Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
A Bioinspired Solar Tracker Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy
Submission Author:
Guilherme Amaral do Prado Campos , RJ
Co-Authors:
João Gabriel Andrade da Rocha, Guilherme Amaral do Prado Campos, Arthur Adeodato
Presenter: João Gabriel Andrade da Rocha
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-1152
Abstract
Solar panels have been extensively used as a clean and sustainable method for energy conversion, leading to significant developments and research on photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV technology converts sunlight into electrical energy when photons from the sun are absorbed by a PV cell, causing electrons to be excited from the valence band to the conduction band of the semiconductor material. This process generates a voltage difference between the two sides of the cell, producing an electrical current. However, the efficiency of PV cells is highly dependent on the angle at which the sunlight strikes the cell’s surface. Among other factors, it is essential to keep the PV cells at the right angle to the incoming sunlight to maximize the energy output in PV energy conversion. One promising approach to address this challenge is using shape memory alloys (SMAs). SMAs are smart materials that exhibit remarkable shape recovery properties when subjected to specific temperature variations. These properties make SMAs ideal for solar trackers, allowing them to orient the PV panels to follow the sun’s movement throughout the day. This paper presents a bioinspired mechanism for solar tracking using SMAs elements mimicking a sunflower movement. The proposed mechanism employs a two restitution elements of a shape memory alloy to control the panel orientarion. The SMA phase transformation can happen when heated by the sun’s rays, promoting its contract and pull-on. This movement is then transmitted to the PV panel, causing it to rotate and track the sun’s movement as a sunflower. The feasibility of the proposed mechanism is evaluated through computational simulations which can contribute to the development of an experimental prototype. The current stage of development is shown as a proof of concept. A constitutive model with assumed phase transformation represents the SMA thermomechanical behavior, and different configurations are evaluated. The results show that the inteligent mechanism can follow the sun confering adaptability characteristics when compared to static PV panels. This research presents a promising solution for improving the efficiency of PV energy conversion using shape memory alloys.
Keywords
photovoltaic energy, bioinspired design, Shape Memory Alloys, Inteligent Systems
