Dataset Information

Solar Power Can Substantially Prolong Maximum Achievable Airtime of Quadcopter Drones.

ABSTRACT: Sunlight energy is potentially excellent for small drones, which can often operate during daylight hours and fly high enough to avoid cloud blockade. However, the best solar cells provide limited power, compared to conventional power sources, making their use for aerial vehicles difficult to realize, especially in rotorcraft where significant lift ordinarily generated by a wing is already sacrificed for the ability to hover. In recent years, advances in materials (use of carbon-fiber components, improvement in specific solar cells and motors) have finally brought solar rotorcraft within reach. Here, the application is explored through a concise mathematical model of solar rotorcraft based on the limits of solar power generation and motor power consumption. Multiple solar quadcopters based on this model with majority solar power are described. One of them has achieved an outdoor airtime over 3 hours, 48 times longer than it can last on just battery alone with the solar cells carried as dead weight and representing a significant prolongation of drone operation. Solar-power fluctuations during long flight and their interaction with power requirements are experimentally characterized. The general conclusion is that solar cells have reached high enough efficiencies and can outperform batteries under the right conditions for quadcopters.

SUBMITTER: Lin CF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7578872 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Solar Power Can Substantially Prolong Maximum Achievable Airtime of Quadcopter Drones.

Lin Ching-Fuh CF Lin Ta-Jung TJ Liao Wei-Sheng WS Lan Hsiang H Lin Jiun-Yu JY Chiu Chi-Han CH Danner Aaron A

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) 20200819 20

Sunlight energy is potentially excellent for small drones, which can often operate during daylight hours and fly high enough to avoid cloud blockade. However, the best solar cells provide limited power, compared to conventional power sources, making their use for aerial vehicles difficult to realize, especially in rotorcraft where significant lift ordinarily generated by a wing is already sacrificed for the ability to hover. In recent years, advances in materials (use of carbon-fiber components, ...[more]

PMID: 33101858

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Project description:BACKGROUND:This paper examines the cost and benefits, both financial and environmental, of two leading forms of solar power generation, grid-tied photovoltaic cells and Dish Stirling Systems, using conventional carbon-based fuel as a benchmark. METHODS:First we define how these solar technologies will be implemented and why. Then we delineate a model city and its characteristics, which will be used to test the two methods of solar-powered electric distribution. Then we set the constraining assumptions for each technology, which serve as parameters for our calculations. Finally, we calculate the present value of the total cost of conventional energy needed to power our model city and use this as a benchmark when analyzing both solar models' benefits and costs. RESULTS:The preeminent form of distributed electricity generation, grid-tied photovoltaic cells under net-metering, allow individual homeowners a degree of electric self-sufficiency while often turning a profit. However, substantial subsidies are required to make the investment sensible. Meanwhile, large dish Stirling engine installations have a significantly higher potential rate of return, but face a number of pragmatic limitations. CONCLUSIONS:This paper concludes that both technologies are a sensible investment for consumers, but given that the dish Stirling consumer receives 6.37 dollars per watt while the home photovoltaic system consumer receives between 0.9 and 1.70 dollars per watt, the former appears to be a superior option. Despite the large investment, this paper deduces that it is far more feasible to get few strong investors to develop a solar farm of this magnitude, than to get 150,000 households to install photovoltaic arrays in their roofs. Potential implications of the solar farm construction include an environmental impact given the size of land require for this endeavour. However, the positive aspects, which include a large CO2 emission reduction aggregated over the lifespan of the farm, outweigh any minor concerns or potential externalities.

Project description:The inherent intermittency of solar power due to diurnal and seasonal cycles has usually resulted in the need for alternative generation sources thereby increasing system operation costs. However, when solar power is spread over a large geographical area with significant time differences, the intermittency can be significantly reduced and also the electricity market balancing cost. The aim of this article is to address the fundamental scientific question on how the intermittency of solar power generation is affected by aggregation, which is of great interest in the wider power and energy community and would have profound impacts on the solar energy integration into the energy supply and Net-Zero Implementation. This article goes beyond the typical regional analysis by investigating solar power intermittency at 5 aggregation levels from a global perspective based on global 7 year hourly meteorological re-analysis data with a fine spatial resolution of [Formula: see text]. In the proposed assessment framework, a coefficient of variation (CV) is used to quantify solar power intermittency and hence characterize the potential benefits of wide area solar power aggregation. A duration curve is used to characterize the intermittency in terms of power availability and a probability density function is further employed to investigate the dispersion and scaling behavior of CV at different aggregation levels. The findings indicate that the CV of solar power generation of 'Inner Mongolia' in China drops from 129.65 to 105.65% in the level of 'Asia' (by 24% decrease), to 56.11% in 'Asia-North_America' (by 73.54% decrease) and to the smallest 43.50% in 'Global' (by 86.15% decrease), nearly 3.5 times of that in 'Asia'; (b) the availability of solar power generation increases from 52.17% in Germany, to 73.30% in 'Europe_EU_plus', to 77.82% in 'Europe', to 98.59% in 'Europe-North_America' (80.60% in 'Europe-Africa', 96.90% in 'Europe-Asia'), to 100% in 'Global'. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are provided to support a Net-Zero strategy.

Dataset Information

Solar Power Can Substantially Prolong Maximum Achievable Airtime of Quadcopter Drones.

Publications

Solar Power Can Substantially Prolong Maximum Achievable Airtime of Quadcopter Drones.

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