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The paper deals with the modeling and simulation in virtual prototyping environment of a mechatronic solar tracker used for photovoltaic systems, with the aim to increase the energetic efficiency, by maximizing the rate of incoming incident solar radiation. The solar tracker in study is an equatorial dual-axis mechanism, which allows the adjustment of the diurnal and seasonal angles of the PV module in accordance with a predefined tracking program, the actuating sources being linear actuators. The modeling and simulation of the tracking system is carried out by using the MBS (Multi-Body System) commercial software solution ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of the Mechanical Systems).

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This paper deals with the dynamic optimization of the dual-axis tracking mechanism, which is used for increasing the energetic efficiency of a photovoltaic module, by maximizing the rate of incident solar radiation. The study is based on the optimal design algorithm included in the commercial MBS (Multi-Body Systems) software solution ADAMS, through the parameterization of the virtual model, which offers the possibility to perform a series of studies aiming at identifying the design parameters that decisively influence the dynamic behavior of the tracking systems. The global coordinates of the design points (i.e. the mounting points of the actuating sources) are defined as design variables for the optimization process, while the design objectives refer to the power consumptions of the actuating sources.

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