Large Solar Panels Research Articles

Wind Flow and Its Interaction with a Mobile Solar PV System Mounted on a Trailer

Efficient implementation of clean energy technologies is paramount, with mobile solar PV systems on trailers (MSPTs) emerging as pivotal solutions, particularly in regions with limited power grid access. This endeavour is vital for meeting escalating electricity demands and aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), aimed at ensuring dependable and sustainable energy provision in developing countries. This study investigates the aerodynamic behaviour of a designed MSPT using numerical simulation and experimental methods, thereby offering optimization potential for MSPT design and enhancing overall performance and reliability. Specifically, the study focuses on the effects of wind velocity and tilt angles on the drag and lift forces, as well as drag and lift coefficients on the panel used in the MSPT system. The overall wind force on the entire MSPT, including nine large solar PV panels, is scrutinised, considering combined wind flow and system geometry effects. The numerical investigations were conducted using ANSYS-Fluent software (version 2022/R2) and experimental testing was performed within the C15-10 Wind Tunnel, utilizing scaled-down models to validate the accuracy of the simulation. The findings from the numerical investigations showed an increased turbulence caused by gaps between panels, resulting in almost 62% higher suction flow velocity and 22% higher suction pressure compared to a single panel. Drag and lift forces on the entire MSPT were approximately 6.7 and 7.8 times greater than those on a single panel with the same 30-degree tilt angle, respectively. The findings revealed that scaling forces on a single panel is insufficient for accurately predicting the aerodynamic forces on the entire MSPT. The insights and the knowledge from this study pave the way for further improvements in mobile solar PV technology.

Response of silicon solar cells to neutrons in post-detonation monitoring

In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for the detection of prompt neutrons from a nuclear denotation. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed to evaluate the response of silicon (Si) solar cells (SCs) to neutrons and support the experiments. The response of Si SCs to fission spectrum neutrons was measured experimentally using the fast neutron beam of a research reactor. Steady-state neutron measurements indicated a clear response of the Si SCs, which correlated with changes in the neutron intensity. Time-modulated neutron measurements performed using a neutron chopper demonstrated a clear transient response of Si SCs to neutrons, which was observed in the signal power spectral density plots containing peaks corresponding to frequencies of neutron pulses produced by the chopper. The resulting signal was found to be small, which was attributed to the extremely small active neutron interaction volume inside the SCs. In a real detonation scenario, the transient neutron flux is expected to be higher, and the effective neutron interaction volume of large area solar PV panels is much larger, which could significantly boost the signal. The study, overall, demonstrated the potential of large area solar PV panels or a solar farm for prompt detection and identification of a nuclear detonation.

Parametric Study of Lateral Load on Helical Pipe Piles in Clay

In the past decades, as the world has placed emphasis on green energy, solar energy has become a favorable option. Different piled foundations have been designed to strengthen the structure supporting the solar panels. These piled foundations include rectangular and circular hollow section piles, as well as H-shaped piles. With various environmental loadings, lateral soil displacement will be encountered when large solar panels are installed on the supporting structure at an inclined angle. Presently, helical pipe piles are widely used in solar farms as part of the supporting structure. In this paper, the pile–soil interaction of steel pipe piles and helical pipe piles with wind loads is analyzed using ABAQUS. The Finite Element Method (FEM) models are assessed with varying strength moduli and cohesions of clay. Further, this paper examines the pile soil system, considering different clay stiffnesses, including very soft, soft, firm, stiff, very stiff, and hard. It is found that the helical piles’ horizontal capacity increases with soil strength and Young’s modulus, but the capacity increment rate reacts differently. This study has a guiding effect on the construction of solar farms using the “tracker” solar system.

