ABSTRACT

Generally domain Aircraft uses conventional fuel.

These fuel having limited life, high cost and pollutant. Also
nowadays price of petrol and other fuels are going to be higher,
because of scarcity of those fuels. So there is great demand of
use of non-exhaustible unlimited source of energy like solar
energy. Solar aircraft is one of the ways to utilize solar energy.
Solar aircraft uses solar panel to collect the solar radiation for
immediate use but it also store the remaining part for the night
flight. This paper intended to stimulate research on renewable
energy sources for aviation. In future solar powered airplanes
could be used for different types of aerial monitoring and
unmanned flights. This review paper briefly shows history,
application and use of solar aircraft. We are focusing on design
and fabrication of solar aircraft which is unmanned prototype.
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
Energy comes in different forms. Light is a form of energy. Sun is
source of energy called sunlight. Sunshine is free and never
gets used up. Also, there is a lot of it. The sunlight that heats the
Earth in an hour has more energy than the people of the world
use in a year. A little device called a solar cell can make electricity
right from sunlight. The dream of flight powered only by the suns
energy or sunlight has long motivated scientists and hobbyists. A
solar aircraft is one which collects energy from the sun by means
of photovoltaic solar cells. The energy may be used to drive
electric motor to power the aircraft. Such airplanes store excess
solar energy in batteries for night use. Also there are rapidly
increasing traffic problems in world and in our country also, so it
is required to go for such small solar aircrafts which can be used
for transporting goods or materials between places at short
distance. Using solar panels there is more space due to escape of
engines and turbines. Quite a few manned and unmanned solar
aircraft have been developed and flown. a 100% clean electric
airplane powered only by solar energy and hydrogen. The goal is
to design an airplane, which will use only renewable energies with
no greenhouse gas emission and also to decrease noise pollution.
There were photovoltaic cells affixed on the wing and on the
horizontal tail supply power for the take off and for on-board
electric supply. An electric engine which is more silent than heat
engines.
Principle of operation

Our basic principle is to use solar power by means

of aircraft. And this thing can be done by solar panels which
cover the whole surface of wing. This panels converts radiative
energy into electric energy. This electric energy is used to
charge battery which drives electric motor. Propeller which is
mounted on motor shaft produces thrust continuously. Because
of this, aircraft is moved and force is produced on wing by
dynamic effect of air which opposes the downward force of
weight. During the night, the only energy available comes from
the battery. A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that
converts solar energy into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
It is very widely used in space application because it allows a
clean and long-duration source of energy requiring almost no
maintenance. Solar cells are composed of various
semiconducting materials, constituting one or more layers.

Solar power conversion into electric energy by means of

aircraft.
It can be done by solar panels which covers the definite
surface area of wings.
A convertor ensures that the solar panels are working at
their maximum power point.
The electric energy is used to charge battery which drives
electric motor.
Propeller is mounted on motor shaft produces thrust
continuously
WORKING OF SOLAR AIRCRAFT?
When Sunlight falls on the solar panel , the solar panel
absorbs the energy and uses it by the help of inverter which
the energy is converted into AC ( Alternating Current ) or
( Direct Current ).

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE SOLAR

AIRCRAFT?
It is important to use Solar Aircraft because the fossil fuels are
finishing day by day and It also release heat which is causing
Global Warming.
 HISTORY
It is manned solar-powered aircraft that was designed by David
Williams and produced by Solar Powered Aircraft Co. The
planning of the aircraft was started in 1979. It first flew in 2014
across the Asia to America. The Helios Prototype solar-electric
airplane was an uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV), were developed
as technology demonstrators under Environmental Research
Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project. Prior to its loss
during flight in June 2003, the Helios Prototype set a world
altitude record for propeller-driven aircraft of almost 97,000 feet.

Their are two types of solar powered airplanes as

follows,

Unmanned Solar Powered Airplanes:

Sunrise I (1974)

Solaris (1976)

Solar Excel (1990)

Manned Solar Airplanes:

 Solar Riser (1979)

Solar Challenger (1981)

Helinet (1998)

Solar Impuse And Solar Impuse 2 (2009)

DESIGN METHOD
The design methodology consists of simple 5 parameters
linked to the design of the airplane and they are as follows,

Solar Cell

Energy Storage[Battery]

Electric Motor

Aerodynamic of Wings

Propeller

MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker)

SOLAR IRRADIANCE
Solar Irradiance is a measure of the irradiance (Power
per unit area on the Earth's surface) produced by the Sun in
the form of electromagnetic radiation.

