Sun Path Research Articles

Impact of N-Shaped Wing Morphing on Solar-Powered Aircraft

Generally, unmanned aerial vehicles and micro aerial vehicles depend on batteries or conventional fuel as a source of energy. These sources of energy have limited flight time, relatively high cost, and also a certain level of pollutants. Solar energy applied to aerial vehicles is an excellent alternative way to overcome other sources of energy’s disadvantage. This study aimed to design a solar-powered aerial vehicle to achieve continuous flight on Earth. The efficiency of the solar system is related to the absorbed sun rays. The concept of an anti-symmetric N-shaped morphing wing is a good idea to increase the collected solar energy during the daily sun path. But this comes with the penalty of side forces and moments due to the anti-symmetry of the wing. This paper introduces a study for two parameters that strongly affect the aerodynamics of the N-shaped morphing wing; the dihedral part angle and the dihedral part length. The impact of the dihedral angle decreases the lift coefficient and increases the drag coefficient. The impact of the morphing wing on the aircraft performance is also considered.

Short-Term Forecasting of Large-Scale Clouds Impact on Downwelling Surface Solar Irradiation

This study focuses on the use of cloud motion vectors (CMV) and fast radiative transfer models (FRTM) in the prospect of forecasting downwelling surface solar irradiation (DSSI). Using near-real-time cloud optical thickness (COT) data derived from multispectral images from the spinning enhanced visible and infrared imager (SEVIRI) onboard the Meteosat second generation (MSG) satellite, we introduce a novel short-term forecasting system (3 h ahead) that is capable of calculating solar energy in large-scale (1.5 million-pixel area covering Europe and North Africa) and in high spatial (5 km over nadir) and temporal resolution (15 min intervals). For the operational implementation of such a big data computing architecture (20 million simulations in less than a minute), we exploit a synergy of high-performance computing and deterministic image processing technologies (dense optical flow estimation). The impact of clouds forecasting uncertainty on DSSI was quantified in terms of cloud modification factor (CMF), for all-sky and clear sky conditions, for more generalized results. The forecast accuracy was evaluated against the real COT and CMF images under different cloud movement patterns, and the correlation was found to range from 0.9 to 0.5 for 15 min and 3 h ahead, respectively. The CMV forecast variability revealed an overall DSSI uncertainty in the range 18–34% under consecutive alternations of cloud presence, highlighting the ability of the proposed system to follow the cloud movement in opposition to the baseline persistent forecasting, which considers the effects of topocentric sun path on DSSI but keeps the clouds in “fixed” positions, and which presented an overall uncertainty of 30–43%. The proposed system aims to support the distributed solar plant energy production management, as well as electricity handling entities and smart grid operations.

Solar energy harvesting for smart farming using nanomaterial and machine learning

Farming is very labour intensive and needs timely action. In smart farming many activities of farming are conducted by machines which run on electricity. Electricity is one of the key elements of smart farming. The quality and cost of the agriculture produce are mostly determined by quality of the available energy and energy utilized. Though India is agriculture rich country, many rural areas are still not provided with sufficient electricity for the farming. In the current scenario of depleting natural energy resources like fossil fuels, using electricity generated from fossil fuels is expensive. Hence, there is a strong need to shift to nonconventional renewable and natural energy resources. Solar energy is one such energy available in abundance in India, however, the existing solar energy harvesting technologies which uses solar cell technology is able to convert very little portion of the available solar energy. The conversion efficiency of solar cells is found to be 16-18%. The authors in this paper present a more efficient solar energy harvesting technology which uses nanomaterial for improving conversion efficiency and machine learning technology to maximize the collection of solar radiation by continuously tracking the path of the SUN in all the seasons.