Accurate dynamic modeling of detumbling rotating satellites with large flexible solar panels

Stabilizing a malfunctioning satellite to a low rotating speed is required to ensure safe capture. The detumbling method based on a flexible contactor is efficient and safe due to its relatively large operating force and soft contact. However, flexible components of the target such as the long solar panel will deform large under this intense external force, which makes accurate modeling and analysis of the detumbling process particularly challenging. In this paper, the dynamic problem of detumbling a rotating satellite with large-deformation solar panels is first studied. The target satellite is accurately modeled via global frame approaches, where the new visco-elastic thin plate element of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation is proposed to describe the solar panels. Then the contact model is built based on the geometric relation between the flexible contactor and the solar panel. Finally, dynamic performances during detumbling are compared between flexible and rigid targets, and the detumbling process of the highly flexible satellite is analyzed. All simulation results show that the flexibility of the target should be considered carefully in contact detumbling tasks.

Investigation of the working condition of large power solar panel cleaning device

Solar energy is becoming a key resource of electrical energy in the modern world. Therefore, it is necessary to use it rationally and profitably. The article deals with the issues of efficient use of solar panels due to automatic cleaning devices in winter. The proposed device allows you to use solar energy in maximum quantities, regardless of weather conditions and seasons. This device can be used in the construction of new solar power plants, as well as in the modernization of existing ones. The development and modernization of solar energy will improve the economic side of the energy situation in our country in the future.

Vibration Suppression for Flexible Plate with Tunable Magnetically Controlled Joint Stiffness/Damping

Large flexible solar panels have the properties of light weight, low stiffness, and weak damping, which leads to low-frequency and large-amplitude vibrations. The existing vibration control methods of solar panels mainly adopt intelligent piezoelectric structures. However, the disadvantage is that the large stroke drive and control are limited. In the present study, a semi-active vibration control approach is proposed for flexible space solar panels based on magnetically controlled joints. The magnetic stiffness comes from the linear relationship between the joint output torque and rotation angle. The magnetic damping stems from the eddy current damping resulting from the relative motion between the permanent magnet rotor and the stator core of the joint. Firstly, the coupling dynamic modeling of a flexible plate and magnetic joints is established by adopting the Lagrange equation and the assumed mode approach. Secondly, semi-active vibration control simulations of the coupled system are performed. Meanwhile, the influence of the variable joint stiffness on the system frequency-shift effect is studied. Finally, the experimental platform is built, and simultaneously, non-contact permanent magnets and airflow are used to simulate single- and multi- frequency excitations, respectively. The experimental results indicate that, in the range of 0.06–0.343 Hz, magnetic damping is the leading factor with magnetic stiffness being the auxiliary. Additionally, it is also experimentally verified that the dual joint actuation has good synchronization. This study provides a new solution for the low-frequency vibration control of large flexible space structures.

Angular Displacement Control for Timoshenko Beam by Optimized Traveling Wave Method

The vibration of flexible structures in spacecraft, such as large space deployable reflectors, solar panels and large antenna structure, has a great impact on the normal operation of spacecraft. Accurate vibration control is necessary, and the control of angular displacement is a difficulty of accurate control. In the traditional control method, the mode space control has a good effect on suppressing low-order modes, but there is control overflow. The effect of traveling wave control on low-order modes is worse than the former, but it has the characteristics of broadband control. It can better control high-order modes and reduce control overflow. In view of the advantages and disadvantages of the two control methods, based on Timoshenko beam theory, this paper uses vector mode function to analyze the modal of spacecraft cantilever beam structure, establishes the system dynamic equation, and puts forward an optimized traveling wave control method. As a numerical example, three strategies of independent mode space control, traditional traveling wave control and optimized traveling wave control are used to control the active vibration of beam angle. By comparing the numerical results of the three methods, it can be seen that the optimal control method proposed in this paper not only effectively suppresses the vibration, but also improves the robustness of the system, reflecting good control performance. An innovation of this paper is that the Timoshenko beam model is adopted, which considers the influence of transverse shear deformation and moment of inertia on displacement and improves the accuracy of calculation, which is important for spacecraft accessory structures with high requirements for angle control. Another innovation is that the optimized traveling wave control method is exquisite in mathematical processing and has good results in global and local vibration control, which is not available in other methods.

