical phenomenon. The three divisions of mechanics and their sub-divisions aregiven as
below,

a. Mechanics of rigid bodies

I. Static’s

II. Dynamics

b. Mechanics of deformable bodies

c. Mechanics of fluids

I. study of compressible fluids

II. Study of incompressible fluids (Hydraulics)

Tracking mechanism:

The mechanism selected for tracking system is based on lever principle. The type of lever used
manipulate the required load is Second type lever. Basically, a lever is rod or bar capable of turning
about a fixed point called fulcrum. It is used as a machine to lift / transmit a load by the application
of small effort. The ratio of load lifted to the effort applied is called mechanical advantage. A lever
may be Straight or curved and the forces applied on the lever (or by the lever) may be parallel or
inclined to one another.

Application Of Lever:

The load (W) and the effort (P) may be applied to the lever in three different ways. The Fulcrum is
denoted by F and direction of reaction is indicated by an arrow mark.

1. First type lever:

In the first type of levers, the fulcrum is in between load and effort. These levers are commonly used
in railway signalling, rocker arms, hand pumps, foot levers etc.

Firat type lever

2. Second type lever:

In this type, the load is in between the fulcrum and effort. The application of such type of lever is
found in levers of loaded safety valves.

Second type lever

3.3.2 Working Procedure

Working procedure of the designed tracking system is explained by the hydraulic circuit diagram and
by the schematic diagrams. Each duty cycle of the system contains two steps, those are,

Tracking and return

1. Tracking

As the tracking weight acts on the piston through piston rod, it pushes the oil out of the cylinder and
the oil flows towards reservoir. While, due to the restricted cross sectional area at flow control valve
the piston moves with the velocity equal to calculated tracking velocity. During this action the check
valve remains closed, hence oil is allowed to flow only through flow control valve. At the rod end of
the cylinder, the oil is sucked into cylinder due to the vacuum pressure created by the applied
weight.

2. Return

As the tracking time finishes, the panel seat has to be rotated by applying the torque,manually, to
bring back into initial position. The vacuum pressure is created at piston end chamber and oil from
reservoir rushes towards cylinder. As soon as the system pressure exceeds the cracking pressure of
check valve, check valve opens and allowing full flow of oil from it, reducing the time required for
repositioning operation.

The flow control valve also allows the oil to flow from it, increasing rate of flow and reduced panel

repositioning time. At rod end of cylinder the piston forces the oil. The oil pressure increases and oil

flows out of the cylinder. Oil returns to reservoir through a filter placed in the return line.
3.3.3 Tracking mechanism:

Here, the load is the resistance offered by the cylinder for displacement, which while depends on the
rate of flow from the cylinder. The weight of the disc is the applied driving force, hence it is the
effort applied on the system to perform the desired operation. The weight is applied through a
weight holder. Comparing with the types of lever systems, as the load is between fulcrum and effort
point, this is a system with second type lever system. The arrow on the points shows the direction of
force. .

Lever Mechanism

3.4 Assembly:

I. Column and base

This is the load bearing structure of machine which takes all forces acting on the system. The column
and base are welded together to provide more strength and to carry the solar panels of larger sizes
than designed. It also includes two stoppers to restrict the displacement of panel seat to the
required position. These are plates of 4mm thickness and welded to the column.

II. Panel seat

Panel seat is a fabricated frame on which solar panel is mounted. It is fabricated element and
sufficient numbers of holes are provided to facilitate the mounting of solar panel. It also supports
the

weight holder and transmits tracking force to cylinder. A provision also made on the frame to mount

the counter weight, for flexibility in selection of weight disc/s. A handle is provided with the frame to
facilitate the lifting the panel seat for return operation.

III. Weight holder and weight disc

The function of weight holder is to hold the weight disc in its place. Another important function of
weight holder is to provide proper moment to overcome static friction of cylinder at the beginning of
tracking operation. The static friction is very high at the beginning of tracking operation. Weight disc
is a molded disc which is mounted on weight holder to exert driving torque for tracking operation.
Multiple discs can be used according to their unit weight and requirement. Page | 22
4 Conclusion and Future Scope

4.1 Conclusion:

It is observed that the designed mechanical tracking system is a system, which consumes no energy

for operation and contributing towards increasing the productivity of the solar panels. This is the
first attempt made towards utilizing the gravitational energy as a driving force for solar tracking
systems and also in providing a suitable tracking system for the remote places. In view of increasing
demand for the electrical power, this tracking system can contribute a little in the fulfilment this
demand.

4.2 Future Scope:

Further research work will be suggested towards reducing the material cost, towards
implementation of suitable sensors to assure ease in operations and towards obtaining the preferred
essential requirements. Some of the preferred essentials and the guidelines associated with design
and development of this tracking device are;

I. A sensor with electronic counter, which will provide input signal to a buzzer, to indicate the start of
tracking cycle. On basis of this, the panel is tilted by means of handle to perform return operation.
The electronic system, if used, should consume very little electric energy,making the device suitable
for remote applications by providing small & long lasting batteries.

II. Use of multiple panels on panel seat, to increase the returns from tracking system.

III. System can be modified to suite other solar applications like solar air heating and solar water
heaters

4.3 Advantages, Disadvantages and Limitation:

Advantages:

1. Hydraulic solar tracker is easy to design and manufacture compare to other tracker system.

2. Increased reliability and robustness of hydraulic control system compared with other solar
tracker.

3. Hydraulic solar trackers generate more energy than other tracking system like electric solar
tracker.

4. Lubrication of system is not necessary due to less moving parts.

5. Compare to other tracking system hydraulic tracking system cost is less.

6. Important reduction of whole life maintenance cost of solar tracker. Page | 23

Disadvantages:

1. Structurally less rigid then permanent mounts and hence can be vulnerable to storm damage.

2. More chances to leakage of hydraulic oil.

3. Required manual power to pump the oil in cylinder.

Limitation:

1. Structurally less rigid then permanent mounts and hence can be vulnerable to storm damage.

2. More chances to leakage of hydraulic oil.

3. Required manual power to pump the oil in cylinder.

4.4 Referances:

PUBLISHED PAPER REFERANCE

1) One-Axis Trackers – Improved Reliability, Durability, Performance, and Cost Reduction - Final

Subcontract Technical Status Report - 2 May 2006 – 31 August 2007 by J. Shingleton Shingleton
Design, LLC Auburn, New York

2) Low cost tracker by Marliyani Binti Omar This thesis is submitted as partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering - Faculty of Electrical &
Electronics Engineering University Malaysia Pahang -MAY, 2009

3) A review of principle and sun-tracking methods for maximizing solar systems output by Hossein

Mousazadeh, Alireza Keyhani, Arzhang Javadi, Hossein Mobli Karen Abrinia, Ahmad Sharifi -
Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

BOOK REFERANCE:

[1] Fluid mechanics and Hydraulic machines by R.K.Bansal.

[2] Basic hydraulics and hydraulic plumbing US army division.

[3] Machine design by R.S.Khurmi and J.K Gupta.

[4] Vector mechanics for engineers by F.B Beer.

[5] Atlas solar tracking by mechatron company manual.

WEB REFERENCE:

[1] http://www.canren.gc.ca/tech_appl/about solar energy.htm.

[2] http://www.palmdalewater.org/alternative solarenergy.htm.

[3] http://www.careercornerstone.org/careers for mechanical engineers

[4] http://www.burkoil.com.

[5] http://www.bull-electrical.com/solar panels, electrical and water, controllers, panels, solar

shargers.htm.