Day-light Analysis of an office building to enhance its energy efficiency

Sustainability has become increasingly significant in the construction industry in recent few years. The structure is considerably liable for 33% of energy consumption for cooling and counterfeit day lighting alone. In this way, energy consumption is a significant rule that needs extraordinary consideration while thinking about feasible structures. Understanding the circumstance, the need of the day is to adopt sustainable green building design approach which is a definitive answer for decrease the energy demand request of the structure. Various alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal energies end up being better in making an energy efficient built environment; alongside these rules successful usage of daylight plays a crucial role in creating energy efficient buildings. Ecotect day light simulation analysis is one such case which briefs up the concept of energy efficiency. This Software has been utilized to calculate building’s energy consumption by simulating its setting within the environment. It shows the sun path and shadow examination of a project or a structure on a specific day, time and spot consistently, which would support the specialists and architects/designers to go for elective designs for viable utilization of day light in development extends, this could before long become a vital piece of building and engineering plan for vitality proficient structures. This paper surveys and analyses of an office building and gives data about the day-light analyze simulation of a structure for accomplishing the best effectiveness of natural lighting and energy saving during the daytime to reach optimum daylight performance in building using the Ecotect Software.

Construction and Automation of a Microcontrolled Solar Tracker

A solar tracker can be defined as an electromechanical system capable of following the apparent path of the Sun, in order to orient an array of solar panels and/or collectors directly to the solar rays, maximizing the collected energy. Accordingly, the present work describes the process of building and automating a micro-controlled solar tracker. Two mobile structures were built, one equipped with high-precision step motors and four luminosity sensors separated in quadrants by a cross structure, and the other equipped with DC motors and the 275 Wp solar panel, allowing the design and evaluation of the behavior of each structure separately. The control and automation system is centralized in an Arduino MEGA2560 microcontroller, which runs the tracking and positioning algorithms. The built prototype allows us to carry out studies of solar tracking strategies based on sensor and control systems applied to DC motors.

Reflection of Solar Symbolism in the Burial Rite of the Kemi Oba Culture: Case Study of the Grave Cist Painting from Koyash Village

Introduction. The article focuses on the analysis of solar elements in the burial rite of the Kemi Oba culture of the Early Bronze Age. Methods and materials. The material draws attention to the painting of the grave cist from Koyash (Vodnoye) village that presents a set of mythopoetic schemes and plots, their interpretation proceeds from the processes of comprehension of the outside world. Analysis. The paper identifies the ideograms on the basis of the painting of the grave cist under study: the circle with a dot in its center, the concentric circle, the triangle. The burial rite of the Kemi Oba culture focuses on the conceptualization of the afterlife in terms of observations of the solar nature, which is consistent with the prevailing Indo-European concepts of the Bronze Age. The sign of the concentric circle in the Kemi Oba culture appears as a solar symbol based on the analogies in the Indo-European mythology. The ideogram is part of the plot with dynamic character, and participates in the mythopoetic scheme based on the dichotomies: up – down, this life – afterlife in the context of the Axis Mundi idea. Four suns as part of the plot of the painted cist demonstrate the non-static solar nature, its four states, and, consequently, suggests the solar myth that has a spatio-temporal realization. Results. The cosmological picture of the world of the Kemi-Oba people includes the processes of categorization of the environment objectified through the fragmentation of the path of the sun, i.e. duality and quaternary.

EVALUATING THE SUN’S POSITION AND TRACKING THE SUN PATH FOR DUTSIN-MA, KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

Solar energy is the most promising renewable energy source because of its free availability and an environmentally friendly source. The crucial applications of solar energy depend upon determining the precise position of the sun. In this research, we had made an attempt to determine the precise location of the sun for any topographical position of the earth using solar azimuth/altitude reckoner to track the path of the sun and related sun data. For the purpose of this work, we measured the position of Dutsin-Ma in Katsina State, Northwestern part of Nigeria. Solar online calculator (Keisan online calculator) was used to obtain primary data of sun’s (solar) angle parameters in order to calculate a series of variations in the azimuth and altitude angles using some inputs such as latitude, longitude, date, year, time and time zone. The results revealed that the maximum azimuth angles obtained from the sun are 294.38° for the winter solstice and 248.32° for the summer solstice with elevation angles of 79.01° and 53.46° respectively. Furthermore, the highest values of the hour angles were found to be 97.05° and 97.86° for the summer solstice and the winter solstice respectively. The findings of this work will help individual, government, and non-governmental organizations towards the utilization of solar energy and harnessing it especially during the installations of solar panels and other solar devices.