Simultaneous Lightwave and Power Transfer for Internet of Things Devices

A laudable goal toward achieving autonomous internet of things (IoT) devices would be to use the same circuitry for communication and harvesting energy. One way to achieve it is through simultaneous lightwave and power transfer (SLIPT) that consists of using solar cells to harvest energy and receive information signals. Here, a SLIPT-based system that uses a large area solar panel to harvest energy from light sources and decode data signals is designed. The designed system is equipped with an infrared sensor used to detect the movements of an unmanned aerial vehicle. We equally discuss the wide-scale deployment of IoT devices with SLIPT capability.

Nonlinear Dynamics of an Unsymmetric Cross-Ply Square Composite Laminated Plate for Vibration Energy Harvesting

The nonlinear behaviors and energy harvesting of an unsymmetric cross-ply square composite laminated plate with a piezoelectric patch is presented. The unsymmetric cross-ply square composite laminated plate has two stable equilibrium positions by applying thermal stress, thus having snap-through with larger amplitude between the two stable equilibrium positions relative to the general laminated plate. Based on the von-Karman large deformation theory, the nonlinear electromechanical coupling equations of motion of the unsymmetric composite laminated plate with a piezoelectric patch are derived by using Hamilton’s principle. The influence of the base excitation amplitude on nonlinear behaviors and energy harvesting are investigated. For different base excitation amplitudes, the motions of the system demonstrate periodic motion, quasi-periodic motion, chaotic motion and snap-through, and two single-well chaotic attractors and a two-well chaos attractor coexist. Moreover, the power generation efficiency is optimal when the excitation amplitude is in a certain range due to its own unique nonlinear characteristics. The unsymmetric cross-ply square composite laminated plate subjected to thermal stress can actually be called a kind of bistable composite shell structure that has a broad application prospect in combination with morphing aircraft, large deployable antenna and solar panel, which are very likely to have nonlinear vibration.

Optimal control on the attitude rotation of a flexible satellite model base on tetrahedral configured reaction wheels

The increase in demand for performance for satellite capabilities has pushed the design of the system to be more power consuming. Currently, most of the satellite design are equipped with large solar panel in order to produce sufficient power. Thus, this translates to a higher flexibility in the satellite which makes the satellite prone to vibratory motion. The primary cause of vibratory motion in satellite is the attitude rotation. Reaction wheel is a widely used attitude rotation actuator for a satellite Commonly, the reaction wheels are configured in the tetrahedral form. This causes uneven maximum torque at any direction. Hence, an iterative optimal control method is applied using GPOPS toolbox to achieve minimum time of rotation with low level of induced vibratory motion. The optimized control is compared with the Eigen-axis Quaternion Feedback control to observe the performance of the optimal control. Depending on the direction of attitude manoeuvre, the optimal control has shown an improvement between 3.49% to 25.11% in manoeuvre time. Overall, the optimal control outperformed the traditional the Eigen-axis Quaternion Feedback control.

Dipping-Press Coating Method for Retaining Transparency and Imparting Hydrophobicity Regardless of Plastic Substrate Type.

Plastics are used in cover substrates for billboards, windows, large LED signboards, lighting devices, and solar panels because they are transparent and can be colored and shaped as desired. However, when plastic cover substrates installed in outdoor environments are constantly exposed to harsh conditions such as snow, rain, dust, and wind, their transparency deteriorates owing to watermarks and dust contamination. Herein, we investigated a simple dipping-press coating method that can impart hydrophobicity while maintaining the transparency, regardless of the plastic substrate type. A highly transparent and hydrophobic coating film was formed on a plastic substrate by a two-step process, as follows: (1) application of a polydimethylsiloxane–octadecylamine coating by a dipping process, and (2) embedding (1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodec-1-yl) phosphonic acid–aluminum oxide nanoparticles by a thermal press process. The plastic substrates on which the highly transparent and hydrophobic coating film was formed showed 150° or higher hydrophobicity and 80% or higher visible light transparency. The coating method proposed herein can easily impart hydrophobicity and is compatible with any plastic substrate that must maintain prolonged transparency without contamination when exposed to adverse conditions.

Location and Setting of the Mars InSight Lander, Instruments, and Landing Site.

