Spring 2016 Pathfinder Solar Panels Implementation

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13421

By:

Tuong Vu (Sensors, Actuators and Power)

Table of Contents

Introduction:

        Based on the requirements from the customer, the pathfinder must be able to self – charge its batteries using solar panels. This document explains the requirement for the solar panels and physical implementation based on batteries. The  customer  wants  the  pathfinder  to be  able to run for four  hours and  self-charge for eight  hours. Our mission required the pathfinder to  navigate around  CSULB  with the assistance  of Google Tango  Tablet.

Batteries:

        The Batteries  from  older design  are  being used in order to  power  the  motors  system,  pan and  title system, and sensor system.  These Batteries  are Gens ace 7.4V 10000mAh Pd Based  on the the test we  conducted, these batteries are sufficient to support the pathfinder for the mission. The pathfinder draw an  average  of  1.43A  while  operating  at  full load in moving forward and backward, turning left and right, and  stopping.  Equation .1  shows  the  total  time the pathfinder can operate with these batteries.

1

 

2

A DMM is measuring the average current drawn by the motors when the pathfinder is conducting a forwards, backwards,  stop, and start maneuvers.

Calculation:

According to  the  batteries that we  planning to use, the current supplied  by  the  solar panels must be about 640 mA to charge our  batteries from 0V, batteries are drained,to 7.4V.  Fortunately, the batteries  will never be totally  drained to  0V,  but our solar panel are adequate to  charge the batteries from  1V to  3.2 V within 8 hours refer to equation 2 and equation 3.

e2

e3

Solar Panel:

Requirement:

12 Voltage

700 mAh

  

·         ECO-WORTHY 10W Solar Panel 10 Watt 12 Volt PV Solar Module, Solar Cell Panel

·         22 Voltage output

·         450 mAh

   2 X

·         NPower Amorphous Solar Panel Battery Maintainer Kit – 2.5 Watts

·          2.5 Watt, 167 mAh maximum power output

·          22 V output

 

Pathfinder  will utilize both  two NPower Amorphous Solar Panel Battery and ECO-WORTHY 10W Solar Panel 10 Watt 12 Volt PV Solar Module as its charging  mechanism, and  the total current  supply by the solar panels is about 640 mA ( max). Modifying  the solar panels placement on the pathfinder to resemble  the Arxterra logo; allow the pathfinder to be more efficient in obstacle avoidance.

 

logo

Image.1 Arxterra Logo

( Solar Panel  Configuration  will  closely  resemble  the  Arxterra Logo to  reduce  collisions)

 

Source Materials:

  1. https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/solar-articles/solar-info.html ( Tutorial  website for uderstanding the  mechanic ofhow solar panels  function )
  2. http://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Solar-Panel-Watt-Module/dp/B00OZC3X1C ( solar panel  website  for physical  dimesions and electrical  )
  3. http://www.amazon.com/NPower-Amorphous-Solar-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B00A2OJ55U/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1459759847&sr=1-1&keywords=NPower+Amorphous+Solar+Panel+Battery ( solar panel  website  for physical  dimesions and electrical  )
  4. https://www.arxterra.com/ ( Solar panels implemenation.)
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