SRI MUTHUKUMARAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ME 2453 PROJECT WORK

PLC CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC SOLAR TRACKING
SYSTEM

PROJECT MEMBERS :
S.PAUL RAJA
S.PRABHU
P.PREM KUMAR
V.RANJITH

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PROJECT GUIDE :
Prof. K.BALAKANNAN
Mechanical Engineering Department
SMIT

CONTENTS

LITERATURE SURVEY
OBJECTIVE
TRACKING METHOD
POSITIONING OF SOLAR PANEL
COMPONENTS
DESIGN
WORKING
FAULT IDENTIFICATION
PLC PROGRAM SIMULATION USING SOFTWARE
TRACKING TIME CALCULATION
ANALYSIS
COST ANALYSIS
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION
PHOTOGRAPHY
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
REFERENCE

LITERATURE SURVEY
INTRODUCTION

In our daily life, the need of energy increases each and

every day. The source of electricity is commonly from motor
generators that is generate from the source of coal or other element
of fuel. Another new way in this era is by using solar energy. The
solar energy convert solar irradiation to power that can be used in
common appliance.
The purpose of automatic solar tracking system (solar tracker)is
to follow the sun from dawn , throughout the day , till evening and
again from dawn next day. The process goes on, when there are
clouds in the sky; it tracks the sun once it gets out of it.

SUMMARY OF ARTICLE
Topic

Author

Observed

An efficient low cost solar Meghana sharma,

tracker using
IOSR journal of Electrical
microcontroller
and Electronics
Engineering, volume 9
issue 4 ver.

In microcontroller once
we write a program it
cannot be rewritable but
in PLC it is possible

A simple neural network

M.A.Panait and
solar tracker for
T.Tudorache
optimizing conversion
efficiency in off-grid solar
generator

In this the efficiency of

the solar tracker is studied
using the neural network

Passive solar tracking

system

Asst.prof.Narendrasinh
Passive solar tracking
J.Parmar,Ankit. N.Parmar, System is inconvenient to
Vinod .S.Gautam
use and difficult to
handle.so we are using
active solar tracking
system

Topic
The Cost
Effectiveness Of
Solar Tracking

Author
Zachary Bever, Andrew
best Jr, Dr.Vasundra
Varadan, M.Brandon
Buscher.

Observed
In dual axial tracking method the
solar panel is rotating in North to
South and East to West direction.
But in North to south direction
only 5-8% of energy is produced.
But in East to West direction it
contributes 35-42% of energy.

Design Of a Low
S.Lakeou, E.Ososanya,
Cost Solar Tracking B.O.Latigo, W.Mahmoud.
Photo Voltaic
Module and Wind
Turbine Combination
System

To make the solar source

efficient, the solar panel is placed
in an angle according to the
location. For Chennai, Tamil Nadu
the angle is 13 south. This is
because the suns path changes
according to the month wise also.

Solar EnergyS.P.Sukhatme
Principles of Thermal
Collection and
Storage

The solar energy convert solar

irradiation to power that can be
used in common appliance.

CONCLUSION
From the above survey we concluded that,
The efficient way of solar tracking is achieved by active solar
tracking method other than passive method.
Using sensors in tracking is not efficient in all weather conditions.
On using microcontroller as controlling system it has an disadvantage
that the fault identification in program or in system is a difficult process.
So we decided to use PLC for the process.
We also observed that efficient way of tracking needs correct
positioning of solar panel. It changes according to the location and
latitude. Because of this positioning single axis tracking is enough for
getting efficient results.
Finally from above all we are going to concentrate our project view
towards tracking of suns path and fault identification features.

OBJECTIVE:
In our daily life , the need of energy increases each and everyday.
The source of electricity is commonly from motor generators that is
generate from the source of coal or other element of fuel. Another new
way in this era is by using solar energy .
The solar energy system converts solar irradiation to power that
can be used in common appliance.
The purpose of automatic solar tracking system(solar tracker)is to
follow the sun from dawn , throughout the day , till evening and again
from dawn next day.
Our main objective is to achieve the solar tracking by use of PLC
and fault identification features.

TRACKING METHOD
Our way of tracking method is active tracking method.

In active tracking controller circuit, sensors, timers and

motors are used for tracking.
This method of tracking is efficient than other methods in all
weather conditions.

POSITIONING OF SOLAR PANEL :

To make the solar source efficient , the solar panel is placed in an

angle according to the location.
For Chennai , Tamil Nadu the angle is 13 south. This is because
the suns path changes according to the month wise also.
The other idea is also to avoid the dual axis tracking.

COMPONENTS

Solar panel (12V,10watts)

Frame and base
PLC
DC Geared motor
Pillow block
SMPS
Push button and switches

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONROLLER

A Programmable logic controller is an industrial computer
control system that continuously monitors the state of input
devices and makes decisions based upon a custom program to
control the state of output devices
INPUT

CENTRAL
PROCESSING
UNIT

OUTPUT

PURPOSE OF USING PLC

Microcontrollers are programmed one typically they
cannot be reprogrammed if microcontrollers are controlled by
read only memory(ROM) only rather than random access
memory(RAM), but in PLC reprogramming is possible.

