SYNOPSIS OF 6 MONTHS INDUSTRIAL TRANINING PROJECT REPORT ON SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

HELD AT VISESH TRANSMISSION PVT.LTD

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

BACHELORS OF TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING)

SUBMITTED BY:- MD LAHSANUL HAQUE 100290415039

FEROZEPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, FEROZEPUR, PUNJAB June 2013 to November 2013

Table of Contents

Sr. No

CONTENTS

Page No.

1. About Company(vtpl) 1

2. Introduction 2

3. What is a Solar Tracker? 3

4. Need for a Sun Tracking System 4

5. Condition for Maximum Output 5

6. Basic Components 5-6

7. The Working 6-7

8. Applications 7

9. Advantages & Disadvantages 7

10. Conclusion 8

11. REFERENCES 8

page.1

COMPANY PROFILE

Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd A Manufacturing Company

Automation or Mechanical or Industrial Engineering B-109, Devsandra industrial estate,Mahadevapura Bangalore,India.

Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd's SummaryEstablished in 1994, we have a pride of our place for Credibility in Gear Engineering. We constantly update the technology. Our unique strength is derived from decades of experience in gear Technology for various End Applications. We design and Manufacture Gear Boxes and Gear Systems covering wide ranges of Electro Mechanical & Mechanical Power transmissions Applications Covering Gear drives used in Industrial,Transport & Mobile and Agricultural Machinery, Defense & Military needs.

Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd's ExperienceManufacturing CompanyVisesh Transmissions Pvt LtdPrivately Held:- 200 employees; Machinery industryApril 1994 – Present (19 years 3 months) Websites:-www.viseshtransmissions.com

Interests:- Specialized in Motorized Linear Actuators, Agricultural Machinery Gear Drives, Lifts, Worm reducers, Universal Joints.

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INTRODUCTION Extracting usable electricity from the sun was made possible by the discovery of the photoelectric effect.

Subsequent development of the solar cell, which is a semi-conductive material that converts visible light into a direct current.

Solar arrays, a series of solar cells electrically connected, generates a DC voltage which can be used on a load.

Solar arrays are being used increasingly as efficiencies reach higher levels, and are especially popular in remote areas where placement of electricity lines are not economically viable.

For further optimization of these panels solar trackers are being implemented, which enhances the efficiency of panels by 30-35 %.

Solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible source of energy. The power from the sun intercepted by the earth is approximately 1.8*1011MW, which is many thousands of times larger than the present consumption rate on the earth of all commercial energy sources.

Solar energy could supply all the present and future energy needs of the world on a continuing basis. This makes it one of the most promising of the unconventional energy sources.

Solar energy has two other factors in the favor.

Firstly, unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power, it is environmentally clean source of energy.

Secondly, it is free and available in adequate quantities in almost all parts of the world where people live. Also it has no heavy mechanical section and is free from noise.

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What is a solar Tracker? • A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient or align various

payloads toward the sun.

• Example for payloads is photovoltaic panels, reflectors, Collectors, lenses or other optical devices.

• The system focuses on the optimization of the electric energy produced by photovoltaic cells through the development of a sun-tracking system.

• A solar tracker is a device that orients a payload toward the sun. Payloads can be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices.

• In flat-panel photovoltaic (PV) applications, trackers are used to minimize the angle of incidence between the incoming sunlight and a photovoltaic panel. This increases the amount of energy produced from a fixed amount of installed power generating capacity. In standard photovoltaic applications, it is estimated that trackers are used in at least 85% of commercial installations greater than 1MW from 2009 to 2012.

• In Concentrated photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal (CSP) applications, trackers are used to enable the optical components in the CPV and CSP systems. The optics in concentrated solar applications accepts the direct component of sunlight light and therefore must be oriented appropriately to collect energy. Tracking systems are found in all concentrator applications because such systems do not produce energy unless pointed at the sun.

• Sunlight has two components, the "direct beam" that carries about 90% of the solar energy, and the "diffuse sunlight" that carries the remainder - the diffuse portion is the blue sky on a clear day and increases proportionately on cloudy days. As the majority of the energy is in the direct beam, maximizing collection requires the sun to be visible to the panels as long as possible.

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Need For A Sun Tracking System • From dawn to dusk the sun keeps changing the angle from 0-90 rising and 90-180

declining.• In a year of 365 days the sun moves approximately 22.5 degrees north to 22.5 degrees

south of the equator.• We get maximum energy from the sun when

- The angle of the sun is degrees - The sun’s position is 0 +/- 5 degrees of the equator

• For the fluctuation factors mentioned previously, fixed solar panel does not give higher efficiencies.

• A tracking system helps the solar panels keep oriented to the sun at the optimum possible angle.

• The tracking system improves the efficiency of solar panels by 30% for single axis and an additional 6% for dual axis

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Conditions For MaximumOutput • The difference between the incident ray and the reflected ray should be equal to zero, i.e.

the rays should be perpendicular to the panel• The altitude is directly proportional to the efficiency of the system up to a certain limit.• Very clear sky and clean atmosphere contributes a bit more to the efficiency of the system.

Basic Components The Solar Panel

Stepper Motor

Actuator

Microcontroller

A Display Unit (Optional)

Interfacing Cables

PANEL STEPPER MOTOR

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MICROCONTROLLER ACTUATORS

DISPLAY CABELS

The Working • Interfacing between hardware and microcontroller.• Inputs to microcontroller.• Controlling constraints.

INPUTS TO MICROCONTROLLER:-• The various positions of the sun over a year for a particular geographical location is given

as the primary input to the microcontroller.• The irradiance of the sun for a particular geographical location over a year is the secondary

input for the microcontroller.• The real time clocking is enabled in the microcontroller.

CONTROLLING:-• The microcontroller is programmed to orient the panel at optimum position against the sun,

via comparing to the inputs given.• The microcontroller is set with a lower tolerance for the voltage produced.• If the voltage produced is above the tolerance then it holds the position of the panel.• If the voltage falls below the tolerance, then the panel changes the position in the forward

direction.• This voltage tolerance varies according to various seasons. Like summer has the highest

voltage tolerance value.• A second voltage tolerance is given, so as to switch off the system when it falls beyond

the tolerance. Page-7

• This will help in cloudy and rainy days.• A panel will be reset to its default position at the end of the day and starts again the next

day. This is accomplished by a timer & angle limits.

APPLICATION • Can be used for small & medium scale power generations.• For power generation at remote places where power lines are not accessible.• For domestic backup power systems.

Advantages • Solar tracking systems continually orient photovoltaic panels towards the sun and can help

maximize your investment in your PV system.• One time investment, which provides higher efficiency & flexibility on dependency over

other sources.• Tracking systems can help reducing emissions and can contribute against global

warming.• Bulk implementations of tracking systems help reduced consumption of power by other

sources.• It enhances the clean and emission free power production.

DISADVANTAGES • Initial investment is high on solar panels.• It’s a bit of difficult for servicing, as the tracking systems are not quite popular regionally.• Moving parts and gears which will require regular maintenance. • May require repair or replacement of broken parts over a long run.

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Conclusion • On one hand we can see the world’s energy resources depletion to be a major problem.• On the other hand global warming, which is a major concern?• Switching to solar power, which is clean and green and enhancing its efficiency by using

sun trackers is a great option in the near future.

References

•   http://www.solarpoweristhefuture.com

• http://www.scientificamerican.com

• http://en.wikipedia.org