The paper presents researches on increasing the energetic ＆ economic efficiency of the photovoltaic （PV） conversion by designing and optimizing a dual-axis tracking mechanism that simultaneously changes the positio...The paper presents researches on increasing the energetic ＆ economic efficiency of the photovoltaic （PV） conversion by designing and optimizing a dual-axis tracking mechanism that simultaneously changes the position of the modules using two motor sources. The driving source for the daily motion is a rotary motor, while the elevation motion is performed with a linear actuator. The main task in optimizing the tracking mechanism is to maximize the energetic gain by increasing the solar input and minimizing the energy consumption for tracking. The design strategy aims to identify the optimum angular field for the daily motion, as well as the optimum actuating time in the step-by-step motion. The study is made by developing the virtual prototype of the tracking mechanism, in the mechatronic concept. The virtual prototyping platform includes the following software solutions： CATIA （Computer Aided Tri-Dimensional Interface Application）--to create the solid model, which contains information about the mass ＆ inertia properties of the parts, ADAMS （Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems）/View--to model the mechanical structure of the solar tracker, and EASY5 ＆ ADAMS/Controls-for the control system design.展开更多
文摘The paper presents researches on increasing the energetic ＆ economic efficiency of the photovoltaic （PV） conversion by designing and optimizing a dual-axis tracking mechanism that simultaneously changes the position of the modules using two motor sources. The driving source for the daily motion is a rotary motor, while the elevation motion is performed with a linear actuator. The main task in optimizing the tracking mechanism is to maximize the energetic gain by increasing the solar input and minimizing the energy consumption for tracking. The design strategy aims to identify the optimum angular field for the daily motion, as well as the optimum actuating time in the step-by-step motion. The study is made by developing the virtual prototype of the tracking mechanism, in the mechatronic concept. The virtual prototyping platform includes the following software solutions： CATIA （Computer Aided Tri-Dimensional Interface Application）--to create the solid model, which contains information about the mass ＆ inertia properties of the parts, ADAMS （Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems）/View--to model the mechanical structure of the solar tracker, and EASY5 ＆ ADAMS/Controls-for the control system design.
