SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM WITH SEED DRYER

ABSTRACT

Photovoltaic modules are devices that directly and cleanly convert the sunlight into
electricity and offer a practical solution to the problem of power generation in remote
areas. They are especially useful in situations where the demand for electrical power
is relatively low. To maximize the power extraction as per demand, instead of
installing an extra panels we can use tracking system, which enhances the power. The
solar tracker that has been designed and constructed in this project optimizes the
power output of PV modules by making sure that they are pointed towards the sun at
all times during the day. The tracker could be implemented in any situation where
solar modules are used. It would be especially effective in situations where only a
small number of modules are required and where efficiency is of a great importance
On the similar approach we are going to manufacture seed dryer which is also more
useful fordrying the seeds, crops i.e. maize, beans etc. The essence ofthe dryer was to
achieve the effective method of seedpreservation and eliminate the drudgery and
productdeterioration associated with traditional methods of opensun drying of seed.
This is in view of alleviating the weatherlimitation experienced by farmers in crop
drying.
 1. INTRODUCTION

One of the most promising renewable energy sources characterized by a huge

potential of conversion into electrical power is the solar energy. The conversion of
solar radiation into electrical energy by Photo-Voltaic (PV) effect is a very promising
technology, being clean, silent and reliable, with very small maintenance costs and
small ecological impact. The interest in the Photo Voltaic conversion systems is
visibly reflected by the exponential increase of sales in this market segment with a
strong growth projection for the next decades. According to recent market research
reports carried out by European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), the total
installed power of PV conversion equipment increased from about 1 GW in 2001up to
nearly 23 GW in 2009.

Solar dryers have some advantages over sun drying when correctly designed. They
give faster drying rates by heating the air to 10-300C above ambient, which causes the
air to move faster through the dryer, reduces its humidity and deters insects. The
faster drying reduces the risk of spoilage, improves quality of the product and gives a
higher throughput, so reducing the drying area that is needed. However care is needed
when drying fruits to prevent too rapid drying, which will prevent complete drying
and would result in case hardening and subsequent mould growth. Solar dryers also
protect foods form dust, insects, birds and animals. They can be constructed from
locally available materials at a relatively low capital cost and there are no fuel costs.
Thus, they can be useful in areas where fuel or electricity are expensive, land for sun
drying is in short supply or expensive, sunshine is plentiful but the air humidity is
high. Moreover, they may be useful as a means of heating air for artificial dryers to
reduce fuel costs Solarfood drying can be used in most areas but how quickly the food
dries is affected by many variables, especially

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The continuous modification of the sun-earth relative position determines a
continuously changing of incident radiation on a fixed PV panel. The point of
maximum received energy is reached when the direction of solar radiation is
perpendicular on the panel surface. Thus an increase of the output energy of a given
PV panel can be obtained by mounting the panel on a solar tracking device that
follows the sun trajectory. Unlike the classical fixed PV panels, the mobile ones
driven by solar trackers are kept under optimum insolation for all positions of the Sun,
boosting thus the PV conversion efficiency of the system. The output energy of PV
panels equipped with solar trackers may increase with tens of percents, especially
during the summer when the energy harnessed from the sun is more important. Photo-
Voltaic or PV cells, known commonly as solar cells, convert the energy from sunlight
into DC electricity. PVs offer added advantages over other renewable energy sources
in that they give off no noise and require practically no maintenance. A tracking
system must be able to follow the sun with a certain degree of accuracy, return the
collector to its original position at the end of the day and also track during periods of
cloud over.

Solar energy is rapidly gaining popularity as an important means of expanding

renewable energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields
understand the technologies associated with this area. This paper presents the design
and construction of a microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system. Solar
tracking allows more energy to be produced because the solar array is able to remain
aligned to the sun. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the
design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.

The major components of this system are as follows.

 Light dependent resistor
 Microcontroller.
 Output mechanical transducer (stepper motor)

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BACKGROUND:

A Solar Tracker is a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the motion
of the sun across the sky ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the
panels throughout the day. The Solar Tracker will attempt to navigate to the best
angle of exposure of light from the sun. This report aims to let the reader understand
the project work which I have done. A brief introduction to Solar Panel and Solar
Tracker is explained in the Literature Research section. Basically the Solar Tracker is
divided into two main categories, hardware and software. It is further subdivided into
six main functionalities: Method of Tracker Mount, Drives, Sensors, RTC, Motors,
and Power Supply of the Solar Tracker is also explained and explored. The reader
would then be brief with some analysis and perceptions of the information.

By using solar arrays, a series of solar cells electrically connected, a DC voltage is

generated which can be physically used on a load. Solar arrays or panels are being
used increasingly as efficiencies reach higher levels, and are especially popular in
remote areas where placement of electricity lines is not economically viable. This
alternative power source is continuously achieving greater popularity especially since
the realisation of fossil fuels shortcomings. Renewable energy in the form of
electricity has been in use to some degree as long as 75 or 100 years ago. Sources
such as Solar, Wind, Hydro and Geothermal have all been utilised with varying
levels of success. The most widely used are hydro and wind power, with solar power
being moderately used worldwide. This can be attributed to the relatively high cost of
solar cells and their low conversion efficiency. Solar power is being heavily
researched, and solar energy costs have now reached within a few cents per kW/h of
other forms of electricity generation, and will drop further with new technologies such
as titanium oxide cells. With a peak laboratory efficiency of 32% and average
efficiency of 15-20%, it is necessary to recover as much energy as possible from a
solar power system. This includes reducing inverter losses, storage losses, and light
gathering losses. Light gathering is dependent on the angle of incidence of the light
source providing power (i.e. the sun) to the solar cell’s surface, and the closer to
perpendicular, the greater the power. If a flat solar panel is mounted on level ground,
it is obvious that over the course of the day the sunlight will have an angle of
incidence close to 90° in the morning and the evening. At such an angle, the light

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gathering ability of the cell is essentially zero, resulting in no output. As the day
progresses to midday, the angle of incidence approaches 0°, causing a steady increase
in power until at the point where the light incident on the panel is completely
perpendicular, and maximum power is achieved. As the day continues toward dusk,
the reverse happens, and the increasing angle causes the power to decrease again
toward minimum again. From this background, we see the need to maintain the
maximum power output from the panel by maintaining an angle of incidence as close
to 0° as possible. By tilting the solar panel to continuously face the sun, this can be
achieved. This process of sensing and following the position of the sun is known as
Solar Tracking. It was resolved that real-time tracking would be necessary to follow
the sun effectively, so that no external data would be required in operation.

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 SYSTEM CONCEPT

Our design of Solar Tracker is to develop and implement a simplified diagram of a

horizontal axis and active tracker method type of solar tracker fitted to a panel. It will
be able to navigate to the best angle of exposure of light from the torchlight. A pair of
sensors is used to point the East and West of the location of the light. A scaled-down
model of a prototype will be designed and built to test the workability of the tracking
system. The center of the drive is a DC motor. Figure shows a schematic diagram of a
horizontal-axis solar tracker. This will be controlled via microcontroller program. The
designed algorithm will power the motor drive after processing the feedback signals
from the sensor array.

Figure : Diagram of Horizontal axis Solar Tracker

The Microcontroller program will also include monitoring and display of light
intensity output from the photodiodes. The light detected by the Eastward-facing
sensor is at a lower intensity to that detected by the Westward-facing sensor. Hence,
the sensor must be turned westwards (by the motor controlled by the solar tracker
circuit) until the levels of light detected by both the East and the West sensors are
equal. At the point of the solar panel will be directly facing the light and generated
electricity optimally. Obviously real world solar trackers are not so simple. A solar
tracker must be able to reset itself at sunset so it is ready for sunrise, it must cope with

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heavy cloud, and it. In addition a mount for the solar panel must be constructed which
can cope with strong winds and a suitable motor found.

A simple light tracker using 2 light sensors. Light tracker is typical use for maximum
energy receiving of solar panel or making light following robot. In this example, two
LLS05-A light sensors is used. The sensor is given linear output from luminance.
Figure below shown the concept of how it work, it works by finding balance between
the two sensors.

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 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem associated with the use of solar energy is that its availability varies widely
with time. The variation in availability occurs daily because of the day night cycle and
also seasonally because of the earth’s orbit around the sun.

To rectify these above problems the solar panel should be such that it always receive
maximum intensity of light.

So as to design and develop a prototype model of solar seed dryer with auto tracking
system.

Also to fabricate the model using solar panel, frame, LDR sensor, hot air blower to
show working of the same.

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 1.2 OBJECTIVE

1. To design and develop a prototype model of solar seed dryer with auto
tracking system.
2. Also to fabricate the model using solar panel, frame, LDR sensor, hot air
blower to show working of the same.
3. To utilize the non-conventional energy resources.
4. To save the fuel which will be used to operate the dryer.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE RESEARCH

This chapter aims to provide a brief knowledge of Solar Panel, Solar Tracker and the
components which made up Solar Tracker.

