Solar Airplane is nothing but the future of our Aviation Technology.

1. Seminar On
SOLAR PLANE
By
Niraj Namdev Petkar
( Roll No. 13M223)
Guide
Prof. A. A. Nikam
1DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

2. CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Basic Concepts
 Solar Irradiance
 Solar Cell
 Maximum Power Point Tracker
 Energy Storage
 Electric Motor
 Aerodynamics of A Wing
 Propeller
 Solar Power Airplane Advantages And Disadvantages
 Conclusion
2DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

3. INTRODUCTION
 The amount of energy the sun sends towards our planet is 35000 times more than
we currently produce and consume.
 This energy can be easily used for practical purposes.
 A solar aircraft is the one which collects energy from the sun by the means of
photovoltaic solar cells.
 The energy may be used to drive the electric motor to power the aircraft.
 Our basic principle is use solar power by means of aircraft and this thing can be
done by solar panels which covers the whole surface of wing.
 During the night, the only energy available comes from the battery.
3DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

4. HISTORY OF SOLAR POWERED VEHICLES
 Their are two types of solar powered airplanes as follows,
 Unmanned Solar Powered Airplanes:
 Sunrise I (1974)
 Solaris (1976)
 Solar Excel (1990)
 Manned Solar Airplanes:
 Solar Riser (1979)
 Solar Challenger (1981)
 Helinet (1998)
 Solar Impuse And Solar Impuse 2 (2009)
4DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

5. BASIC PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
 Solar power conversion into electric energy by means of aircraft.
 It can be done by solar panels which covers the definite surface area of wings.
 A convertor ensures that the solar panels are working at their maximum power
point.
 The electric energy is used to charge battery which drives electric motor.
 Propeller is mounted on motor shaft produces thrust continuously.
5DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

6. SOLAR IRRADIANCE
 Solar Irradiance is a measure of the irradiance (Power per unit area on the Earth's
surface) produced by the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
SOLAR CELLS
 A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts solar energy into
electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
 It is very widely used in space application because it allows a clean and long-
duration source of energy requiring almost no maintenance.
 Solar cells are composed of various semiconducting materials, constituting one or
more layers.
6DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

7. CURRENT AND VOLTAGE OF SOLAR CELL
 When the cell pads are not connected, no current produced and the voltage equals
V= 0, the open circuit voltage.
 When it is short circuited, the voltage is zero but the current equals ISC.
 In between these two points where in both cases the power retrieved is zero, there
is working point, called the maximum power point.
 The current of a solar cell is proportional to its area and varies almost linearly
with the light intensity
7DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

8. MAXIMUM POWERPOINT TRACKER
 A solar cell has a working point on its current to voltage curve where the power
retrieved is maximum.
 The constantly changing irradiance conditions, and thus get the highest amount of
energy, a so called Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) is required.
 An MPPT is basically DC/DC converter with variable and adjustable gain
between the input and the output voltage.
 The input being the solar panels and the output the battery.
 It contains electronics that monitor both the current and the voltage on each side.
8DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

9. POWER STORAGE
 When the energy production is not constant and continuous, a good energy
storage method is necessary.
 Different ways to store energy:
 Chemical (hydrogen, biofuels)
 Electrochemical (batteries, fuel cells)
 Electrical (capacitor, super capacitor, superconducting magnetic energy
storage)
 Mechanical (compressed air, flywheel)
 Thermal
 In the case of a solar airplane, the gravimetric energy density also called specific
energy. The peak power are the most crucial parameters that determine the choice
of the energy storage method.
 Therefore in present case, the electrochemical batteries and the fuel cells are the
two best candidates.
9DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

10. ELECTROCHEMICAL BATTERIES
 Electrochemical batteries are energy storage devices, which are able to convert
chemically stored energy into electrical energy during discharging.
 They are composed of a cathode and an anode, made of two dissimilar metals that
are in contact with an electrolyte.
 When all elements are in contact with each other, a flow of electron is produced.
10DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

11. FUEL CELLS
 A fuel cell is a system where the chemical energy of reactants, often a gaseous
fuel and the oxygen.
 The fuel cell consists of two electrodes, known as the anode and cathode that are
separated by an electrolyte.
 A fuel cell on a solar airplane to store the energy during the day and reuse it
during the night.
11DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

12. ELECTRIC MOTOR
 An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy.
 There are a very large variety of electric motors that coexist because of the different
supply sources, sizes, torques and speeds depending on the application.
 In the present case, DC (Direct Current or Continuous Current) motor will be used as
solar airplane is designed to run on DC electric power supplied by a battery.
 The advantages of DC motors are numerous:
1. Very precise speed control.
2. High efficiency.
3. Reliability with longer lifetime (no brush abrasion and no ionizing sparks).
4. Their power to weight ratio is exceptionally high.
12DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

13. AERODYNAMICS OF WINGS
 The design and analysis of wings of aircraft is principle application of science of
aerodynamics.
 Once a plane leaves the ground, it is acted upon by four aerodynamic forces.
 Thrust
 Drag
 Weight
 Lift
 The lift maintains the airplane compensating the weight.
 The drag that is compensated by the thrust of the propeller.
13DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

14. CONCEPT OF LIFT
 The air flow meeting the leading edge of the object is forced to split over and
under the object.
 Due to the pressure gradient and the viscosity of the fluid, the flow over the object
is accelerated down along the upper surface of the object.
 The two sections of the fluid each leave the trailing edge of the object with a
downward component of momentum, producing lift.
14DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

15. AIRFOIL
 An airfoil is any surface producing more lift than drag when passing through the
air at a suitable angle.
 Airfoils are most often associated with production of lift. Airfoils are also used for
stability (fin), control (elevator), and thrust or propulsion (propeller or rotor).
AIRFOIL TYPES
 Symmetrical Airfoil : The symmetrical airfoil is distinguished by having
identical upper and lower surfaces. The mean camber line and chord line are the
same on a symmetrical airfoil, and it produces no lift at zero.
 Nonsymmetrical Airfoil (Cambered): The nonsymmetrical airfoil has different
upper and lower surfaces, with a greater curvature of the airfoil above the chord
line than below and have mean camber and chord line are different.
The nonsymmetrical airfoil design can produce useful lift at zero.
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16. PROPELLER
 The propeller is a device consisting of a set of two or more twisted, airfoil shaped
blades
 The blades are mounted around a shaft and spun to provide propulsion of a
vehicle through a fluid.
 It accelerates incoming air particles creating a reaction force called thrust.
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17. SOLAR POWER AIRPLANE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
 Advantages:
1. Sunlight is renewable day after day.
2. After equipment and set-up costs, solar energy is free and we save money.
3. Solar energy is a clean energy. It does not pollute air.
4. Solar energy which not used during the day can be stored in a battery system.
 Solar Energy Disadvantages:
1. Collecting solar energy depends on location and weather conditions.
2. Equipment is expensive at initially.
3. Solar panels and other collectors take up a lot of space.
4. We cannot produce solar electricity at night.
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18. CONCLUSION
 It has the advantage and very versatile and usable for less than one meter
wingspan to manned airplanes.
 The design methodology consists of simple 5 parameters linked to the design of
the airplane and they are as follows,
1. Solar Cell
2. Energy Storage
3. Electric Motor
4. Aerodynamic of Wings
5. Propeller
 It should helpful to getting the layout of a solar airplane with suitable size, weight
and powering information.
18DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

19. THANK YOU