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Henrique S. de Sá
Undergraduate Program of Aerospace Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, MG
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Leandro B. Becker
Department of Automation and Systems, Federal University of Santa Catarina, MG
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Guilherme V. Raffo
Department of Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais
Keywords:
Solar energy, convertible UAV, Energy autonomy , Solar cells, Vector calculus
Abstract
This work proposes a methodology to estimate the electric power generation by a photovoltaic array of an autonomous convertible Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), along a known flight path. The methodology evaluates the integral of a vector field through the UAV surface to estimate the power generated by the cells of the photovoltaic array, in each instant of the fight. The models and calculations were performed in the software MATLAB, where were performed simulations of the photovoltaic power generation in the UAV. From an analysis of the power generation by the photovoltaic array and the energy consumption of the other power systems of the aircraft, results were obtained about the increase of the UAV’s energy autonomy due to the absorption of solar energy during the flight.