CURRENT AND VOLTAGE OF SOLAR CELL

 When the cell pads are not connected, no current produced
and the voltage equals V= 0, the open circuit voltage.

When it is short circuited, the voltage is zero but the current

equals ISC.

In between these two points where in both cases the power

retrieved is zero, there is working point, called the maximum
power point.

The current of a solar cell is proportional to its area and

varies almost linearly with the light intensity

MAXIMUM POWERPOINT TRACKER

A solar cell has a working point on its current to voltage
curve where the power retrieved is maximum.

The constantly changing irradiance conditions, and thus get

the highest amount of energy, a so called Maximum Power
Point Tracker (MPPT) is required.

An MPPT is basically DC/DC converter with variable and

adjustable gain between the input and the output voltage.

The input being the solar panels and the output the battery.

It contains electronics that monitor both the current and the

voltage on each side.

POWER STORAGE
 When the energy production is not constant and continuous,
a good energy storage method is necessary.

Different ways to store energy:

1) Chemical (hydrogen, biofuels)

2) Electrochemical (batteries, fuel cells)
3) Electrical (capacitor, super capacitor, superconducting
magnetic energy storage)
4) Mechanical (compressed air, flywheel)
5) Thermal

In the case of a solar airplane, the gravimetric energy

density also called specific energy. The peak power are the
most crucial parameters that determine the choice of the
energy storage method.

Therefore in present case, the electrochemical batteries and

the fuel cells are the two best candidates.

ELECTROCHEMICAL BATTERIES
Electrochemical batteries are energy storage devices, which
are able to convert chemically stored energy into electrical
energy during discharging.

They are composed of a cathode and an anode, made of two

dissimilar metals that are in contact with an electrolyte.

When all elements are in contact with each other, a flow of

electron is produced.

ELECTRIC MOTOR
An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce
mechanical energy.
 There are a very large variety of electric motors that coexist
because of the different supply sources, sizes, torques and
speeds depending on the application.
In the present case, DC (Direct Current or Continuous
Current) motor will be used as solar airplane is designed to
run on DC electric power supplied by a battery.
The advantages of DC motors are numerous:
1. Very precise speed control.
2. High efficiency.
3. Reliability with longer lifetime (no brush abrasion and no
ionizing sparks).
4. Their power to weight ratio is exceptionally high.

PROPELLER
The propeller is a device consisting of a set of two or more
twisted, airfoil shaped blades
The blades are mounted around a shaft and spun to provide
propulsion of a vehicle through a fluid.
It accelerates incoming air particles creating a reaction force
called thrust.

AERODYNAMICS OF WINGS
The design and analysis of wings of aircraft is principle
application of science of aerodynamics.
Once a plane leaves the ground, it is acted upon by four
aerodynamic forces.
Thrust
 Drag
Weight
Lift
The lift maintains the airplane compensating the weight.
The drag that is compensated by the thrust of the propeller.

WEIGHT
There is mass difference between the weight of a
normal aircraft and a solar aircraft. A normal plane weight
560 Tons and A Solar Plane weight 2 tons.
ADVANTAGES
Sunlight is renewable day after day.

Solar energy is free and we save money.

Solar energy is a clean energy.

It does not pollute air.

Solar energy which not used during the day can be stored in
a battery system for night.
We wouldnt have to worry as much about future energy
sources.
People can save money.

DISADVANTAGES
 Collecting solar energy depends on location and weather
conditions.
Only 1 or 2 people can sit in aircraft.

Cost is high.

Solar panels and other collectors take up a lot of space.

May cause hazards to the birds.

Hazards to eyesight from solar reflectors.

We cannot produce solar electricity at night.