Knowing precisely where a spacecraft lands on Mars is important for understanding the regional and local context, setting, and the offset between the inertial and cartographic frames. For the InSight spacecraft, the payload of geophysical and environmental sensors also particularly benefits from knowing exactly where the instruments are located. A ~30 cm/pixel image acquired from orbit after landing clearly resolves the lander and the large circular solar panels. This image was carefully georeferenced to a hierarchically generated and coregistered set of decreasing resolution orthoimages and digital elevation models to the established positive east, planetocentric coordinate system. The lander is located at 4.502384°N, 135.623447°E at an elevation of −2,613.426 m with respect to the geoid in Elysium Planitia. Instrument locations (and the magnetometer orientation) are derived by transforming from Instrument Deployment Arm, spacecraft mechanical, and site frames into the cartographic frame. A viewshed created from 1.5 m above the lander and the high‐resolution orbital digital elevation model shows the lander is on a shallow regional slope down to the east that reveals crater rims on the east horizon ~400 m and 2.4 km away. A slope up to the north limits the horizon to about 50 m away where three rocks and an eolian bedform are visible on the rim of a degraded crater rim. Azimuths to rocks and craters identified in both surface panoramas and high‐resolution orbital images reveal that north in the site frame and the cartographic frame are the same (within 1°).

The dual angle solar harvest (DASH) method: An alternative method for organizing large solar panel arrays that optimizes incident solar energy in conjunction with land use

Plummeting costs of solar panels along with rising costs of land makes it imperative to consider both the per-panel and unit-area incident solar energy. An alternative approach of organizing large solar panel arrays that considers this co-optimization problem is suggested and a new dual-angle technique is introduced, called the dual-angle solar harvest (DASH) method, in which a solar array is composed of two tilt angles. This paper evaluates the DASH method at two climatically and geographically different locations: Akron, OH and Barstow, CA. Use of the DASH method can enable potential better handling of complex radiation fields in partly cloudy climates, allow for preferential weighting of irradiation during different seasons, and may be a tool to increase array-wide incident irradiation at a pre-existing array in a cost-effective manner. This latter example is tested nationwide, in which one angle is constrained at the single optimum tilt angle. Results show the lowest percentage of panel-rows that require an adjustment to a different tilt angle to achieve the desired gain in array-wide incident energy. The more cost-effective solutions tend to be located in cloudier climates and at higher latitudes.

Recent advances in non-fullerene organic solar cells: from lab to fab.

Recently, the laboratory-scale power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) has reached 18% in single-junction devices due to a combination of the rapid development of novel light-harvesting/interfacial materials and device engineering. Thus, such materials show considerable application prospects in the near future. It is of great importance to develop economically achievable, highly efficient, thickness-tolerant photovoltaic materials and processing methods for the manufacture of large flexible solar panels. Research in this area has been conducted from the very early stages of the development of organic photovoltaic materials and has never stopped. Herein, we focus on the fundamental requirements of photoactive materials and the processing methods used for commercialization based on the recent advances of the booming PCEs, to provide guidelines for future material design and mass production. In this review, the progress toward high-performance materials is briefly summarized, and the essential requirements for large-area printing modules, such as thickness tolerance and cost issues, and the latest findings on non-fullerene OSCs are introduced. In particular, important advances in the material design and device optimization of thick-film OSCs have been discussed. Significant advances in the processing methods used to prepare efficient non-fullerene OSCs and the challenges for the industrialization of OSCs are presented. Furthermore, the prospects and opportunities in this emerging field of research are also discussed.

Hybrid Harvester 3-RPS Robotic Parallel Manipulator

This article presents the robotic structure and analysis of a hybrid energy harvester designed in the form of a reconfigurable 3-RPS parallel manipulator, which tracks and collects solar energy as a main function and also harvests energy from wind loads on the large solar panel. The reconfigurable design allows the harvester to lie flat on floor when destructive storms occur and then return to a working configuration after the storms. The workspace of the manipulator is determined by a minimum platform height algorithm that is developed to find all reachable positions that compose the workspace and also bring bending at root to least. The stiffness mapping of the harvester is significant in evaluating its capacity to take wind loads, which a transformation matrix is developed to convert to polar horizontal stiffness at end effector that is crucial to the intelligent control strategy in decision to enter lie-flat configuration.