PILLOW BLOCK
A pillow block is also known as a Plummer block is a pedestal
used to provide support for rotating shaft with the help of compatible
bearings and various accessories .
Pillow block is suitable for mounting our shaft in the tracking
system

DC GEARED MOTOR
A gear motor is a specific type of electrical motor is designed to
produce high torque while maintaining low horse power or low
speed motor output.
Common commercial application of a geared motor include
commercial jacks , cranes and many other applications
A gear motor can be either AC or DC electric motor. In our
project we are using DC electric motor because it having high
holding torque.
Our required condition is high torque and low speed.
The specification of the motor is
10rpm,12V,DC motor , torque is 25kgcm.

DESIGN
1
2

1. Geared DC
motor
2. Solar panel
3. Shaft
4. Pillow block
5. PLC circuit
6. Frame and base

SIDE VIEW
(LEFT)

FRONT VIEW

TOP VIEW

SIDE VIEW
(RIGHT)

WORKING:
Sunlight has two components , the direct beam that carries
about 90% of the solar energy and the diffuse sunlight that
carries the remainder.
The diffuse portion is the blue sky on a clear day. As the
majority of the energy is in the direct beam , maximizing
collection requires the sunlight to fall straight onto the panels as
long as possible.
This is where the tracker comes. The tracker is basically a
mechanical device consisting of a DC motor and moves according
to the command from the controller in response to the suns
direction.
The
controller
used
is
programmable
logic
controller(PLC).The tracking is done by programmed timedelayed movement of panel throughout the day. The delay is set in
PLC.

FAULT IDENTIFICATION
While rotating the panel ,if some error occur means the buzzer
will give warning signal.
Fault in motor during operation can be identified , during the
fault we will be alerted with the buzzer sound.
After rectifying the faults the whole system can be reset by
means of reset button.

PLC PROGRAM SIMULATION USING SOFTWRE:

Motor forward rotation

Motor reverse rotation

Buzzer and indication lamp output

Tracking time calculation:

In daily cycle,
No. of tracking position per day = 5
T0 = Forward rotation time
T1=Interval time
T4=reverse rotation time
Position of timings:
1st position = 6.00 a.m.
2nd position = 9.00 a.m.
3rd position = 12.00 p.m.
4th position = 3.00 p.m.
5th position = 6.00 p.m.
Time interval between positions:
1. Total time of tracking
= 12 hours
2. No. of positions
=5
Interval between positions(T1) = 12/5
= 2.40 mins
Forward rotation time
= 2 milliseconds
Reverse rotation time
= 35 milliseconds

ANALYSIS:

CONTACT FORCE ANALYSIS

CONTACT STRESS ANALYSIS

STATIC ANALYSIS OF FRAME STRUCTURE

MODAL DISPLACEMENT ANALYSIS

MODAL STRESS ANALYSIS

COST ANALYSIS:
COMPONENTS

COST( RUPEES )

Solar panel

770

Frame and base

1200

DC Geared motor

1250

Electronic components

2200

PLC kit (Omron Zen PLC)

10000

Total

15240

ADVANTAGES:
Solar trackers generate more electricity than their stationary
counterparts due to an increased direct exposure to solar rays.
There are many different kinds of solar tracker , such as singleaxis and dual-axis trackers ,which can help you find the perfect
fit for your unique jobsite. Installation size , local weather
,degree of latitude and electrical requirements are all important
considerations that can influence the type of solar tracker.
Solar tracker generate more electricity in roughly the same
amount of space needed for fixed tilt systems , making them
ideal optimizing land usage

APPLICATION:
Automatic solar tracking system can be used in all form of
system which uses solar panels for power generation, by means that
effective utilization of solar energy can be obtained.

PHOTOGRAPHY

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:

In this project, the setup was fabricated and the results were obtained
for the various conditions (viz. stationery and tracking) using
Multimeter. The open circuit voltage of the solar panel array is 12V and
the obtained average output during tracking is around 11V. It found that
it is efficient when compared with stationary solar panel mounting. Also
the frame arrangement, shaft and pillow block for contact, static, modal
analysis were carried out using NASTRAN.
In this project, in order to track the solar panel based on the
Suns path, PLC circuit and electrical system have been used.
Specifically, it demonstrates a working solution for maximizing solar
panel output by positioning a solar array at the point of maximum light
intensity. This project presents a method of searching for and tracking
the sun and resetting itself for a new day.
.

REFERENCE
SOLAR ENERGY- Principles of thermal collection and storage
(SECOND EDITION) By S P SUKHATME Tata McGraw Hill
publishing company ltd.
DIGITAL CONTROL AND STATE VARIABLE METHODS
Conventional and intelligent control systems (THIRD EDITION)
By M GOPAL Tata McGraw Hill publishing company ltd.
A Simple Neural Network Solar Tracker for Optimizing Conversion
Efficiency in Off-Grid Solar Generators .M.A. Panait and T.
Tudorache
An Efficient Low Cost Solar Tracker Using Microcontroller
Meghana Sharma Electronics and Instrumentation, ITM University
Gwalior (M. P.) India

WEBSITES
www.wikipedia.com
http://www.haosolar.com/single-axis.aspx
http://www.plcmanual.com/plc-programming
http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/resources/plcprogramming-training

THANK YOU