Building Energy Management using BIM Technique: Iraq Construction Projects as A Case Study

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technique is one of the modern techniques that have become widely used in many areas of the construction sector, including energy management. This work aims to study the effect of sun path analysis in improving energy performance, analysis and evaluation of the energy performance based on the tools provided by BIM technique, and comparison of simulated electrical energy results with real electrical energy consumption. The criteria of this study applied on one Iraqi project at Diyala University. The results illustrate that BIM very useful to perform various analyses helped to find different strategies for improving the energy efficiency of the project such as sun path analysis and Green Building studio (GBS) tool based on BIM technique useful tool to energy analysis where the result illustrate most electricity consumption goes for cooling space with consumption around (63871) kWh in August month as well as most fuel consumption for the purpose of space heatind with consumption around(187846) MJ in December. GBS tool based on BIM technique is an effective tool that can help designers and architects in energy performance assessment as well as calculate energy costs in the early design stage, also it helps in finding the best solutions that contribute to improving energy efficiency in the early stages of the project life cycle.

Optimum azimuth and inclination angle of BIPV panel owing to different factors influencing the shadow of adjacent building

Abstract In the present numerical investigation, optimum azimuth and inclination angle of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system are determined due to the adverse shadow effect caused by the adjacent buildings. The factors which influence this shadow are the relative height of the building with reference to BIPV panel, plan area/orientation of the building and horizontal distance of the building from the BIPV panel. HDKR (Hay, Davies, Klucher and Reindl) anisotropic model, encompassing a shadow analysis model, is employed to determine the solar irradiation values. This model involves both shading coefficient and sky-view factor for the accurate evaluation of irradiation values due to shadow caused by the adjacent building. To determine the shading coefficient, the projection of the adjacent building is superimposed over the sun path diagram and the sky view factor is calculated by integrating the sky-trapped curve plotted for any given inclination angle of the BIPV panel Results show that the BIPV panel with optimum azimuth and inclination angle generates significantly higher irradiation as compared to the south-faced BIPV panel having an inclination angle equal to the latitude of the studied location.

Happy Beach Coastal Landscape Design, Based on Landscape Engineering Adjustment

Coastal Landscape design based on landscape engineering adjustment is a coastal landscape design which applying theory, mathematical and physical modelling to practical design problems. The objective of this research is to analyze the characteristic of site and to design coastal landscape based on landscape engineering adjustment, in addition to make a sustainable site landscape design. Happy beach is one of unexposed black sand beach to many tourists, which has beautiful and clean ocean scenery. Dolphin watching tour is the main potential nature attraction to the site through riding boat at every sunrise. Methods that used in this research in design process; 1. Project acceptance; 2. Research analysis, by exploring some potential, amenity, obstacle and danger signal of site; 3. Design, the creative process of responding to condition while concentrating meaning; 4. Construction drawing. Landscape engineering approach was used to solve some specific site problem such us stormwater, climate, and beach sand which deadly for plants. The rainfall intensity value of 101.72 mm / hour. The amount of runoff is 13 m3/s it has a relatively small value. From the temperature data of Tukadmungga Village for one year, which is listed in Table 1, it can be concluded that the highest temperature reaches 31 °C. The highest temperature occurs in September 2018 to March 2019. In the range of November to April, the position of the sun against the site can be illustrated with sun path diagram. By knowing the position of the sun, we can determine the exact position of vegetation planting, which is located in the west and east of the building. m3/s0.13 m3/s Happy Beach Landscape Design include the detail of material properties which has the best performance for its using, climate, and design concept. Coastal landscape design eventually will be a recommendation for Tukadmungga village perbekel office and also North Bali Ministry of public work.