2.1 TECHNOLOGY OF SOLAR PANEL

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. They are called solar after
the sun because the sun is the most powerful source of the light available for use.
They are sometimes called photovoltaic which means "light-electricity". Solar cells or
PV cells rely on the photovoltaic effect to absorb the energy of the sun and cause
current to flow between two oppositely charge layers.A solar panel is a collection of
solar cells. Although each solar cell provides a relatively small amount of power,
many solar cells spread over a large area can provide enough power to be useful. To
get the most power, solar panels have to be pointed directly at the Sun.The
development of solar cell technology begins with 1839 research of French physicist
Antoine-Cesar Becquerel. He observed the photovoltaic effect while experimenting
with a solid electrode in an electrolyte solution. After that he saw a voltage developed
when light fell upon the electrode.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica the first genuine for solar panel was built
around 1883 by Charles Fritts. He used junctions formed by coating selenium (a
semiconductor) with an extremely thin layer of gold. Crystalline silicon and gallium
arsenide are typical choices of materials for solar panels. Gallium arsenide crystals are
grown especially for photovoltaic use, but silicon crystals are available in less-
expensive standard ingots, which are produced mainly for consumption in the
microelectronics industry. Norway’s Renewable Energy Corporation has confirmed
that it will build a solar manufacturing plant in Singapore by 2010 - the largest in the
world. This plant will be able to produce products that can generate up to 1.5 Giga
watts of energy every year. That is enough to power several million households at any

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one time. Last year the world as a whole produced products that could generate just 2
GW in total.

2.2 EVOLUTION OF SOLAR TRACKER

Since the sun moves across the sky throughout the day, in order to receive the best
angle of exposure to sunlight for collection energy. A tracking mechanism is often
incorporated into the solar arrays to keep the array pointed towards the sun. A solar
tracker is a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the motion of the
sun across the sky ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the panels
throughout the day. When compare to the price of the PV solar panels, the cost of a
solar tracker is relatively low. Most photovoltaic solar panels are fitted in a fixed
location- for example on the sloping roof of a house, or on framework fixed to the
ground. Since the sun moves across the sky though the day, this is far from an ideal
solution. Solar panels are usually set up to be in full direct sunshine at the middle of
the day facing South in the Northern Hemisphere, or North in the Southern
Hemisphere. Therefore morning and evening sunlight hits the panels at an acute angle
reducing the total amount of electricity which can be generated each day.

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 Fig 2.1 Sun’s apparent motion

During the day the sun appears to move across the sky from left to right and up
and down above the horizon from sunrise to noon to sunset. Figure 2.1 shows the
schematic above of the Sun's apparent motion as seen from the Northern
Hemisphere. To keep up with other green energies, the solar cell market has to be
as efficient as possible in order not to lose market shares on the global energy
marketplace. The end-user will prefer the tracking solution rather than a fixed
ground system to increase their earnings because:

 The efficiency increases by 30-40%.

 The space requirement for a solar park is reduced, and they keep the
same output.
 The return of the investment timeline is reduced.
 The tracking system amortizes itself within 4 years.
 In terms of cost per Watt of the completed solar system, it is usually
cheaper to use a solar tracker and less solar panels where space and
planning permit.
 A good solar tracker can typically lead to an increase in electricity
generation capacity of 30-50%.

2.3 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A MICROCONTROLLER BASED

SINGLE AXIS SOLAR TRACKER.
S. Zubair, A. Suleiman, H. T. Abdulazzez, B. A. Salihu
Solar energy is rapidly gaining popularity as an important means of expanding
renewable energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields
understand the technologies associated with this area. This paper presents the design
and construction of a microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system. Solar
tracking allows more energy to be produced because the solar array is able to remain
aligned to the sun. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the
design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.
Review of Sun-Tracker Technology

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There are a number of works proposed by many researchers to track the sun.
Kalogirou and Alata et al. suggested [2,3] a tracking system which can be used with
single-axis solar concentrating systems, Roth et al. and Bakos [4,5] constructed and
tested two axis tracking system. Different types of one-axis tracking systems have
been applied in the literature [6–8]. Tomson [6] described mainly the performance of
PV modules with daily two-position in the morning and in the afternoon. Results
indicated that the seasonal energy yield was increased by 10–20% over the yield from
a fixed south facing collector tilted at an optimal angle. Huang and Sun [7] has
designed the solar tracking system called ‘‘one axis three position sun tracking PV
module” with low concentration ratio reflector. The one-axis tracking mechanism
adjusted the PV position only at three fixed angles. These are the morning, the noon
and the afternoon.
An experiment performed in the present study indicated that economic analysis
showed that the price reduction was between 20% and 30% for the various market
prices of flat plate PV modules. Abu-Khadera et al. [9] investigated the effects of
multiaxes sun-tracking systems on the electrical generation of a flat photovoltaic
system (FPVS) which was carried out to evaluate its performance under Jordanian
climate. Multi-axes (N– S, E–W, vertical) electromechanical sun-tracking system was
designed and constructed. The measured variables were compared with that at fixed
axis. It was found that there was an overall increase of about 30–45% in the output
power for the north–south axes (N–S)-tracking system compared to the fixed PV
system. Also, it was found that the N–S axes sun tracking was the optimum. Bakos [5]
performed to investigate the effect of using a continuous operation wo-axes tracking
on the solar energy collected. The collected energy was measured and compared with
that on a fixed surface tilted at 41 towards the south. The results showed that the
measured collected solar energy on the moving surface was considerably larger (up to
46.46%) compared with the fixed surface.
When the literatures are analyzed, the parameters such as the installation, the
mechanism, the cost, the efficiency, the design and the maintenance have been given
as important features depend on tracking methods as given in Table 1.

Table 1: Comparison of Solar Systems.

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The design presented is splendid for outpost systems that hardly require any
monitoring and needs moderate maintenance to improve their efficiency.

2.4 DESIGN OF TWO AXES SUN TRACKING CONTROLLER WITH

ANALYTICALLY SOLAR RADIATION CALCULATIONS
Article in renewable and sustainable energy reviews · march 2015
SabanYilmaz, OguzhanAkgol, MuharremKaraaslan.
Photovoltaic systems have gained a great deal of interest in the world and these
studies performed on this subject have been gaining more and more importance. In
order to design new PV systems that will be installed to operate in more efficient and
more feasible way, it is necessary to analyze parameters like solar radiation values,
the angle of incidence of the genus, temperature etc. Therefore, in this study,
theoretical works have been performed for solar radiation and angle of incidence
values of any location, plus an experimental study was carried out on a system
tracking the sun in two axes and in a fixed system. The performed prototype is also
adapted into a PV system with 4.6 kW power. Theoretical data are consistent with the
data obtained from the PV system with 4.6 kW power. This study will be an important
guide for the future PV power stations.
In this study a photovoltaic double axis sun-tracking system is briefly described and
performances of double axis tracking and fixed latitude tilt identical PV systems are
theoretically and experimentally realized. The advantages of the proposed system
over fixed systems are clearly discussed and compared with the results from other
studies in literature. In order to verify our results obtained from the prototype, same
system with the same working principle is applied to a high power plant and the
results belong to the latter one were also support our claim that the proposed sun
tracking system provide more efficient results. As a result, the suggested model and
the system can be easily used for solar power plants, solar home systems and so on for
more efficient energy production.

2.5 TIME OPERATED SOLAR TRACKING FOR OPTIMUM POWER

GENERATION
Asst.Prof.K.Sambasivarao, P.Harish, V.N.V.Ramana, M.V.S.Krishnateja

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The growth or energy demand in response to industrialization, urbanization and social
affluence has led to an extremely un-even global distribution of primary energy
consumption. The Sun, Wind, Waves and geothermal heat are renewable energy
sources that will never run out. They are perpetual or self-renewing. The rate of
consumption does not exceed rate of renewability. The cost of generating electricity
from wind and solar power has decreased by 90% over the past 20 years. Maximizing
power output from a solar system is desirable to increase the efficiency of a solar
tracing system. To maximize the power output from solar panels, we need to keep the
panels aligned with the sun. In this paper, the design of an efficient solar tracking
system based on Real Time Clock (RTC) using microcontroller is described. The
proposed tracking system is a low cost, high accurate, more efficient with low power
consumption.
SENSING AND TRACKING PRINCIPLE
Various methods have been implemented and used to track the position of the sun.
The principle of operation of a PV cell is shown in Fig...

Fig.: Principle of operation of a PV Cell.

The simplest of all uses an LDR – a Light Dependent Resistor to detect light intensity
changes on the surface of the resistor. Other methods, such as that published by Jeff
Dam in “Home Power‟ [10], use two phototransistors covered with a small plate to
act as a shield to sunlight, as shown in Fig. .