하나의 큰 태양전지판에 적합한 전개시험장치 개발

하나의 큰 태양전지판에 적합한 전개시험장치 개발

The unfolding impact of leader identity entrepreneurship on burnout, work engagement, and turnover intentions.

The present research expands upon previous theory and empirical work concerning the leadership-health link by examining the lagged effects of leader identity entrepreneurship (i.e., leaders' creation of a sense of "we" and "us" among team members) on team members' burnout, work engagement and turnover intentions. We report results from a 2-wave field study with employees from a large solar panel producing organization in China conducted over a 10-month period. Findings indicate that perceived leader identity entrepreneurship predicted greater subsequent work engagement among team members, as well as lower subsequent burnout and turnover intentions. Moreover, effects on reduced turnover intentions were mediated by reduced burnout and increased work engagement. These findings are the first to examine how leader identity entrepreneurship impacts subsequent employee health and turnover intentions and suggest that leaders help to promote health and well-being in the workplace by creating and developing a sense of shared identity among those they lead. (PsycINFO Database Record

Multi-plume flow simulation of small bipropellant thrusters using parallel DSMC method

As a plume gas exhausted from a bipropellant thruster contains several kinds of chemical compositions, it has been identified as a critical source of heating and contamination on surfaces and components outside a satellite because it can degrade optical properties and performance gradually. Thus, accurate evaluations of the plume gas behaviors from the bipropellant thrusters and their influences on a satellite are necessary from an initial development phase of a satellite through a numerical simulation. In this regard, the present study intended to investigate multiple plume gas behaviors of the bipropellant thrusters with several kinds of gas compositions simultaneously and then to evaluate its influence on a solar panel of a geosynchronous (GEO) satellite numerically. To simulate complex multiple plume flow regimes efficiently, a combined approach of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and parallelized Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) was adopted to consider a continuum flow and a rarefied flow condition, respectively. Throughout the present numerical analysis results, multiple plume gas influences from three different bipropellant thrusters were evaluated on a three-dimensional satellite configuration with a large solar panel.

Composition Engineering in Doctor‐Blading of Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic–inorganic halide perovskite (OIHP) solar cells with efficiency over 18% power conversion efficiency (PCE) have been widely achieved with lab scale spin‐coating method which is however not scalable for the fabrication of large area solar panels. The PCEs of OIHP solar cells made by scalable deposition methods, such as doctor‐blading or slot‐die coating, have been lagging far behind than spin‐coated devices. In this study the authors report composition engineering in doctor‐bladed OIHP solar cells with p–i–n planar heterojunction structure to enhance their efficiency. Phase purer OIHP thin films are obtained by incorporating a small amount of cesium (Cs+) and bromine (Br−) ions into perovskite precursor solution, which also reduces the required film formation temperature. Pinhole free OIHP thin films with micrometer‐sized grains have been obtained assisted by a secondary grain growth with added methylammonium chloride into the precursor solution. The OIHP solar cells using these bladed thin films achieved PCEs over 19.0%, with the best stabilized PCE reaching 19.3%. This represents a significant step toward scalable manufacture of OIHP solar cells.

A novel design of large full-steerable reflector antenna

Aiming at the problem of self-weight and cost of 110 m large full-steerable reflector antenna, a new design scheme is proposed. Compared with the conventional scheme, the self-weight, drive power and cost can be reduced by 1/2, 2/3 and 1 orders of magnitude. Firstly, an ultra-light prestressed cable-truss structure is proposed to replace the traditional rigid heavy rigid truss structure. Then, a novel parallel servo mechanism is proposed to replace the conventional Az - El scanning mechanism. Furthermore, an optimization model is established based on the modularized design. Finally, the new scheme is applied to the numerical examples and a practical antenna with a diameter of 26 m, and the results verify the feasible and effective of the scheme and the method. In addition, the design scheme is extensible and can be applied to the design of large structures and devices such as antennas, weapon mounts and large solar panels in other land, sea, air and space fields.