ANALYSIS OF SUN PATH AND EFFECTIVE SHADING CO-EFFICIENT USING ECOTECT SOFTWARE FOR COIMBATORE

Sun path of location depends on its latitude which creates a major heat impact on the surface of a building. This paper analyses the sun path of Coimbatore (11°N, 77°E), and its shading coefficient results as predicted by the ECOTECT software and Solar Tool. These sun path graphical presentations and calculated predictions of the shading coefficient can give a clear idea to the Architect/Designer to propose shading design, which can be cost effective, thermally resistant to reduce the heat gain and achieve indoor thermal comfort. The shading coefficients are calculated by means of simulation by the software for a room of size of 3 m × 3 m × 3 m with windows on all the facades of about 2 m width × 1.2 m height placed at a skill level of 0.9 m, which is a more applicable design in Living rooms, Bedrooms, Dining space, Foyer etc. The effective shading coefficient which is a combination of both window and the wall surface is simulated and calculated by the software all around the year for the cardinal directions and roof gives the result of amount of shading potential. The Software also recommends the optimal depth of the shading device for a typical wall and window for all the season which can be used as a guideline by the designer.

Evaluation of Photovoltaic Solar Power of a Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System

In this research project, a tip-tilting angle of a photovoltaic solar cell was developed to increase generated electrical power output. An active, accurate, and simple dual-axis tracking system was designed by using an Arduino Uno microprocessor. The system consisted of two sections: software and apparatus (hardware). It was modified by using a group of light-dependent resistor sensors, and two DC servo motors were utilized to rotate the solar panel to a location with maximum sunlight. These components were arranged in a mechanical configuration with the gearbox. The three locations of the solar cell were chosen according to the tilt angle values, at zero angles, which included an optimal 33-degree angle for the Baghdad location and a variable angle with the dual-axis tracking system. For maximum value of the extracted solar energy, a photovoltaic solar panel that collects sunlight should be in normal position onto this radiation. Solar trackers relocated the panel toward the path of the Sun to ensure that the collector rotated at an optimal tilt angle. The results showed that the generated power at the dual-axis position was 3.384 watts per hour (W/h), the 33-degree angle yielded 2.237 W/h, and the zero-degree angle yielded 1.09 W/h. The results confirmed that the performance of a dual-axis solar tracking system is active and efficient.

A Fully Automated Solar Tracking System

This is dual axis tracking system, the path of the sun is been tracked by the system is been determined in this procedure. The optimization goal is to increase the amount of generation energy with the help photovoltaic system considering the tracking system consumption. Determination of the tilt angle and azimuth angle trajectories is described as a nonlinear and bounded optimization problem, in future there will be drastic amount of shortage of non-renewable energy resources, we have to replace these resources ,For collection of solar energy we need to improve of efficiency we used sensors (LDR) for tracking of suns path to make sure that the panel should be placed in MPPT-(maximum power point tracking) to observe more efficiency to make sure that the panel should be placed in MPPT point.

A computational approach for achieving optimum daylight inside buildings through automated kinetic shading systems

Parametric architecture can be used to improve design quality by integrating and coordinating design components, and any change in one parameter affects the final design. Daylight is a crucial parameter in designing energy-efficient buildings. In this research, daylight inside a building was improved by designing a kinetic shading system with independent units parametrically responding to sunlight through 3D rotation (around the centers of the units) and 2D movement (on the surface of the shading system). Various patterns were determined to create the unit's basic form and allow the designer to have a wide range of options. The units were defined with the plugin “Grasshopper.” Their rotation was parametrically controlled on the basis of sun path and weather data by using “Honeybee” and “Ladybug” plugins to provide constant optimized daylighting inside the building. Results showed that the use of such a shading system in optimal situations can greatly increase the efficiency of indoor daylight.