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 Fig.2: Principle of operation of an LDR
When morning arrives, the tracker is in state A from the previous day. The left
phototransistor is turned on, causing a signal to turn the motor continuously until the
shadow from the plate returns the tracker to state B. As the day slowly progresses,
state C is reached shortly, turning on the right phototransistor. The motor turns until
state B is reached again, and the cycle continues until the end of the day or until the
minimum detectable light level is reached. The problem with a design like this is that
phototransistors have a narrow range of sensitivity, once they have been set up in a
circuit under set bias conditions [9]. It was because of this fact that solar cells
themselves were chosen to be the sensing devices. They provide an excellent
mechanism in light intensity detection because they are sensitive to varying light and
provide a near-linear voltage range that can be used to an advantage in determining
the present declination or angle to the sun.
As a result, a simple time operated solar tracking system using RTC based control
system is proposed, with the tilt times of a panel position with respect to natural
position of the Sun has been implemented as an algorithm to controller.
The design of microcontroller based an efficient solar tracking system with real time
clock is developed and described. The proposed system provides a variable indication
of their relative angle to the sun by comparing with pre-defined measured readings.
By using this method, the solar tracker was successfully maintained a solar array at a
sufficiently perpendicular angle to the Sun. The power increase gained over a fixed
horizontal array was in excess of 40%. The proposed design is achieved with low
power consumption, high accuracy and low cost.

2.6 TWO WAYS OF ROTATING FREEDOM SOLAR TRACKER BY USING

ADC OF MICROCONTROLLER

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By Sobuj Kumar Ray, Md. Abul Bashar, Maruf Ahmad &Fahad Bin Sayed
Solar trackers are used to improve electric power radically of photovoltaic panel by
using different sensor. The sensors retrieve the solar radiation. This paper presents a
simple method, low cost microcontroller based solar tracker of two ways of rotating
freedom in order to achieve the right positioning of photovoltaic solar cell to get the
much sunlight during the day light session and as a result produce more electricity.
This tracking system is developed with two direct current motor operated by a
PIC16F72 microcontroller which processes the sensors (LDR) information by its
internal ADC-analog to digital converter with Fuzzy logic and send correct
information to motor controller IC-LM392D by which motor is operated. The motor
is so operated that the panel can rotates two ways such as horizontally and vertically
of its direction. A comparison has been made on a conventional solar follower plant
and trucking system.
The System Architecture
The system architecture of two ways of rotating freedom solar tracker system is
shown in figure.

Fig. system architecture

The solar tracker system consists of LDRs, Microcontroller and its internal ADC
(analog to digital converter), motor controller IC LM293D and direct current motor.
• LDRs detect the sunlight intensity. When consume high sunlight intensity resistance
is decreased and supply high current through it.

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• Microcontroller and its internal analog to digital converter measure the LDRs
supplied current and converted its corresponding digital value. This is again process
by Fuzzy logic and then gives necessary signal to the motor controller IC.
• The motor controller IC of LM293D drive the DC motor by the direction of
microcontroller.

This paper depicts a solar tracking system with two ways of rotating freedom. The
tracking controller based ADC of microcontroller. Set up on the solar tracking system,
light depended resistors are used to determine the solar light intensity. The designed
solar tracking power generation system can track the sun light automatically. Firstly
data has been taken from stationary solar panel, and then from trucking solar panel
during three different days. The stationary panel gives total 114.75 W power
consumption per day and the average power consumption of tracking panel is 157.86
W per day. From analysis of data we get tracking panel 37 % higher efficiency then
stationary panel. Although tracking system is costly than the stationary system but for
long time use it will be superior to meet the future energy demand. Experimental
work has been carried out carefully. The result shows that higher generating power
efficiency is achieved using the solar tracker with two ways of rotational freedom.

2.7DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING OF SOLAR DRYER

WITHROUGHENED SURFACE SOLAR AIR HEATER
Sandeep Panchal, Satish Kumar solanki, Sunil Yadav, Prof Asim Kumar Tilkar, Prof
Ravi Nagaich

This project research reports the design, construction and testing of a simple solar
dryer with roughened surface with solar air heater. It is designed in such a way that
solarradiation is not incident directly on the agro products, but preheated air warmed
during itsflow through a low pressure thermos phonic solar energy air heater of
size1000mmx500mmx100mm, absorber plate (aluminium) sheet painted black of
size1000mmx500mm and a cover glass (5mm thickness) measuring 1000mmx500mm
allarranged in this order contributed to the heating. Also the result has been tested
with differentarrangement of air resistors inside Like Square shaped, V-shaped,
square & V-shapedcombined. These resistors were aluminium strips. And it is clear

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from the beloved results thatthe combined squared and V-shaped strip arrangement
took less time than else arrangementsand it is quite efficient than the other
arrangements.

DESIGN EXPERIMENTAL SPECIFICATION

1 Design Features of the Dryer:

The solar dryer has the shape of a home cabinet with tilted transparent top. The
angleof the slope of the dryer cover is 24º for the latitude of location Ujjain, MP
(India). It isprovided with air inlet and outlet holes at the front and back, respectively.
The outlet vent isat higher level. The vents have fix covers which control air inflow
and outflow. Themovement of air through the vents, when the dryer is placed in the
path of airflow, bringsabout a thermo siphon effect which creates an updraft of solar
heated air laden with moistureout of the drying chamber. The source of air is natural
flow.

2 Solar Dryer Design Considerations:

The following point has been considered in the design of the natural convection
solardryer system:
a- The amount of moisture to be removed from a given quantity of wet mango.
b- Harvesting period during which the drying is needed.
c- The daily sunshine hours for the selection of the total drying time.
d- The quantity of air needed for drying.
e- Daily solar radiation to determine energy received by the dryer per day.
f- Wind speed for the calculation of air vent dimensions.

3 Design procedure:
The size of the dryer was determined as a function of the drying area needed
perkilogram of pulp of fruit. The drying temperature was established as a function of
themaximum limit of temperature the fruit might support. From the climatic data
(Ujjain MP)the mean average day temperature in April is 30ºC and RH is 15 %. From
the psychometricchart the humidity ratio is 0.0039kg H2O/kg dry air. From the result
of preliminaryexperiments on the crop, the optimal drying temperature was 70ºC and

19
final moisture contentof mango for storage is 10% w.b. the corresponding relative
humidity is 51%(sorptionisotherms equation).

Material and Method:

The solar dryer considered in this research paper is the Distributed Passive SolarDryer
(DPSD) or Hybrid Dryer (HD). Here the product is located on trays or shelves
insidean opaque drying chamber. Solar radiation is thus not incident directly on the
crop. Preheatedair warmed during its flow through a low-pressure thermos phonic
solar energy air heater, isducted to the drying chamber to dry the product. Because the
products are not subjected todirect sunshine, Localized heat damage, do not occur. A
typical Distributed Passive Solar
Energy Dryer is made up of the following basic units:
(a) A Drying chamber.
(b) An air-heating solar energy collector, which consists of cover plate, absorber plate
andinsulator (wood).

2.8 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SOLAR DRYER FOR MANGO

SLICES
EL- Amin Omda Mohamed Akoy a, Mohamed Ayoub Ismail b, El-Fadil Adam
Ahmed c and W. Luecke

Based on preliminary investigations under controlled conditions of

dryingexperiments, a natural convection solar dryer was designed and constructed to
dry mango slices.This paper describes the design considerations followed and
presents the results ofcalculations of design parameters. A minimum of 16.8m2 solar
collector area is required to dry abatch of 100kg sliced mango (195.2kg fresh mango
at 51.22% pulp) in 20hours (two days dryingperiod). The initial and final moisture
content considered were 81.4% and 10% wet basis,respectively. The average ambient
conditions are 30ºC air temperature and 15% relative humiditywith daily global solar
radiation incident on horizontal surface of about 20MJ/m2/day. Theweather
conditions considered are of Khartoum, Sudan. A prototype of the dryer is so

20
designedand constructed that has a maximum collector area of 1.03m2. This prototype
dryer will be usedin experimental drying tests under various loading conditions.

Design procedure:
The size of the dryer was determined as a function of the drying area needed per
kilogram of pulp of fruit. The drying temperature was established as a function of the
maximum limit of temperature the fruit might support.
From the climatic data (meteorological station, Shambat, Khartoum North) the mean
average day temperature in April is 30ºC and RH is 15 %. From the psychrometeric
chart the humidity ratio is 0.0018kg H2O/kg dry air . From the result of preliminary
experiments on the crop, the optimal drying temperature was 70ºC and final moisture
content of mango for storage is 10% w.b. the corresponding relative humidity is 51%
(sorption isotherms equation).

