Examinando por Materia "Energy harvesting"

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    Ítem
    Designing a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system in adjunct with a silicon photovoltaic panel for a solar competition car
    (SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, 2014-01-01) Arias-Rosales, Andres; Barrera-Velásquez, J.; Osorio-Gomez, Gilberto; Mejia-Gutierrez, Ricardo
    Solar competition cars are a very interesting research laboratory for the development of new technologies heading to their further implementation in either commercial passenger vehicles or related applications. Besides, worldwide competitions allow the spreading of such ideas where the best and experienced teams bet on innovation and leading edge technologies, in order to develop more efficient vehicles. In these vehicles, some aspects generally make the difference such as aerodynamics, shape, weight, wheels and the main solar panels. Therefore, seeking to innovate in a competitive advantage, the first Colombian solar vehicle "Primavera", competitor at the World Solar Challenge (WSC)-2013, has implemented the usage of a Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) system as a complementary solar energy module to the common silicon photovoltaic panel. By harvesting sunlight with concentrating optical devices, CPVs are capable of maximizing the allowable photovoltaic area. However, the entire CPV system weight must be less harmful than the benefit of the extra electric energy generated, which in adjunct with added manufacture and design complexity, has intervened in the fact that CPVs had never been implemented in a solar car in such a scale as the one described in this work. Design considerations, the system development process and implementation are presented in this document considering both the restrictions of the context and the interaction of the CPV system with the solar car setup. The measured data evidences the advantage of using this complementary system during the competition and the potential this technology has for further developments. © 2014 SPIE.
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    Ítem
    Procedure to determine module distribution within a solar array to increase the net energy collection in a solar competition vehicle
    (SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, 2014-01-01) Suarez-Castaneda, Nicolas; Gil-Herrera, Ana; Barrera-Velásquez, J.; Osorio-Gomez, Gilberto; Mejia-Gutierrez, Ricardo
    In solar vehicle competition, the available space for installation of the solar panel in the car is limited. In order to optimize space, it is difficult not to install solar modules in areas impacted by shadows, even if they cause reduction of efficiency in the overall photoelectric generation. Shadow patterns arise from the relative position of the sun to the earth, and the relative position of the vehicle towards both of them. Since vehicle, earth and sun are moving in semi-predictable patterns, computer simulations can cross and match data from such sources to forecast generation behavior. The outputs of such simulations are shadow patterns on the surface of the vehicle, indicating locations that are suitable or unsuitable to install solar cells. This paper will show the design procedure of the solar panel for a Challenger Class solar vehicle that participated in the World Solar Challenge 2013, intended to increase the net energy collection. The results obtained, illustrate how the employment of a computational tool can help in the acquisition of both qualitative and quantitative information, related to shadows position and their impact on energy collection. With data inputs such as vehicle geometry and its relative position towards the route, the tool was used to evaluate different possible configurations of solar panel module distribution and select the ones that are more convenient to the given scenario. Therefore, this analysis allows improving the solar panel design by considering important variables that were often overlooked. © 2014 SPIE.