Improving the performance of natural lighting in administrative buildings by using responsive parametric shading systems

Having natural lighting inside the building is one of the main strategies for saving energy and meeting the comfort requirements of users. Natural lighting design must be taken into account in the early stages of building design, as it is one of the most important decisions in this stage, and effective natural lighting design requires identifying several factors, including building orientation, sun path, design of envelopes, ceilings, and shading systems. The building envelope is the mediator between the interior and the exterior and thus greatly influences indoor climate, visual comfort and energy saving. Most of the restrictions affecting the building envelope change over time (weather condition - path of the sun. .)Climate change. User preferences. Noise - wind Traditional building envelopes offer a single, stable solution that fits with all possible conditions and cannot adapt to changing conditions. Nevertheless, technological innovations are opening up towards the development of a generation of adaptive (climate-responsive) building envelopes that have the ability to maintain the best building performance configurations. On the changing conditions. Engineers and architects are beginning to experiment with adaptive envelope solutions to control solar radiation and natural lighting. The growing interest in adaptive systems that reconfigure themselves to meet changing climatic conditions and user needs has led to the conceptualization of multi-functional envelopes (responsive and dynamic, in order to increase the responsiveness of shading systems and to reduce systems that operate mechanically. The aim of this research is to improve the performance of natural lighting with Taking into account energy efficiency by examining and evaluating responsive external shading systems in administrative buildings .)located in the classified regional climate of Cairo, Egypt (hot, dry desert climate

Techno‐economic feasibility analysis of integrating grid‐tied solar PV plant in a wind farm at Harapanahalli, India

AbstractEnergy in different forms is required to drive a nation's growth and its sustenance. However, a significant issue that plagues the world is exploitation of fossil fuel negligently, for domestic and commercial requirements. The Government of India (GoI) has devised its renewable energy policies to encourage and promote the use of renewable energy sources in an efficient manner. In this paper, feasibility is explored for employing solar PV power generation at a wind power generation site through hybridization such that power production can be improved throughout the year. Simulation studies have been conducted for the site using RETScreen to analyze hybrid power generation at Harapanahalli in Karnataka, India. The wind farm has 18 wind turbine generator (WTG's) installed, having 2 MWe capacities each, producing 36 MWe supplied to the local grid. By using sun path and shadow analysis for the site, it is calculated that 344,531.25 m2 of shadow‐free space is available which can be suitably used for alternate methods of power generation. From the present analysis, it is predicted that annual power generation capacity of the site can be improved by about 90% on adopting hybrid power generation. The project cost is pegged at 188 crores Indian rupees (INR) and the payback period of the hybrid system was ascertained to be approximately 7 years.

Interactive Eco-Cell Parametric Shading Structure Simulation (Hexagonal Shell of Light) by using Parametric Environmental Tool

Software and methods (such as Parametric modeling) could be effective for architects and engineers to improve the design and reparametrize modeling. These methods will help develop the best solutions for improving the sustainable design. A challenge for designers is to integrate daylight and shade study with optimization into the design process. For achieve accurate results, most of the building environmental performance simulation tools need a large amount of time and repetition. Furthermore, the combination of daylight and energy performances has always been an issue, as different software packages are needed to present detailed calculation. This paper describes the control of codes and calculations that modern designers can use to produce new structures as opposed to specifically design them. The paper reviews paradigm shifts in architecture, and gives a description for parametric design and parametric design types, Also, The Paper introduces Eco-cell simulation study using Rhino and Grasshopper as a new tool of parametric design. An Eco-cell is an interactive hexagonal cell that achieves environmental concepts. The paper explores this environmental study by using Ladybug plug-in to study sunlight analysis and radiation analysis. EPW file is used to draw the sun path and finally the simulation study to control the whole cell structure. The Paper used the evolutionary solver Galapagos to attain the most effective result in daylight quality by controlling interactive hexagonal cell structure.