Construction of Prototype Dryer:

A natural convection solar dryer of a box- type (cabinet) was designed and
constructed.A simple box frame 103cm long, 100cm wide and 76cm high at the back
and 50 cm high infront made of angle irons (2.54cm x 2.54cm) was fabricated. Sheets
of mild metal sheet 0.1cmthick were welded onto three sides and bottom of the
fabricated frame.

Glass wool was used as insulator with a thickness of 5 cm and placed above the
bottom mildmetal sheet. A 98cm x 99cm corrugated galvanized metal sheet was
placed above the glass wooland fitted to the bottom of the box by nails and rivets in
addition to wood. The corrugated metalsheet then painted in black as absorber plate.

Two tray holders made of angle iron (2.54cmx2.54cm) were welded in such away to
holdtray inside drying chamber. The lower holder was 15cm above the absorber plate
and the upperwas 15 cm a part.

Masonite sheets of 0.3cm thick were used as insulators and fitted to the three inner
sides ofthe frame. Aluminium foil sheets were glued to masonite and used as moisture
barrier; prevent moisturefrom masonite and to reflect incident solar radiations to
absorber from sides.One panel of a 4-mm thick transparent glass (102.5cm x 99 cm)

21
was glued to the top part ofthe frame with silicon rubber sealant, which allow the
expansion of glass at high temperature.

The glass used was low in iron content (water- white glass) because of its good
transmissivity forsolar radiation. The glass was inclined at an angle of 15 due south,
which is the angle of thelatitude of the experimental site.Inside the drying chamber
there were two movable wire mesh trays that can be placed ontheir holders. The frame
of each tray was constructed from wood with dimensions of (97cm x94cm), while the
tray had a surface area of (91cmx87.5cm) and 7cm deep, with effective area of91cm x
84cm. Each tray was made of wood and galvanized wire mesh.

Fig. Isometric view of the constructed solar dryer.

For loading and unloading of material to be dried, a hinged door was made for this
purpose.The hinged door was constructed from galvanized metal sheet (0.1cm thick),
3cm thick cork wasused as insulator. The door was sealed to prevent air leakage
between the surroundings and thedrying chamber.

Two air vents for ventilation were provided. Inlet air hole (front air vent) located
above thebase of absorber plate; 70cm length and 4cm width, provided with
adjustable cover that has towlevel of opening; full and half opening for dryer

22
temperature control. The outlet vents (rear airvent); 100cm x 10cm was located 10cm
below the back top edge and provided with adjustablecover for dryer temperature
control, it has two levels of opening; full and half opening.The dryer was set on four
casters to make it mobile.

2.9DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING OF A SOLAR DRYER

OLATUNBOSUN SALAUDEEN

The solar drying system utilizes solar energy to heat up air and to dry any food
substanceloaded, which is not only beneficial in that it reduces wastage of agricultural
produce and helps in preservation of agricultural produce. Based on the limitations of
the natural sun drying such as exposure to direct sunlight, liability to pests and rodents
lack of proper monitoring, and the escalated cost of the mechanical dryers, a solar
dryer was therefore developed to cater for this limitations. This project presents the
design and construction of a domestic passive solar dryer, the dryer is composed of
solar collector (air heater) and a solar drying chamber containing rack of three trays
both being integrated together. The air allowed in through air inlet is heated up in the
solar collector and channeled through the drying chamber where it is utilized in
drying (removing the moisture content from the food substance or agricultural
produce loaded). The design was based on the geographical location which is
Abeokuta and meteorological data were obtained for proper design specification. .
The dimensions of the dryer was 94cm x 45cm x 101cm/ 20cm (length x width x
height). Locally available materials were used for the construction, chiefly comprising
of wood (gmelina), polyurethane glass, mild steel metal sheet and net cloth for
thetrays. The optimum temperature of the dryer was 60.5 oC with a corresponding
ambient temperature of 34.50oC. The mass of water removal of 199.9g and 153.6g in
cassava and plantain respectively using the solar dryer was achieved as against 156.8g
and 125.3g in cassava and plantain respectively using the sun drying method and
indicating 43.1g and 28.3g difference respectively, for ten slices of cassava and
plantain dried over a particular day. The rapid rate of drying in the dryer reveals its
ability to dry food items reasonably rapidly to a safe moisture.

23
Construction of the solar dryer

The materials used for the construction of the mixed-mode solar dryer are cheap and
easily obtainable in the local market. The solar dryer consist of the solar collector (air
heater), the drying cabinet and drying trays.

Operation of the dryer

The dryer is a passive system in the sense that it has no moving parts. It is energized
by the sun’s rays entering through the collector glazing. The trapping of the rays is
enhanced by the insidesurfaces of the collector that were painted black and the
trapped energy heats the air inside the collector. The green house effect achieved
within the collector drives the air current through the drying chamber. If the vents are
open, the hot air rises and escapes through the upper vent in the drying chamber while
cooler air at ambient temperature enters through the lower vent in the collector.
Therefore, an air current is maintained, as cooler air at a temperature Ta enters
through the lower vents and hot air at a temperature Teleaves through the upper vent.

When the dryer contains no items to be dried, the incoming air at a temperature ‘Ta’
has relative humidity ‘Ha’ and the out-going air at a temperature ‘Te’, has a relative
humidity ‘He’. Because Te>Ta and the dryer contains no item, Ha >He. Thus there is
tendency for the out-going hot air to pick more moisture within the dryer as a result of
the difference between Ha and He. Therefore, insulation received is principally used
in increasing the affinity of the air in the dryer to pick moisture.

The designed and constructed solar dryer consists of two major compartments or
chambers being integrated together, the solar collector compartment, which can also
be referred to as the air heater, and the drying chamber, designed to accommodate
three layers of drying trays on which the produces (or food) are placed for drying.

In this solar dryer constructed, the greenhouse effect and thermo siphon principles are
the theoretical basis. There is an air vent (or inlet) to the solar collector where air
enters and is heated up by the greenhouse effect, the hot air rises through the drying
chamber passing through the trays and around the food, removing the moisture
content and exits through the air vent (or outlet) near the top of the shadowed side.
The hot air acts as the drying medium, it extracts and conveys themoisture from the

24
produce (or food) to the atmosphere under free (natural) convection, thus the system
is a passive solar system and no mechanical device is required to control the intake of
air into the dryer.

2.10DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF EFFICIENT SOLAR DRYER

R. Vidya Sagar Raju, R. Meenakshi Reddy, E. Siva Reddy

Sun drying is still the most common method used to preserve agricultural products in
most tropical and subtropical countries. However, being unprotected from rain, wind-
borne dirt and dust, infestation by insects, rodents and other animal, products may be
seriously degraded to the extent that sometimes become inedible and the resulted loss
of food quality in the dried Products may have adverse economic effects on domestics
and international markets. Some of the problems associated with open-air sun drying
can be solved through the use of a solar dryer which comprises of collector, a drying
chamber and sometimes a chimney.

The conditions in tropical countries make the use of solar energy for drying food
practically attractive and environmentally sound. Dryers have been developed and
used to dry agricultural products in order to improve shelf life. Most of these either
use an expensive source of energy such as electricity or a combination of solar energy
and some other form of energy. Most projects of these natures have not been adopted
by the small farmers, either because the final design and data collection procedures
are frequently inappropriate or the cost has remained inaccessible and the subsequent
transfer of technology from researcher to the end user has been anything but effective.
Drying may be an interesting method in order to prevent fresh fruit deterioration.
There is spoilage of fruits and other fresh foods that could be preserved using drying
techniques in India and other developing countries. Seasonal fruits like mangoes are
not presently dried for export, or for local consumption during period of scarcity.

25
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The most commonly seen design types are of cabinet form, some types are even
improved making use of cardboard boxes and transparent nylon or polythene .For the
design being considered, the greenhouse effect and thermo siphon principles are the
theoretical basis.

There is an air vent (or inlet) with guide ways to the solar collector where air enters
and is heated up by the greenhouse effect, the hot air rises through the drying chamber
passing through the trays and around the food, removing the moisture content and
exits through the air vent (or outlet) near the top of the shadowed side.

The hot air acts as the drying medium, it extracts and conveys the moisture from the
product (or food) to the atmosphere under free (natural) convection, thus the system is
a passive solar system and no mechanical device is required to control the intake of
air into the dryer. “Here is an additional cabin for heat exchanging at the air exhaust
door”.

“There is a lot of heat wastage at the air outlet, so to accomplish that here we have
one heat exchanger and it consists of copper tubes for water heating system; there is a
hole at the top side of the cabin for air outlet”.

2.11 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR SEED DRYER

MangeshGavhale, Swapnil Kawale, Ramesh Nagpure, V.N.Mujbaile, N.S.Sawarkar

Solar energy is the most promising of the renewable energy sources in view of its
apparent limitless potential. Direct solar energy has been applied to grain drying for
years. The sun and wind dry crops in the field, stack or windrow. Artificial drying has
supplemented this process to increase the harvest rate during inclement weather or to
minimize field losses. This article investigates solar grain drying as one alternative.
Radiant energy from the sun reaching the earth surface is known as shortwave
radiation, solar radiation, solar energy or isolation. The total radiation may be direct

26
from the sun; diffuse, scattered by the atmosphere or reflected, from adjacent
surfaces.

