Analysis of mass-energy balance of unmanned aircraft fueled by solar energy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2017.101974Keywords:
mass-energy balance, aircraft fueled by solar energy, conditions of flight realizationAbstract
To understand the characteristics and principles of creation of an aircraft, fueled by solar energy, the fundamentals of providing mass-energy balance and its specificity were considered.
To create a mathematical model that describes interrelations between the basic parameters of an aircraft, fueled by solar energy, it was proposed to describe the main components in stages, namely:
– power, required for the implementation of a horizontal flight;
– total power consumption for performing of a flight, including take-off and
maneuvers;
– magnitude of energy, generated during a flight;
– total take-off mass of an aircraft.
The principles of power supply of the aircraft systems under all flight modes were defined. Under the mode of a horizontal flight, there should be enough power, generated by solar panels, to fuel all systems. The power surplus is accumulated in the battery. Under the takeoff and landing modes, as well as during a maneuver, the current deficit of the generated power may be compensated for by power of the battery.
We described the factors that affect performance of solar panels of an aircraft, in particular shading, V-shape of a wing, geometry of aerodynamic profile, cloudiness, and orientation relative to the Sun. The model is proposed for determining the mass of an aircraft in general, which takes into account weight characteristics of the industrial components of an aircraft.
Results of the study might be used in the process of creation of aircraft, fueled by solar energy, at the stage of outline design.
We obtained a generalized analytical model of mass-energy balance of an aircraft, taking into account common operation modes and the laws of solar energy generation, which allows us to conduct analytical prediction of characteristics of prototypes. The model combines technological, operational, and design parameters, and is the basis for the formation of algorithm for choosing the parameters of an aircraft fueled by solar energy.
References
- Abbe, G., Smith, H. (2016). Technological development trends in Solar‐powered Aircraft Systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 60, 770–783. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.01.053
- Gao, X.-Z., Hou, Z.-X., Guo, Z., Chen, X.-Q. (2015). Reviews of methods to extract and store energy for solar-powered aircraft. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 44, 96–108. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.025
- Gao, X.-Z., Hou, Z.-X., Guo, Z., Liu, J.-X., Chen, X.-Q. (2013). Energy management strategy for solar-powered high-altitude long-endurance aircraft. Energy Conversion and Management, 70, 20–30. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2013.01.007
- Gao, X.-Z., Hou, Z.-X., Guo, Z., Fan, R.-F., Chen, X.-Q. (2013). The equivalence of gravitational potential and rechargeable battery for high-altitude long-endurance solar-powered aircraft on energy storage. Energy Conversion and Management, 76, 986–995. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2013.08.023
- Barbosa, R., Escobar, B., Sanchez, V. M., Hernandez, J., Acosta, R., Verde, Y. (2014). Sizing of a solar/hydrogen system for high altitude long endurance aircrafts. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39 (29), 16637–16645. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.05.152
- Fazelpour, F., Vafaeipour, M., Rahbari, O., Shirmohammadi, R. (2013). Considerable parameters of using PV cells for solar-powered aircrafts. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 22, 81–91. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.01.016
- Agarwal, R. K. (2015). Energy Optimization for Solar-Powered Aircraft. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, 1–17. doi: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae1010
- Sukhov, V., Ivashchuk, A., Kozey, Y. (2016). Current state and prospects of planes on solar energy in Ukraine. Journal of Mechanical Engineering the National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute", 77, 5–14. doi: 10.20535/2305-9001.2016.77.71470
- Sukhov, V., Kozey, Y., Getman, A. (2014). Aerodinamіchne proektuvannja krila z sonjachnimi elementami [Aerodynamic design wing with solar cells]. Information systems, mechanics and control, 11, 111–119.
- North, A. (2008). Design of solar powered airplanes for continuous flight. Switzerland, 196.
- Trofimenko, A. (2012). Samolety na solnechnyh batareyah – novyi instrument dlya provedeniya issledovaniy v Antarktike: osobennosti, preimushhestva, perspektivy [Solar-powered aircraft – a new tool for conducting research in Antarctica: features, advantages, prospects]. Ukrainian Antarctic Journal, 10-11, 390–398.
- Baldock, N., Mokhtarzadeh‐Dehghan, M. R. (2006). A study of solar‐powered, high‐altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 78 (3), 187–193. doi: 10.1108/17488840610663648
- Aeronautical meteorological code METAR. Meteocentr. Available at: http://www.meteocenter.net/meteolib/metar.htm
- Hall, D. W., Hall, S. A. (1984). Structural Sizing of a Solar Powered Aircraft. United States, No. NASA-CR-172313, NAS 1.26:172313, LMSC-D878711, 105.
- Stender, W. (1969). Sailplane Weight Estimation. Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSITIV). Bern, 62.
- Rehmet, M. A., Scholz, W., Voit-Nitschmann, R. (1995). Das Solarflugzeug Icare, Vorlaufer fur eine Kategorie Elektrisch Getriebener Flugzeuge. Germany, 99.
- Solar Panel Мanufakturers. ENF Solar definitive directory of solar companies and products. Available at: https://www.enfsolar.com/directory/panel
- Accumulators and Accessories. Hobbyking. Available at: https://www.hobbyking.com/ru_ru/batteries/lipoly-all-brands.html
- Brushless motor for aircraft. Planeta Hobby. Available at: https://www.modelistam.com.ua/elektrodvigateli-aksessuary/beskollektornye-dlya-samoletov-c-238
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Vitalіy Sukhov, Yaroslav Kozei
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The consolidation and conditions for the transfer of copyright (identification of authorship) is carried out in the License Agreement. In particular, the authors reserve the right to the authorship of their manuscript and transfer the first publication of this work to the journal under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY license. At the same time, they have the right to conclude on their own additional agreements concerning the non-exclusive distribution of the work in the form in which it was published by this journal, but provided that the link to the first publication of the article in this journal is preserved.
A license agreement is a document in which the author warrants that he/she owns all copyright for the work (manuscript, article, etc.).
The authors, signing the License Agreement with TECHNOLOGY CENTER PC, have all rights to the further use of their work, provided that they link to our edition in which the work was published.
According to the terms of the License Agreement, the Publisher TECHNOLOGY CENTER PC does not take away your copyrights and receives permission from the authors to use and dissemination of the publication through the world's scientific resources (own electronic resources, scientometric databases, repositories, libraries, etc.).
In the absence of a signed License Agreement or in the absence of this agreement of identifiers allowing to identify the identity of the author, the editors have no right to work with the manuscript.
It is important to remember that there is another type of agreement between authors and publishers – when copyright is transferred from the authors to the publisher. In this case, the authors lose ownership of their work and may not use it in any way.