Estimation of Energy Saving in Educational Building from Day lighting to Improve the Visual Comfort

Daylight is the occupied-range of light that is appropriate to the human visual response. Thus, it can contribute to human health, performance and productivity. Energy consumption can be reduced by improving in energy efficiency. The study emphaseson the design of lighting system that will be energy efficient. The basic purpose of this paper describes how to reduce the mounted lighting load and improve the illumination level as per international standards. A good lighting scheme should be based on more energy efficient & longer life and maintenance free equipment. In this research paper,a hypothetical study space is selected for the daylight analysis on the Ecotect and the Radiance software on summer solstice and winter solstice days under over cast sky condition. Ecotect software is used to determine lighting demand inside the selected study space and the obtained data is exported on Radiance for detailed and more accurate daylight analysis. It is pragmatic that illuminance level is varied with respect to date and time that are clearly expressed by the daily sun path and shadow range. It is also perceived that the installed artificial luminaries does not provide the required illuminance on the working plane and consume more energy. The major aim of this research is to reduce the lighting load by introducing energy efficient artificial luminaries into the room that provide the required illuminance level on the working plane. Lumen method is used to explain the energy saving which is carried out according to existing energy consumption compared with the proposed one. At the end cost comparison of energy consumption and payback period is also calculated. This study shows that overall cost saving in energy consumption is approximately 34.37% and the calculated payback period for the newly installed lights is comprising of approximately 11 months.

Experimental study on the impact of facade design on indoor thermal environment in tropical residential buildings

This paper presents an experimental study on the indoor air temperature near residential facades in naturally ventilated buildings in tropical climate of Singapore. Four residential sites (Site A-D) with different design features were selected for investigation. Indoor measurements were conducted at locations 30-cm away from the façades.Field measurement results showed that windows are of great significance to indoor thermal environment. In vacant units, the peak indoor air temperature reached 44 °C near a large west-facing window at Site A on sunny afternoon, when windows were kept closed and window-to-wall ratio (WWR) was 0.9. Air temperature near the closed window was lowered by 4.1 °C in the afternoon when WWR was reduced from 0.9 to 0.6. Moreover, window openings can effectively lower the indoor air temperature. At Site B, indoor air near a closed window was 7.6 °C hotter than that near an open window with the same orientation and window, and the average temperature difference reached 3.2 °C during daytime (7:00–19:00). In occupied units, air temperature near the north-facing façade was found 4.7 °C higher than that near the east-facing façade in July at Site D, due the sun path in Singapore. The percentages of time with indoor comfortable conditions were evaluated using the criterion for Asian residential buildings in summer. It was found that the acceptable time percentages were no less than 80% for indoor locations with daytime or occasional window ventilation. Façade design recommendations were proposed to reduce indoor air temperature and improve indoor thermal comfort in tropical climate.

Using a Simple Method to Estimate (Approximate) the Angle Between the Lunar Orbit and the Ecliptic

This paper describes a method to demonstrate that the plane of the lunar orbit around Earth and the plane of the ecliptic (the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun) are inclined with respect to each other, and to present a method for measuring the angle of the inclination. The angle between the diameter of the Moon’s orbit when the Moon passes through the local meridian and the diameter of Earth’s orbit when the Sun passes through the local meridian is the angle between the two planes. The paths of the Sun and the Moon as they appear when the Sun is at the local meridian were defined and the angle between them was measured as 42.5° by an observer. Then, these measurements were used to determine the inclination and to calculate an approximate value for the angle between the plane of the lunar orbit and plane of the ecliptic, which was found to be approximately 4.5°. This angle could be closely approximated with a simple method that everyone could use realistically and provide an answer for the question, “Since there is a full Moon every month as well as a new Moon, why is there no lunar eclipse and solar eclipse every month?”