A small scale village level solar dryer for tomato was developed under Yolaweather at
latitude 9°14′ N and longitude 12°26′ E using locally available materials and the
performance was evaluated. On the similar approach we manufactured seed dryer
which is also more useful for drying the seeds, crops i.e. maize, beans etc. The
essence of the dryer was to achieve the effective method of seed preservation and
eliminate the drudgery and product deterioration associated with traditional methods
of open sun drying of seed. This is in view of alleviating the weather limitation
experienced by farmers in crop drying especially for tomatoes. The solar dryer
consists of tray, reflectivewalls and glass roof, a preheating air absorber plate,
innerpanels for removal of moisture and chimney through which air stream passes
across the dryer. Evaluation of the dryer showed a raised temperature of about 470
attainable in the drying chamber. The dryer temperature and drying rate was found to
be higher than the natural open sun drying method. The results showed a considerable
advantage of solar dryer over the traditional open sun drying method interm of drying
rate and less risk for spoilage.

WORKING OF SOLAR SEED DRYER

Drying is the process of moisture removal from the product, or grain in this case.
Since grain is a hydroscopic material which can either absorb or desorb moisture from
the air or its surroundings depending on the difference in vapour pressure, moisture
transferred from a higher vapour pressure, to the lower one. In the sun drying process,
grain is heated by solar radiation thus creating a higher vapour pressure in grain than
the surrounding air. In the same manner, the heated air drying process starts when the
grain is heated (by conduction) when it comes in contact with the air. Higher velocity
air flow in heated air drying has the advantage of reducing the boundary layer of the
grain, thereby increasing the heat transfer coefficient of the grain, as well as
increasing the rate of moisture movement from grain to the surrounding air.
Therefore, the drying rate of a specific kind of grain is dependent on both air
temperature and air flow rate.

27
A typical quality parameter in wheat drying is bread making quality and germination
percentage whose reductions in drying are somewhat related. Drying starts at the
bottom of the bin, which is the first place air contacts. The dry air is brought up by the
fan through a layer of wet grain. Drying happens in a layer of 1 to 2 feet thick, which
is called the drying zone. The drying zone moves from the bottom of the bin to the
top, and when it reaches the highest layer, the grain is dry. Thegrain below drying
zone is in equilibrium moisturecontent with drying air, which means it is safe for
storage; while the grain above still needs drying. The air is then forced out the bin
through exhaust vent.

Allowable Storage Time Allowable storage time is an estimate of how long the grain
needs to be dried before spoilage and maintain grain quality during storage. In grain
storage process, fungi or molds are the primary concern. Many other factors, such as
insects, rodents, and bacteria, also affect the condition of storage.

This work is focused on the available solar dryer’s systems and new technologies. The
dependence of the drying on the characteristics of product remains still as a problem,
for comparison of drying efficiencies of various driers. In this work we design and
developed the Solar Seed Dryer. Also details of construction and operational
principles of the wide variety of practically realized designs of solar-energy drying
systems present.

Two broad groups of solar-energy dryers can be identified, viz., passive or natural-
circulation solar energy dryers and active or forced-convection solar energydryers
(often called hybrid solar dryers). Threesub-groups of these, which differ mainly on
their structural arrangement, can also be identified, vizintegral or direct mode solar
dryers, distributed or indirect-modes. This classification illustrates clearly how these
solar dryer designs can be grouped systematically according to either their operating
temperature ranges, heating sources and heating modes, operational modes or
structural modes. Though properly designed forced convection(active) solar dryers are
agreed generally to be more effective and more controllable than the natural
circulation (passive) types. Such low-cost drying technologies can be readily
introduced in rural areas to reduce spoilage, improve product quality and overall
processing hygiene.

28
2.12 A REVIEW OF SOLAR DRYER TECHNOLOGIES
Ashish D. Chaudhari, Prof. Sanjay P. Salve

Drying is very important process applicable for agricultural and industrial products.
Drying is the moisture removing process from the products. Drying reduces the
bacterial growth in the products. It will helpful for preserving the products for long
time. Solar drying is the oldest method of products drying. Open air solar drying
method is used frequently to dry the agricultural products. But this method has some
disadvantages.
Therefore to avoid disadvantages it is necessary to use the other solar drying methods.
Different solar drying methods are direct solar drying, indirect solar drying, and
mixed mode solar drying. The device used for dryingprocess with application of solar
energy called the Solar dryer. Solar dryer are also classified with mode of air
circulation. In this paper, we studied the various modes of solar drying and
classification of solar drying techniques.

2.13DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM FOR

FOOD PRESERVATION
Abdulelah Ali Al-Jumaah Abdullah Mohamed Asiri Mohamed FadilAlshehri Ahmed
Mohamed Deash Fahd Minajy Al-Hamzi

The solar drying system utilizes solar energy to heat up air and to dry any food
substance loaded, which is beneficial in reducing wastage of agricultural product and
helps in preservation of agricultural product. Based on the limitations of the natural
sun drying e.g. exposure to direct sunlight, liability to pests and rodents lack of proper
monitoring, and the escalated cost of the mechanical dryer, a solar is therefore
developed to cater for this limitation. This project presents the design, construction
and performance of a mixed-mode solar dryer for food preservation. In the dryer, the
heated air from a separate solar collector is passed through a grain bed, and at the
same time, the drying cabinet absorbs solar energy directly through the transparent
walls and roof. The results obtained during the test period revealed that the

29
temperatures inside the dryer and solar collector were much higher than the ambient
temperature during most hours of the day-light. The temperature rise inside the drying
cabinet was up to 74% for about three hours immediately after 12.00h (noon). The
dryer exhibited sufficient ability to dry food itemsreasonably rapidly to a safe
moisture level and simultaneously it ensures a superior quality of the dried product.

Design Procedures
In many parts of the world there is a growing awareness that renewable energy have
an important role to play in extending technology to the farmer in developing
countries to increase their productivity. Solar thermal technology is a technology that
is rapidly gaining acceptance as an energy saving measure in agriculture application.
It is preferred to other alternative sources of energy such as wind and shale, because it
is abundant, inexhaustible, and non-polluting. Solar air heaters are simple devices to
heat air by utilizing solar energy and employed in many applications requiring low to
moderate temperature below 80oC, such as crop drying and space heating. Drying
processes play an important role in the preservation of agricultural products. They are
defined as a process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat and mass transfer.
According to two types of water are present in food items; the chemically bound
water and the physically held water. In drying, it is only the physically held water that
is removed. The most important reasons for the popularity of dried products are
longer shelf-life, product diversity as well as substantial volume reduction. This could
be expanded further with improvements in product quality and process applications.
The application of dryers in developing countries can reduce post-harvest losses and
significantly contribute to the availability of food in these countries. Estimations of
these losses are generally cited to be of the order of 40% but they can, under
veryadverse conditions, be nearly as high as 80%. A significant percentage of these
losses are related to improper and/or untimely drying of foodstuffs such as cereal
grains, pulses, tubers, meat, fish, etc.
Traditional drying, which is frequently done on the ground in the open air, is the most
widespread method used in developing countries because it is the simplest and
cheapest method of conserving foodstuffs. Some disadvantages of open air drying are:
exposure of the foodstuff to rain and dust; uncontrolled drying; exposure to direct

30
sunlight which is undesirable for some foodstuffs; infestation by insects; attack by
animals; etc.

3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

3.1 Block Diagram

31
 Fig 3.1 Block Diagram of Project

3.2 Solar Tracker

Solar Tracker is basically a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the
motion of the sun across the sky ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight
strikes the panels throughout the day. After finding the sunlight, the tracker will try to
navigate through the path ensuring the best sunlight is detected. The design of the

32
Solar Tracker requires many components. The design and construction of it could be
divided into six main parts that would need to work together harmoniously to achieve
a smooth run for the Solar Tracker, each with their main function. They are:

 Methods of Tracker Mount

 Methods of Drives
 Sensor and Sensor Controller
 Motor and Motor Controller
 Tracker Solving Algorithm
 Data Acquisition/Interface Card

3.3 Methods of Tracker Mount

1. Single axis solar trackers

Single axis solar trackers can either have a horizontal or a vertical axle. The
horizontal type is used in tropical regions where the sun gets very high at noon, but
the days are short. The vertical type is used in high latitudes where the sun does not
get very high, but summer days can be very long. The single axis tracking system is
the simplest solution and the most common one used.

