GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF

ENGINEERING JALGAON
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SEMINAR ON

SOLAR POWERED AIRCARFT

PRESENTED BY:- SHAIKH AASIM NASIM

PRN NO. 2001036

GUIDED BY:- PROF. R.B. UMBARKAR

CONTENTS:

 INTRODUCTION
 CONCEPT
 WORKING
 EVOLUTION
 TYPES OF SOLAR AIRPLANES
 SCOPE
 ADVANTAGES
 DISADVANTAGES
 INTRODUCTION

• Travelling by airplanes has been one of the most effective and efficient means
of transportation
• Aviation fuel, the fuel which is used in aero planes is a fossil fuel whose
reserves are depleting at an extremely fast rate and the emissions caused by
such aero planes using aviation fuel is affecting our environment as well as
our ozone layer.
• One of the biggest advantage of using solar powered aircraft is that there
would be no emissions and over the years in the long run the cost of travelling
by air would reduce drastically.
 CONCEPT:

When Sunlight falls on the solar panel, the solar panel absorbs the energy and uses it by the help of inverter which
converts the energy into AC (Alternating Current) or (Direct Current).
WORKING :

• BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPLE:

Solar panels, composed by solar cells connected in a certain configuration, cover a certain surface of wing or
other part of the airplane (tail, fuselage etc.).
This power is used firstly to power the propulsion group and the onboard electronics, and secondly to charge
the battery with surplus of energy.
• MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKER(MPPT):
MPPT method is the method of tracking the incoming sun rays on the solar panel of aircraft wings. As
everyone knows that solar output greatly depends upon the solar irradiance angle.
The MPPT is required to adapt the voltage of the solar panels so that they provide the highest power possible.
• ENERGY STORAGE:
 When the energy production is not constant and continuous, a good
energy storage method is necessary.

 We can list many ways to store energy like energy

Chemical(hydrogen, biofuels), Electrochemical(batteries, fuel
cells), Electrical(capacitor, supercapacitor,superconducting
magnetic energy storage or SMES), Mechanical (compressed air,
flywheel) and Thermal.

• WORKING PRINCIPLE OF
ELECTROCHEMICAL BATTERIES:

 Electrochemical batteries are energy storage devices, which are

able to convert chemically stored energy into electrical energy
during discharging.
EVOLUTION: ON THE 4TH OF NOVEMBER 1974, THE FIRST FLIGHT OF A SOLAR
POWERED AIRCRAFT TOOK PLACE ON THE DRY LAKE AT CAMP IRWIN, CALIFORNIA BY
GOSSAMER PENGUIN

UNMANNED SOLAR POWERED MANNED SOLAR AIRPLANES:

AIRPLANES: • Solar Riser (1979)
• Sunrise I (1974)
• Solar Challenger (1981)
• Solaris (1976)3.
• Helinet (1998)
• Solar Excel (1990)
• Solar Impulse And Solar Impulse 2
• Helios (2000) (2009 And 2014)
• Zephyr (2008)
TYPES OF SOLAR POWERED AIRCRAFT:
SCOPE:

• Alternative fuel for aviation.

• To make use of renewable energy sources -
Solar Energy.
• To manufacture it at lower costs.
• To improve fuel efficiency.
• To reduce production cost.
• To Increase Interest & Scope of Renewable
Energies in Aerospace & Aeronautic Field.
• To demonstrate large scale feasibility of using
solar energy as a fuel source for Aviation.
 ADVANDAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANDAGES DISADVANDAGES
• Renewable Energy Source as Sunlight is renewable • INEFFICIENCY: Since not all the light from the sun is
day after day. absorbed by the solar panels therefore most solar panels
• Solar energy is a resource that is not only have a 40% efficiency rate which means 60% of the sunlight
sustainable for energy consumption, it is gets wasted and is not harnessed.
indefinitely renewable (at least until the sun runs • RELIABILITY: Unlike other renewable source which can
out in billions of years).
also be operated during night, solar panels prove to be
• Solar power can be used to generate electricity, it is useless during night which means youmust depend on the
also used in relatively simple technology to heat local utility grid to draw power in the night.
water (solar plane).
• INSTALLATION AREA: For home users, a solar energy
• Does not emit heat or sound. installation may not require huge space but for big
• Solar energy which is not used during the day can companies, a large area is required for the system to be
be stored in a battery system. efficient in providing a source of electricity.
Thank you