Applications
1. As a transport vehicle to reduce cost and to increase overall
profit to reduce fuel cost.
2. Use of free energy means nothing to invest in transportation of
materials and get free transportation after investing in small
aircraft.
3. One main reason of traffic is due to the big and bulky
transporting vehicles so by using small lighter aircraft traffic
problem can be reduce.
4. Fast transportation of materials so some expensive material
can also transport in less time.
5. One kind of solar aircraft is in astrology industries as a
transporting vehicle used to go in space or on neighbour planets.
6. Use of solar aircraft worldwide can make fast development of
countries.
7. Use of Solar Energy as source of energy will increase as
conventional fuels are
reducing drastically.
8. Future of aviation field.
9. Future utility to solve traffic problems.
10. Device used for Astronomical field.
11. Utility of solar aircraft in transporting which can be helpful to
reduce cost of transportation.
12. Lower cost of transportation than conventional vehicles.
13. Lighter in weight and not bulky

LITERATURE REVIEW RELATED TO SOLAR

AIRCRAFT
There is a cruciform wing structure for solar powered aircraft
on which 28 cells are mounted on horizontal wing surfaces. For
maintaining normal to the sun rays wing surfaces with span wise
axis perpendicular to horizontal surfaces. The solar
airplane may of conventional design with respect to fuselage,
propeller and tail or may construct around core with propeller
mechanism near the tips of airfoils. Solar powered aircraft is
capable of continuous flight nowadays. The research activities
carried out till now have been mainly focused on flying wings or
conventional aircraft configurations, with a great emphasis on the
technological aspects. The paper deals with the current state of
art of empower the aviation industry with solar power and the
shortcoming and the future aspect.
[12]The Autonomous Systems Lab has developed, with ESA
program, an ultra-light weight solar autonomous model airplane
called Sky-Sailor. The main goal of this project is to research on
navigation, control of the plane. The airplane will be capable of
continuous flight over days and nights, which makes it suitable for
a wide range of applications.

[13]Energy optimal path planning and perpetual endurance for

unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with solar cells on the wings,
which collect energy used to drive a propeller. Perpetual
endurance is the ability to collect more energy than is lost during
a day. This paper shows two unmanned aerial vehicle missions:
(1) to travel between given positions within an allowed duration
while maximizing the final value of energy and (2) to loiter
perpetually from a given position, which requires perpetual
endurance. For the first one, the problem is of energy-optimal
path planning features the coupling of the aircraft kinematics and
energetic models through the bank angle. The problem is then
formulated as an optimal control problem, with the bank angle
and speed as inputs. The power ratio is used to predict the
qualitative features of the optimal paths. If the power ratio
exceeds a certain threshold, perpetual endurance is possible.

[14]There are the solar airplanes which have a facility to sustain

energy for flight during day-night cycles. Close to the Earth
surface they are useful for transportation and at high altitudes,
they are useful for monitoring and

measurement applications, therefore they are targeted by several

research groups and institutions. Also it indicates that how to
choose the essential design parameters of the airplane for a
specific mission, minding the current state-of-the-art technologies
involved. Solar airplanes using both batteries as energy storage
devices as well as their capability of flying performance-
optimizing altitude profiles can be sized and evaluated in terms of
various performance measures. [15]There is the concept of the
exploration of neighbour planets around the earth. The ground
robots are used but they have limitations. So, an aircraft which
uses sun energy for flying continuously is approach of interests in
this way. The step in this direction was a project of sky-sailor
started in 2004. The aim was to study the possibility of solar
powered aircrafts in the atmosphere of those planets. There is the
result of two years of work on this project.
[18]There is also a solar powered air craft which uses solar energy
to electrolyze on board water to produce hydrogen. All this
hydrogen is stored in various on board tanks making the aircraft
lighter than air. The hydrogen also used to operate fuel cells
which supply power for electrical parts including motor of a
propeller. Further water comes as waste from fuel cells is used to
produce hydrogen. This type of aircraft do not emit any harmful
substance and also flies for indefinitely time. There is a only
problem of leakage of hydrogen and water. [19]The design
features of fuel-less air vehicles and their sensitivity to several
key performance metrics for this class of aircraft are discussed by
Adam M. Wickenheiser and EphrahimGarcia in their paper. They
studied aircraft with wingspans in the range of 3 to 5 m and
Reynolds no in range of 5*105 to 5*106 is considered. New
metrics are showed that are unique to a microwave powered
aircraft and are also useful in the development of its missions.
These metrics are
related to the design of the aircraft, the energy transmitter to the
duration and range of the vehicles missions. In addition an
examination of the strong coupling among the aircrafts flight
performance, power harvesting abilities, and its mission
capabilities is also analyzed. Different wing shapes are showed for
coupling. Also tradeoffs between flight performance and power
harvesting
performance are shown.
Based on the above review, we would like to make an aircraft
which is operated on solar power. In this literature we have
analyzed designs of different solar airplanes invented. Now we will
design modified aircraft which will take very short runway for
takeoff.