2. Double axis solar trackers

Double axis solar trackers have both a horizontal and a vertical axle and so can track
the Sun's apparent motion exactly anywhere in the World . This type of system is used to
control astronomical telescopes, and so there is plenty of software available to
automatically predict and track the motion of the sun across the sky.By tracking the
sun, the efficiency of the solar panels can be increased by 30-40%.The dual axis
tracking system is also used for concentrating a solar reflector toward the concentrator
on heliostat systems.

3.4 Methods of Drive

1. Active Trackers

33
 Active Trackers use motors and gear trains to direct the tracker as commanded by
a controller responding to the solar direction. Light-sensing trackers typically have
two photo sensors, such as photodiodes, configured differentially so that they output a
null when receiving the same light flux. Mechanically, they should be omnidirectional
and are aimed 90 degrees apart. This will cause the steepest part of their cosine
transfer functions to balance at the steepest part, which translates into maximum
sensitivity.

2. Passive Trackers

Passive Trackers use a low boiling point compressed gas fluid that is driven to one
side or the other by solar heat creating gas pressure to cause the tracker to move in
response to an imbalance.

4. PROPOSED MODEL

34
Fig. 2D and 3D schematic of solar tracker

35
36
 5. COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION

1. LDR Sensors

A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal
which can be read by an observer or by an instrument.

Light Dependent Resistor

Light Dependent Resistor is made of a high-resistance semiconductor. It can also be

referred to as a photoconductor. If light falling on the device is of the high enough
frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give bound electrons enough
energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting free electron conducts
electricity, thereby lowering resistance. Hence, Light Dependent Resistors is very
useful in light sensor circuits. LDR is very high-resistance, sometimes as high as
10MΩ, when they are illuminated with light resistance drops dramatically.

A Light Dependent Resistor is a resistor that changes in value according to the light
falling on it. A commonly used device, the ORP-12, has a high resistance in the dark,
and a low resistance in the light. Connecting the LDR to the microcontroller is very
straight forward, but some software ‘calibrating’ is required. It should be remembered
that the LDR response is not linear, and so the readings will not change in exactly the
same way as with a potentiometer. In general there is a larger resistance change at
brighter light levels.

Fig 4.1 Light Dependent Resistor

37
Photodiode

Photodiode is a light sensor which has a high speed and high sensitive silicon PIN
photodiode in a miniature flat plastic package. A photodiode is designed to be
responsive to optical input. Due to its water clear epoxy the device is sensitive to
visible and infrared radiation. The large active area combined with a flat case gives a
high sensitivity at a wide viewing angle. Photodiodes can be used in either zero bias
or reverse bias. In zero bias, light falling on the diode causes a voltage to develop
across the device, leading to a current in the forward bias direction. This is called the
photovoltaic effect, and is the basis for solar cells - in fact a solar cell is just a large
number of big, cheap photodiodes. Diodes usually have extremely high resistance
when reverse biased. This resistance is reduced when light of an appropriate
frequency shines on the junction. Hence, a reverse biased diode can be used as a
detector by monitoring the current running through it. Circuits based on this effect are
more sensitive to light than ones based on the photovoltaic effect.

Fig 4.2 different type of photo diodes

2. Microcontroller

A microcontroller is a single chip that contains the processor, non-volatile memory

for the program, volatile memory for input and output, a clock and an I/O control unit
also called a computer on a chip, billions of microcontroller units are embedded each
year in a myriad of products from toys to appliances to automobiles. For example, a

38
single vehicle can use 70 or more microcontrollers. The following picture describes a
general block diagram of microcontroller.

8051 MICROCONTROLLER

The Intel MCS-51 (commonly termed 8051) is a Harvard architecture, complex

instruction set computing (CISC) instruction set, single chip microcontroller (µC)
series developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems.[1] Intel's original
versions were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s and enhanced binary compatible
derivatives remain popular today.

Fig. Intel P8051 microcontroller.

Intel's original MCS-51 family was developed using N-type metal-oxide-

semiconductor (NMOS) technology, but later versions, identified by a letter C in their
name (e.g., 80C51) used complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)
technology and consume less power than their NMOS predecessors. This made them
more suitable for battery-powered devices.

Important features and application-i8051 microarchitecture

 The 8051 architecture provides many functions (central processing unit

(CPU), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),
input/output (I/O), interrupt logic, timer, etc.) in one package:

 UART (serial port) Two 16-bit Counter/timers

39
Motor driver L293d

L293D is a typical Motor driver or Motor Driver integrated circuit which is used to
drive direct current on either direction. It is a 16-pin IC which can control a set of two
DC motors simultaneously in any direction. It means that you can control two DC
motor with a single L293D IC. Dual H-bridge Motor Driver integrated circuit (IC).
The L293D can drive small and quite big motors as well.

Fig. L293D motor driver

Concept

It works on the concept of H-bridge, a circuit which allows the high voltage to be
flown in either direction. In a single L293D IC there two H-bridge circuit inside it
which can rotate two dc motor independently. Due to its size it is frequently used in
robotic application for controlling DC motors.

Fig. logic diagram of L293D

The H-bridge arrangement is generally used to reverse the polarity/direction of the

motor, but can also be used to 'brake' the motor, where the motor comes to a sudden

40
stop, as the motor's terminals are shorted, or to let the motor 'free run' to a stop, as the
motor is effectively disconnected from the circuit. The following table summarizes
operation, with S1-S4 corresponding to the diagram above.

S1 S2 S3 S4 Result

1 0 0 1 Motor moves right

0 1 1 0 Motor moves left

0 0 0 0 Motor coasts

0 1 0 1 Motor brakes

1 0 1 0 Motor brakes

1 1 0 0 Short circuit

0 0 1 1 Short circuit

1 1 1 1 Short circuit

Table. Logic table of L293D

3. LCD Display

A Liquid Crystal Display is an electronic device that can be used to show numbers or
text. There are two main types of LCD display, numeric display and alphanumeric
text displays. The display is made up of a number of shaped ‘crystals’. In numeric
displays these crystals are shaped into ‘bars’, and in alphanumeric displays the
crystals are simply arranged into patterns of ‘dots’. Each crystal has an individual

41
electrical connection so that each crystal can be controlled independently. When the
crystal is ‘off’ i.e. when no current is passed through the crystal, the crystal reflect the
same amount of light as the background material, and so the crystals cannot be seen.
However when the crystal has an electric current passed through it, it changes shape
and so absorbs more light. This makes the crystal appear darker to the human eye -
and so the shape of the dot or bar can be seen against the background. It is important
to realise the difference between a LCD display and an LED display. An LED display
often used in clock radios is made up of a number of LEDs which actually give off
light and so can be seen in the dark. An LCD display only reflect slight, and so cannot
be seen in the dark.

The dot-matrix liquid crystal display controller and driver LSI displays alphanumeric,
characters, and symbols. It can be configured to drive a dot-matrix liquid crystal
display under the control of a 4 or 8-bit microprocessor. Since all the functions such
as display RAM, character generator, and liquid crystal driver, required for driving a
dot-matrix liquid crystal display are internally provided on one chip, a minimal
system can be interfaced with this controller/driver. A single HD44780U can display
up to two 8-character lines 16 x 2. A 16 x 2 line LCD module to display user
information.

Fig 4.10 2 x16 LCD Display

4. Base frame

We design the base frame using L angle mild steel channel. L Channel- MS Angles
are L-shaped structural steel represented by dimension of sides & thickness. For e.g.
50x50x6 means, both the sides of angles are 50mm & thickness is of 6mm. There are
various sizes of angles which are as follows :-( there are also equal & unequal angles).
Equal angles: - They are angles having both the sides of equal dimensions. For e.g.

42
refer below given diagram, in which both the sides are of dimensions “a”. The L angle
channel has made of two equal flanges having dimensions as follows,

Fig. L-angle bar dimensions

Type Flange1 Flange 1 Thickness Material

L angle 27 mm 27 mm 3 mm Mild steel

The frame is a rectangular shape inverted T stand of dimensions 900 mm (3 feet) feet
height and 280 mm width.

43
 Fig. CATIA drafting of base frame with dimensions in mm

5. Solar panel

Solar panel refers to a panel designed to absorb the sun's rays as a source of energy
for generating electricity or heating. A photovoltaic (in short PV) module is a
packaged, connected assembly of typically 6×10 solar cells. Solar Photovoltaic panels
constitute the solar array of a photovoltaic system that generates and supplies solar
electricity in commercial and residential applications. Each module is rated by its DC
output power under standard test conditions, and typically ranges from 100 to 365
watts. The efficiency of a module determines the area of a module given the same
rated output – an 8% efficient 230 watt module will have twice the area of a 16%
efficient 230 watt module. There are a few solar panels available that are exceeding
19% efficiency. A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power;
most installations contain multiple modules. A photovoltaic system typically includes
a panel or an array of solar modules, a solar inverter, and sometimes a battery and/or
solar tracker and interconnection wiring.

The solar panel available sizes in terms of watt are 10, 20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 etc.

