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PV System Design and Flight Efficiency Considerations for Fixed-Wing Radio-Controlled Aircraft—A Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Bojan Kranjec

    (Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia)

  • Sasa Sladic

    (Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia)

  • Wojciech Giernacki

    (Institute of Control, Robotics and Information Engineering, University of Technology, Piotrowo 3a, 60-965 Poznań, Poland)

  • Neven Bulic

    (Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia)

Abstract

The list of photovoltaic (PV) applications grows longer every day with high consideration for system efficiency. For instance, in spite of many recent PV aircraft designs, aircraft propulsion was mainly reserved for nonelectric motors. Lately, the Solar Impulse flight across the world shows the possibilities of larger PV powered electric aircraft. In order to obtain this goal efficiency of flight, PV conversion, power converters and electric drives have to be maximized. These demands led to a 63.4 m wingspan. The purpose of this paper is to present that PV power could be used for improving the performance of fixed-wing radio-controlled aircrafts with smaller wingspans (1 m). In order to improve the performance of battery powered electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), a model without PV cells (commercial Li-ion battery powered UAV) was compared with UAV powered both from battery and PV modules. This work shows details about Boost DC/DC converter and PV system design for small size fixed-wing electric UAVs, investigating the possibility of the application of PV powered drones, as well. Theoretical findings involving efficiency improvements have been confirmed by measurements combining the improvements in electrical engineering, microcontroller application and aerodynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Bojan Kranjec & Sasa Sladic & Wojciech Giernacki & Neven Bulic, 2018. "PV System Design and Flight Efficiency Considerations for Fixed-Wing Radio-Controlled Aircraft—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:10:p:2648-:d:173650
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    1. Sunghun Jung & Yonghyeon Jo & Young-Joon Kim, 2019. "Aerial Surveillance with Low-Altitude Long-Endurance Tethered Multirotor UAVs Using Photovoltaic Power Management System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, April.

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