Development of an Indoor Test-bed for Evaluation of Tracking Mechanism

Abstract

Tracking systems are used in both solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal power to harness solar energy. It is essential for a tracking mechanism to ensure reliability. There are possibilities of misalignment between collector and the sun, even if the sun’s position is known, which leads to noticeable energy losses. One of the reasons for this misalignment is the individual uncertainty/errors associated with different components of the tracking system. Evaluation of integrated tracking mechanism is, generally, performed on the field globally, which includes additional effects. Therefore, it is a very tedious process and time-consuming, in addition to the involved cost. Considering these aspects, this paper presents design of an indoor test-bed for evaluation of tracking mechanism under a controlled condition. The test-bed simulates the apparent sun-path, which is designed using a mathematical tool. A step-by-step approach for evaluation of a single-axis tracking mechanism is reported. However, provisions are made to evaluate even a dual-axial tracking mechanism. Experiments are performed with the considered one-axis tracking mechanism to demonstrate the applicability of such a test-bed. A comparative study shows that the test-bed indeed allows characterization of the developed one-axis tracking mechanism and its time independence. Thus, it can be safely stated that such a test bed, in future, will provide first-hand evaluation of existing and new tracking mechanism before its on-field implementation.