In between those the 20 watt solar panel is sufficient for us to demonstrate the
working of solar tracker. So we select the 20 watt solar panel.

SVL-20 Polycrystalline PV Module

44
 Fig. dimensions of solar panel in mm.

Hardware details

L x W x T - mm 497 x 340 x 22 Mounting Holes Y - mm 200

Mounting Holes X - mm 315 Area – m2- 0.169

Weight – Kg 1.9

Electrical Parameters

Nominal Power – Pmax( W ) 20

Voltage at maximum Power - Vmp (V) 17.8

Current at maximum Power - Imp (A) 1.124

Open circuit Voltage - Voc (V) 21.4

Short Circuit Current - Isc (A) 1.308

Maximum Series Fuse Rating 6 A

Temperature Coefficient – Pmax -0.46 % /°C

45
Temperature Coefficient - Voc -0.35 % /°C

Temperature Coefficient - Isc 0.05 % /°C

Solar Cells per Modules - Unit 36 (9x4 Matrix)

Maximum System Voltage 600 VDC

Solar Cell Size and Type 156 mm, multi-crystalline.

6. DC motor
2.5 RPM Centre Shaft Metal Gear DC Motor

A DC Geared DC motor is a simple DC motor with gear box attached to the shaft of
the motor which is mechanically commutated electric motor powered from direct
current (DC).

Product Description:

Centre Shaft Geared motors specifically designed for robotic applications offer a
wide variety of options. Key features – easy to use and mount, standard size for all
RPM’s, a huge variety of RPM’s available, long durability and very affordable
considering the features. These motors open a wide choice for you in terms of
Wheels and chassis.

Specifications –

 RPM – 3.5
 Shaft Diameter – 6mm (with internal hole)
 Weight - 125gms
 Torque – 12kgcm
 Voltage – 6 to 24 (Nominal Voltage – 12v)

46
  No-load current = 60 mA(Max), Load current = 300 mA(Max)

Features of 3.5 RPM Center Shaft Metal Gear DC Motor

 Gear materials: metal stainless steel..

 Motor types: permanent-magnet.
 Brush-type: Brush.
 Uncommutated motors: Homopolar motors.
 Magnet types:ferrite magnets.
 Torque multiplication: Generate a large force at a low speed.

Applications of 3.5 RPM Center Shaft Metal Gear DC Motor

 DIY Projects.
 Battery-operated toys.
 Disk drives Steel rolling mills Paper.
 Machines Medical equipment.
 Radio-controlled aircraft.
 Automobiles Drive systems Positioning.
 Industrial and consumer actuators Winches Robotics Mixers.
 Robotic projects

6. SOLAR CELL EFFICIENCY FACTORS

1. Maximum power point:

A solar cell may operate over a wide range of voltages (V) and currents (I). By
increasing the resistive load (voltage) in the cell from zero (indicating a short circuit)
to infinitely high values (indicating an open circuit) one can determine the maximum
power point (the maximum output electrical power
Pm = Vmax *Imax, (in watts.)

47
 2. Energy conversion efficiency:
A solar cell's energyconversion efficiency (η, "eta"), is the percentage of
powerconverted (from absorbed light to electrical energy) and collected, when a solar
cell is connected to an electrical circuit. This term is calculated using the ratio of Pm,
divided by the input light irradiance under "standard" test conditions (E, in W/m2)
and the surface area of the solar cell (Ac in m²).

3. Peak Watt:
Solar cell output power depends on multiplefactors, such as the sun's incidence angle,
for comparison purposes between different cells and panels, the peak watt (Wp) is
used. kW(p) is a measure of the maximum (or peak) power you PV installation can
produce when the sun is brightest. It is called the “kilowatt peak rating”.

7. THE GOVERNING THEORETICAL APPROACH FOR

SOLAR RADIATION CALCULATIONS
Sun tracking systems monitor the sun during the day as the sun is continuously
moving. It is well known that the electricity generation capacity of a PV panel
depends on solar radiation exposure which will be provided by the sun tracking
systems in this matter. Solar radiation on a south-oriented sloping surface and on a
two-axis monitoring system surface can be calculated as follows.

48
By considering the correction factor of the solar constant according to the days and
the day number in n year’s f is (1–365), defined as;
δ = declination angle
ϕ = the latitude angle of the region
θz= Zenith angle
αs= Solar elevation angle
γ =Surface azimuth angle
ω = Clock angle
H = Instantaneous radiation
Hn = maximum solar radiation
Hb= Direct solar radiation amount
Hgr= Radiation amount reflected back from an inclined surface
HT = Total radiation amount coming to an inclined PV panel surface
f =1+0:033 cos (360 (n/365))
And the declination angle δ is calculated as,

δ = 23:45 × sin (360 (n284 / 365))

Clock angle ω is calculated with
ω = number of minutes /4
Here, the number of minutes is taken (-) for before noon and (+) for afternoon. For
example, for 11:00, the number of minutes is taken as (-60). From here, ω becomes
-150. Solar elevation angle αs is calculated with the help of equations as,
αs = sin -1 (cos ϕ ×cos δ ×cos ω) + (sin ϕ × sin δ)

Here ϕ is the latitude angle of the region. Solar azimuth angle γs is calculated as,

γs = cos-1 [ (sin αs × sin ϕ - sin δ) / cos αs × cos ϕ ]

Zenith angle θz is obtained as ;
θz = 90- αs
Instantaneous radiation H coming to the horizontal surface can be found as;
H =1353× 1+0.33 × cos (360n / 365) ×cos θz

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Here 1353 W/m2 is the solar constant. The following relation exists between the
radiation intensity coming to a horizontal surface and the maximum solar radiation
(Hn);
Hn = H / cos θz
Direct solar radiation amount Hb perpendicular to the inclined surface is calculated
from [40]
Hb = Hn×cos (θ)
Rb is the ratio between radiation coming to the top of the PV panel and radiation
coming to the horizontal plane and it can be calculated from the following formula:
Rb =Hb / H = cos θ / cos θz
Thus, direct solar radiation amount Hb perpendicular to the inclined surface can be
written as
Hb =H ×Rb
Diffuse radiation amount Hd,p on an inclined surface can be described as,
Hdp = Hd [(1+cos β) / 2]
Hd is the diffuse radiation amount on a horizontal surface and it is calculated as
Hd =kyH

Here ky is the spread radiation rate and it can be calculated as

Ky =1.390-4:027KT +5:31KT2 -3.108KT3
Here KT is the cloudiness factor and it is given as
KT = H / Hn

Radiation amount Hgr reflected back from an inclined surface is given as [42]
Hgr = (H+Hd)×[(1-cos β)ρg] / 2

Hereρg is the surface reflectivity. Total radiation amount coming to an inclined PV

panel surface can be found by adding direct radiation and radiations reflected from a
diffuse and inclined surface.
HT = Hb + Hdp + Hgr

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 8. COMPARISON OF FIXED PANEL VS TILTING SOLAR
TRACKING PANEL
The following parameters were used in the calculation of the net current of a PV cell.
 Saturation current of the diode, I0.
 Net current from the PV panel I.
 Light-generated current inside the cell IL.
 Series resistance Rs, which is internal resistance of the PV panel;
 Shunt resistance Rsh, in parallel with the diode, Rsh is very large unless many
PV modules are connected in a large system;
 Diode quality factor, n;
In an ideal cell Rs is 0 and Rsh is infinite. The net current of the PV cells is the
difference between the output current [25-26] from the PV cells and the diode current
is given by.

I=IL−Io [eq (V+IRs) nkT−1]……………….. (1)

Where V is the voltage across the PV cell, k is the Boltzmann’s constant (=1.38110-
23 J/K), T is the junction temperature in Kelvin, q is the electron charge (=1.60210-
19C), n is the diode ideality factor.

To simulate the sun irradiance at different PV panel’s angle, the effective irradiance
was used. Details of the effective irradiance block diagram can be seen in Fig. below.
The block diagram defined the angle between sun’s incident ray and PV panel. For a
static panel, it is always parallel to the ground that is at 90 degrees (0 degree for
sunrise and 180 degrees for sun set). A simple program was written to obtain the
relationship of the effective sun irradiance when the difference between the sun angle
and panel angle is more than +/-90 degrees. To limit the angle to 90 degrees, the
cosine trigonometric function was introduced in the model to create the zero sun
irradiance when such a situation occurs.

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 Fig. Effective sun irradiance model

SMART TRACKER PV PANEL

The smart tracker panel was installed with two LDR sensors. Assuming both sensors
are placed in parallel with the PV panel, the effective irradiance is similar. As the
results, the smart tracker is unable to perform the proposed sun tracking algorithm. To
circumvent this, the top sensors were positioned flat on the base plate for panel
mounting separated by a shadow making plate which tends to operate two different
sensors so asto track sun’s position as seen in Fig. below. When the sunlight falls onto
the PV panel, the LDR sensors generate different voltages (that is V_LDR_B and
V_LDR_T according to the changes in the sun irradiance) to move the PV panel.

