The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation
For unmanned aerial vehicles with long-duration autonomous missions, efficient energy management is critically important. One of the most promising solutions is solar power, the implementation of which requires the continuous orientation tracking of the Sun’s position. This study presents a three-ax...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Drones |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/7/458 |
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| author | Alina Fazylova Kuanysh Alipbayev Kenzhebek Myrzabekov Alisher Aden Teodor Iliev |
| author_facet | Alina Fazylova Kuanysh Alipbayev Kenzhebek Myrzabekov Alisher Aden Teodor Iliev |
| author_sort | Alina Fazylova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For unmanned aerial vehicles with long-duration autonomous missions, efficient energy management is critically important. One of the most promising solutions is solar power, the implementation of which requires the continuous orientation tracking of the Sun’s position. This study presents a three-axis active solar tracking system based on a gimbal mount, providing full kinematic control of the panel in space. A mathematical model of orientation is developed using the Earth-Centered Inertial, local geographic frame, and unmanned aerial vehicle body coordinate systems. An aerodynamic analysis is conducted, including a quantitative assessment of drag, lift, and torque on the panel. Based on the obtained characteristics, limiting conditions for the safe operation of the tracker are formulated. An adaptive control algorithm is introduced, minimizing a generalized objective function that accounts for angular deviation, aerodynamic loads, and current energy balance. Numerical simulations are described, demonstrating system stability under various scenarios: turbulence, maneuvers, power limitations, and sensor errors. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach under real-world operating conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-86d766cc63624edb89b1a67bcaf616e6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj-art-86d766cc63624edb89b1a67bcaf616e62025-08-20T03:08:09ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2025-06-019745810.3390/drones9070458The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical SimulationAlina Fazylova0Kuanysh Alipbayev1Kenzhebek Myrzabekov2Alisher Aden3Teodor Iliev4Department of Electronic Engineering, Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications, Almaty 05000, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronic Engineering, Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications, Almaty 05000, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronic Engineering, Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications, Almaty 05000, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronic Engineering, Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications, Almaty 05000, KazakhstanDepartment of Telecommunications, University of Ruse, 8 Studentska Str., 7004 Ruse, BulgariaFor unmanned aerial vehicles with long-duration autonomous missions, efficient energy management is critically important. One of the most promising solutions is solar power, the implementation of which requires the continuous orientation tracking of the Sun’s position. This study presents a three-axis active solar tracking system based on a gimbal mount, providing full kinematic control of the panel in space. A mathematical model of orientation is developed using the Earth-Centered Inertial, local geographic frame, and unmanned aerial vehicle body coordinate systems. An aerodynamic analysis is conducted, including a quantitative assessment of drag, lift, and torque on the panel. Based on the obtained characteristics, limiting conditions for the safe operation of the tracker are formulated. An adaptive control algorithm is introduced, minimizing a generalized objective function that accounts for angular deviation, aerodynamic loads, and current energy balance. Numerical simulations are described, demonstrating system stability under various scenarios: turbulence, maneuvers, power limitations, and sensor errors. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach under real-world operating conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/7/458unmanned aerial vehiclesolar tracking systemthree-axis gimbaladaptive controlaerodynamic analysiscoordinate transformations |
| spellingShingle | Alina Fazylova Kuanysh Alipbayev Kenzhebek Myrzabekov Alisher Aden Teodor Iliev The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation Drones unmanned aerial vehicle solar tracking system three-axis gimbal adaptive control aerodynamic analysis coordinate transformations |
| title | The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation |
| title_full | The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation |
| title_fullStr | The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation |
| title_short | The Aerodynamically Driven Orientation Control of a Solar Panel on an Aircraft with Numerical Simulation |
| title_sort | aerodynamically driven orientation control of a solar panel on an aircraft with numerical simulation |
| topic | unmanned aerial vehicle solar tracking system three-axis gimbal adaptive control aerodynamic analysis coordinate transformations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/7/458 |
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