Novel Approach to High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Stationkeeping

Engblom, William

doi:10.2514/6.2012-3203

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…where e is the energy conversion efficiency of solar cell. Equations (9) to (11) imply that the energy supply rate relies mainly on three parameters: weight, solar spectral irradiance, and energy conversion rate of solar cell. Previous researches 57,58 have found that most of flying animals have a flapping range of 120 to keep good aerodynamic performance.…”

Section: Energy Analysis Of a Solar Cell Fwmavmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Solar cell as wings of different sizes for flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Zhang

2016

International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles

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Currently, the biggest challenge for flapping-wing micro air vehicles is their very short flight duration due to limited onboard energy storage capacity. To overcome this challenge, a concept of solar-cell-flapping-wing micro air vehicle is herein proposed and studied. Thirty-three types of currently successful flapping-wing micro air vehicles (including insectlike, bird-like, and hummingbird-like flapping-wing micro air vehicles) are analyzed to explore scaling laws of flapping-wing micro air vehicles. The influences of wingspan, wing area, flapping frequency, and power on mass of flapping-wing micro air vehicles are studied. A dynamic energy harvesting model of solar-cell-flapping-wing is built up and utilized to formulate energy supply rate equations of three types of flapping-wing micro air vehicles. Considering the averaged ground solar spectral irradiance and today's energy conversion efficiency of solar cells, the variation of energy supply rate by scales is analyzed. Several critical parameters to design an efficient long duration flapping-wing micro air vehicle are suggested.

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Section: Energy Analysis Of a Solar Cell Fwmavmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 In 2010, DARPA funded the Boeing Solar Eagle project, which aims at staying aloft for up to five years at altitudes above 60,000 feet. 9 Although these given examples are all fixed wing versions, they show us a great potential that solar cell could be an effective means to increase flight duration of aircraft vehicles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar cell as wings of different sizes for flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Zhang

2016

International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles

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“…The Global SUAV Market 2020-2024 report states that the SUAV market is expected to grow by around USD 500 million by 2024 and has the potential to reach USD 3800 million by the end of 2033 [9]. In addition, numerous small private firms and large tech and aviation companies have been actively engaged in the SUAV market for a long time to develop state-of-the-art SUAVs, for example, Boeing, Google, and Airbus [10,11]. Equipping proper solar panels on UAVs provides them with the functionality to charge themselves while in the sunshine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigation and Deployment of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Civilian Applications: A Comprehensive Review

Li,

Fang,

Verma

et al. 2024

Drones

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Unmanned aerial systems and renewable energy are two research areas that have developed rapidly over the last few decades. Solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) are likely to become dominant in the near future. They have the advantage of low cost and safe operation features that mitigate the barriers to their use in various environments. Developing effective algorithms for navigating and deploying SUAVs is essential for implementing this technology in real-life applications. Effective navigation and deployment algorithms also ensure the safety and efficiency of SUAV operations. This comprehensive review paper summarizes some state-of-the-art SUAV applications and provides an overview of the navigation and deployment algorithms for SUAVs. Some commonly used energy-harvesting models are described as well. Finally, some interesting and promising directions for future SUAV research are suggested.

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“…These include but are not limited to Solar Impulse I and II, Facebook's UAS-based Internet platform, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Pathfinder and AeroVironment's Helios aircraft, and Boeing's SolarEagle. [51][52][53][54] The advantages of these systems are to provide station keeping 51 and to reduce the environmental impact. 54 Gathering solar energy via photovoltaics can be more efficient than other energy harvesting technologies, if they are used in conjunction with optimized energy transfer techniques, such as maximum power point tracking (MPPT).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A design framework for realizing multifunctional wings for flapping wing air vehicles using solar cells

Holness

Solheim

Bruck

et al. 2019

International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles

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Long flight durations are highly desirable to expand mission capabilities for unmanned air systems and autonomous applications in particular. Flapping wing aerial vehicles are unmanned air system platforms offering several performance advantages over fixed wing and rotorcraft platforms, but are unable to reach comparable flight times when powered by batteries. One solution to this problem has been to integrate energy harvesting technologies in components, such as wings. To this end, a framework for designing flapping wing aerial vehicle using multifunctional wings using solar cells is described. This framework consists of: (1) modeling solar energy harvesting while flying, (2) determining the number of solar cells that meet flight power requirements, and (3) determining appropriate locations to accommodate the desired number of solar cells. A system model for flapping flight was also developed to predict payload capacity for carrying batteries to provide energy only for power spikes and to enable time-to-land safely in an area where batteries can recharge when the sun sets. The design framework was applied to a case study using flexible high-efficiency (>24%) solar cells on a flapping wing aerial vehicle platform, known as Robo Raven IIIv5, with the caveat that a powertrain with 81% efficiency is used in place of the current servos. A key finding was the fraction of solar flux incident on the wings during flapping was 0.63 at the lowest solar altitude. Using a 1.25 safety factor, the lowest value for the purposes of design will be 0.51. Wind tunnel measurements and aerodynamic modeling of the platform determined integrating solar cells in the wings resulted in a loss of thrust and greater drag, but the resulting payload capacity was unaffected because of a higher lift coefficient. A time-to-land of 2500 s was predicted, and the flight capability of the platform was validated in a netted test facility.

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Novel Approach to High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Stationkeeping

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

Solar cell as wings of different sizes for flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Solar cell as wings of different sizes for flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Navigation and Deployment of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Civilian Applications: A Comprehensive Review

A design framework for realizing multifunctional wings for flapping wing air vehicles using solar cells

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