Title :
Microcontroller-Based Two-Axis Solar Tracking System
Author :
Oo, Lwin Lwin ; Hlaing, Nang Kaythi
Author_Institution :
Hardware Technol. Dept., Comput. Univ. (Lashio), Lashio, Myanmar
Abstract :
The main goal of this project is to develop and implement a prototype of two-axis solar tracking system based on a PIC microcontroller. The parabolic reflector or parabolic dish is constructed around two feed diameter to capture the sun´s energy. The focus of the parabolic reflector is theoretically calculated down to an infinitesimally small point to get extremely high temperature. This two axis auto-tracking system has also been constructed using PIC 16F84A microcontroller. The assembly programming language is used to interface the PIC with two-axis solar tracking system. The temperature at the focus of the parabolic reflector is measured with temperature probes. This auto-tracking system is controlled with two 12V, 6W DC gear box motors. The five light sensors (LDR) are used to track the sun and to start the operation (Day/Night operation). Time Delays are used for stepping the motor and reaching the original position of the reflector. The two-axis solar tracking system is constructed with both hardware and software implementations. The designs of the gear and the parabolic reflector are carefully considered and precisely calculated.
Keywords :
DC motors; assembly language; control engineering computing; delays; gears; microcontrollers; optical tracking; sensors; solar absorber-convertors; DC gear box motors; LDR; PIC 16F84A microcontroller; assembly programming language; light sensors; microcontroller-based two axis solar tracking system; parabolic dish; parabolic reflector; sun energy; time delays; Assembly systems; Computer languages; Energy capture; Feeds; Gears; Microcontrollers; Prototypes; Sun; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors; DC gear box motor; LDR; PIC microcontroller; parabolic reflector;
Conference_Titel :
Computer Research and Development, 2010 Second International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Kuala Lumpur
Print_ISBN :
978-0-7695-4043-6
DOI :
10.1109/ICCRD.2010.59