Fig. schematic of panel mounting

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BATTERY MODEL

The lead-acid battery model was implemented based on a PSpicemodel for a lead acid
battery. It has two modes of operation – charging and discharging modes. When the
current to the battery is positive (negative), the battery is in the charging (discharging)
mode. The following parameters were used for modeling the battery.
 SOC1 is the initial state of charge,
 SOC (%) is the available charge.
 SOCm is the maximum state of charge.
 ns is the number of 2V cells in series.
 D (h-1) is the self-discharge rate of battery.
 Kb (no unit) is the charging and discharging battery efficiency.

As SOC varies linearly with Vocb (open circuit voltage of the battery), the
relationship between open circuit battery voltage and state of charge can be
determined using the Table given below.

Voltage in Volts State of Charge (%)

11.83 100

11.54 90

11.45 80

11.39 75

11.27 60

11.18 50

10.97 25

10.76 Completely discharged

TABLE. State of charge with respect to Voltage

53
54
9. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

In order to validate the proposed modeling, it was necessary to compare the

experiment results for the fixed panel with the smart solar tracker system. To obtain
this data, simple experiments were performed. The experiment setup for both fixed,
and tracker system can be seen in Fig. The setups were installed on a metal frame that
was 3 m above the ground. The open-circuit voltage and the current readings were
recorded using a multi-meter connected to the solar cells. The climatic condition
considered for experimental was sunny during the entire test period. The average
temperature recorded was around 30˚C and the local wind speed was broadcasted to
be around 0.8m/s (or 1.6knots) during the tests.
The test was carried with first the solar panel fixed to surface and secondarily with
tilting mechanism as shown in above with DC motor.
The observations carried out are shown below.
TIME IN POWER FOR POWER
HOUR FIXED PANEL FOR
(24 HR FORMAT) MOUNT(IN volts ) SINGLEAXIS TILTING
MECHANISM (IN volts)
08:00 6.38 8.35
09:00 7.50 9.15
10:00 8.66 9.36
11:00 9.88 10.44
12:00 10.12 11.14
13:00 11.40 11.80
14:00 11.18 11.38
15:00 10.70 10.90
16:00 9.65 10.15
17:00 8.23 9.30
18:00 7.66 8.72

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10. FORCE CALCULATIONS

56
The pressure that will be exerted on the solar panel frame due to the wind force can be
calculated by as follows:

F=ρAV2
Where,
ρ=density of air=1.29kg/m3,
A=Area of Frame Surface= 0.3 m2,
V=velocity of air in m/s
The equivalent pressure exerted due to wind force can be calculated by
P=F/A in N/m2.
From the case study of Indian cyclones the maximum wind force attained is 280km/hr
in dhanushkodi cyclone. The wind speed attained in the coastal areas will be higher
than interior areas and so we have taken wind force range from 90 to 210 km/hr as an
average value among various cyclones affected in India to subject it on frame
structure. The corresponding pressure to the wind force is calculated and shown in
Table below.

S. No Wind force (km/hr.) Equivalent pressure exerted (N/m2)

1 90 806.25
2 120 1433
3 150 2238.86
4 180 3225
5 210 4389.08
Table: Pressure force due to wind

TORQUE REQUIRED TO TILT THE SOLAR PANEL

The torque required to tilt the solar panel with frame structure is as follows:

57
  Total mass of tilting system = 1.5 kg (consider structural mild steel system)
 Link length =0.3 m
 Angular velocity of tilting is 45 ˚ in 5min.

 Amount of Torque required for tilting the solar panel:

T=Mgr.sinθ + Iα
Where,
Mg=weight of the tilting mechanism.
r = radius of titling= width of MS plate / 2 = 300 /2 = 150 mm
θ = angle of tilt = 450
I
= Moment of Inertia I= mk2,
α = angular acceleration of the tilting mechanism
For rectangular object the radius of gyration can be obtained as,
k2= 1/3((W/2)2+ (H/2)2)

Where W is width andB is breadth of ms plate on which solar panel is mounted.

W=300 mm= 0.3 m and B=300 mm = 0.3 m.
So,
k2= 1/3((W/2)2+ (B/2)2) = 1/3((0.3/2)2+ (0.3/2)2)
k2 = 0.015 m.
k = 0.1224 m = 124 mm.
To calculate I (inertia of the tilting mechanism)
I= mk2
= (1.5/9.8)0.1242
= 0.002353 kg.m2

To calculate angular acceleration of the MS plate, for Angular velocity of tilting is 45

˚ in 5min.
α = θ/t2

58
 = 45*(π/180)/52
= 0.0314rad/m
On substituting the values in equation 1, we get,
T=Mgrsinθ + Iα
T= (1.5×0.15×sin45) + (0.002353 ×0.0314) = 0.1915N-m

3. Amount of Force required for tilting the panel:

T = F r cosθ
0.1915 = F*0.15*cos450
F 2.4302 N

11. COST ESTIMATION

59
SR. NO. COMPONENT DESCRIPTION COST IN Rs.

1. Base frame L angle mild steel channel. Flange 25*25 1500

mmThickness 3 mm
2. Solar panel 12 volt , 20 watt 2000
3. Tilting plate 300*300 mm MS sheet, of thickness 1.5 250
mm.
4. DC motor 12 volt , 3.5 rpm DC motor 250
5. LDR sensor 5 volt, 5 MM Light Sensor 20
6. microcontroller 8051, 40 pins 1500
7. 8051 board 5 volt power supply, ADC , crystal, LCD 4500
8. Fabrication Cutting L channel into required length. 1500
Brackets to mount plate etc.
9. 8051 electronic Embedded system programming and 2500
programming implementation on hardware
10. Electronic fittings Wiring, power supply, connections etc. 500
11. Overhead charges Purchasing, traveling etc. 1000
12. Labour charges Machining, fitting etc. 2000
17520 /-
Total Rupees

12. FUTURE SCOPE

60
The goals of this project were purposely kept within what was believed to be
attainable within the allotted timeline. As such, many improvements can be made
upon this initial design. That being said, it is felt that this design represents a
functioning miniature scale model which could be replicated to a much larger scale.
The following recommendations are provided as ideas for future expansion of this
project:
• Increase the sensitivity and accuracy of tracking by using a different light sensor. A
phototransistor with an amplification circuit would provide improved resolution and
better tracking accuracy/precision.
• Utilize a dual-axis design versus a single-axis to increase tracking accuracy.

13. CONCLUSION

From the design of experimental set up with Micro Controller Based Solar Tracking
System Using Stepper Motor If we compareTracking by the use of LDR with Fixed

61
Solar Panel System we found that the efficiency of Micro Controller Based Solar
Tracking System is improved by 30-45% and it was found that all the parts of the
experimental setup are giving good results. The required Power is used to run the
motor by using Step-Down T/F by using 220V AC. Moreover, this tracking system
does track the sun in a continuous manner. And this system is more efficient and
costeffective in long run. From the results it is found that, by automatic tracking
system, there is 30 % gain in increase of efficiency when compared with non-tracking
system. The solar tracker can be still enhanced additional features like rain protection
and wind protection which can be done as future work.

14. REFERENCES

[1] Rizk J. and Chaiko Y. “Solar Tracking System: More Efficient Use of Solar
Panels”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 41 2008.

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[2] Filfil Ahmed Nasir, MohussenDeiaHalboot, Dr.ZidanKhamis A. “Microcontroller-
Based Sun Path Tracking System”, Eng. & Tech. Journal, Vol. 29, No.7, 2011.
[3] Alimazidi Mohammad, Gillispie J, Mazidi, Rolin D. McKinlay, “The 8051
Microcontroller and Embedded Systems”, An imprint of Pearson Education.
[4] Mehta V K, Mehta Rohit, “Principles of Electronics”, S. Chand & Company Ltd.
[5] Balagurusamy E, “Programming in ANSI C”, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing
Company Limited.
[6] Damm, J. Issue #17, June/July 1990. An active solar tracking system, Home Brew
Magazine.
[7] Koyuncu B and Balasubramanian K, “A microprocessor controlled automatic sun
tracker,” IEEE Trans. Consumer Electron., vol. 37, no. 4,pp. 913-917, 1991.
[8] Konar A and Mandal A K, “Microprocessor based automatic sun tracker,” IEE
Proc. Sci., Meas. Technol., vol. 138, no. 4, pp. 237-241,1991.
[9] Design, Construction and Testing of Solar Dryer withRoughened Surface Solar
Air Heater, Sandeep Panchal, Satish Kumar solanki, Sunil Yadav, Prof Asim Kumar
Tilkar, Prof Ravi Nagaich, International Journal of Innovative Research in
Engineering & Science, July 2013, issue 2 volume 7.

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