2.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of patents
The US Patent no. 0215199 A1 [2007] by Robert H. Dold describes a two-
axis solar tracker capableofwithstanding the extreme weather conditions.
The solar tracker includes a solar array, a frame, a base, a pivot frame, and a first and
second actuator. The solar array is mounted to the frame and captures sunlight. The base
is pivotally connected to the frame and defines a pivot axis for elevational movement of
the solar array. The pivot frame is also pivotally connected to the frame and defines a
pivot axis for azimuthal movement of the solar array. The base is pivotally connected to
the frame and defines a pivot axis for elevational movement of the solar array. The pivot
frame is also pivotally connected to the frame and defines a pivot axis for azimuthal
movement of the solar array. The first actuator controls elevational movement of
the solar array and the second actuator controls azimuthal movement of the solar array.
The solar tracker is pivotable between a raised position and a stowed position
.
The US patent No. 0308091 [2008] by Ronald P Corioclaimsas an object of the
his invention to mechanically link multiple solar trackers in a large array configuration
so that they may operate in unison, driven by a single motor and tracker controller,
whereby the mechanical linkage system is designed such that it must only be capable of
withstanding the relatively low forces required to effect movement of thetrackers without
the requirement to resist larger wind forces acting on the array of trackers.Another
objectof his invention is to apply the drive principles to various solar single-axis tracking
geometries to maximize the economic performance for each solar tracking application.
Multiple gearboxes can be mechanically linked by drive shafts and driven by a single
motor. The drive shafts may incorporate universal joints for uneven terrain or staggered
configurations. Harmonic dampers can be affixed to the solar panels to decouple wind
forces which allow the use of larger solar panels.

Qiang Xiei’s US Patent No.0051017 A1 [2010] refers to a solar collector which

may receive and direct solar radiation onto a photovoltaic (or, solar) cell. A
concentrating solar collector may also convert the received solar radiation into a
concentrated radiation beam prior to directing the radiation onto the solar cell. In some
aspects, determination of the target tracker position in the second coordinate system
includes subtracting 360° from an azimuth angle in the first coordinate system if the
azimuth angle in the first coordinate system is between +180° and +360°, wherein the
azimuth angle in the second coordinate system is determined to be equal to the azimuth
angle in the first coordinate system if the azimuth angle in the first coordinate system is
between 0 and +180°.

A US patent No. 0293861 by William F Taylor [2009] describes a

conventional solar tracker employing controllable moveable solar panels to expose them
continuously to the path of the sun both throughout the day and throughout the year. For
example, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,930. The system may comprise
of a solar panel array assembly having at least two attachments, a support anchor
assembly for attaching to a surface and having at least two attachments, and a support
structure including a plurality of elongated support rods for securing the array assembly
above the support anchor assembly. Each support rod may be attached at one end to one
of the attachments of the solar panel array and attached at the other end to one of the
attachments of the support anchor assembly.

David D Needelman in his US patent No. 0009284 A1 [2009] narrates a method,

apparatus, process of manufacture for determining the attitude of a spacecraft having at
least one star sensor. The method comprises of the steps of selecting a first reference star
sensor from among the star sensors; designating two stars observed by the first reference
star sensor as a primary star pair; identifying a candidate star pair corresponding to the
primary star pair, wherein the candidate star pair is selected from a star catalog having a
plurality of entries; estimating an inertial orientation of the first star sensor at least in part
from the identified candidate star pair; and determining the spacecraft attitude from the
estimated inertial orientation of a reference star sensor selected from a group comprising
the first star sensor.

Review of Research Papers

Hossein Mousazadeh,[2009], inRenewable & Sustainable Energy, Vol. 13,

1800-1818discusses different types of sun-tracking systems and their cons and pros. The
most efficient and popular sun-tracking device was found to be in the form of polar-axis
and azimuth/elevation types.

Nader Barsoum [2010], Global Journal on Technology, Vol.01, 1985-9406

states thatresearch has proved that solar tracking systemwith single-axis freedom can
increase energy output by approximately 20%, whereas the tracking system with
doubleaxisfreedom can increase the output by more than 40%. Therefore this work was to
develop and implement a solar tracking system with both degree of freedom and which
detects the sunlight using sensors.This Peripheral Interface Controller was the brain of
the entire tracking system, and it wasprogrammed to detect the sunlight through the
sensors and thenactuate the motor to position where maximum sunlight could
beilluminate the surface of the solar panel. This is programmed to detect the sunlight
using the photocells and then actuate the motor to position the solar panel where it can
receive maximum sunlight.

TiberiuTudorache [2012], U.P.B. Sci. Bull,Vol.74, ISSN 11454-234discussed

the performance ofa single axis solar tracking PV panel designed andexecuted by
University Politehnica of Bucharest in cooperation with TechnosoftInternational
SRL.The performance of the equipment was experimentally testedin comparison with a
fixed PV panel.This paper deals with the performance estimation of a solar tracking
PVpanel of single axis type. The studied device automatically searches the optimum
PVpanel position with respect to the sun by means of a DC motor controlled by
anintelligent drive unit that receives input signals from dedicated light intensitysensors.
The recorded data on particular day proved that the solar tracking PVpanel produced
more energy than the fixed one with about 57.55%. Considering the own energy
consumption of the tracking mechanism, the mobile PVpanel becomes less attractive than
the fixed one, the tracking mechanism beingoversized. If higher power PV panels are
driven by the same tracking mechanismthey may produce more energy than the fixed
ones e.g. about 38% more energy in case of a 100 Wp PV panel, under the same
experimental conditions.

J. Rizk, [2008], World Economy of Science Engg. & Tech. Vol.41, states the
potential system benefits ofsimple tracking solar system using a stepper motor and light
sensor. A solar tracking system is reportedly designed, implemented andexperimentally
tested. The design details and the experimental results are discussed. A solar tracker is
designed employing small solar cells to function as self-adjusting lightsensors, providing
a variable indication of their relative angleto the sun by detecting their voltage output. By
using thismethod, the solar tracker is found to be successful in maintaining a solararray at
a sufficiently perpendicular angle to the sun. Thepower increase gained over a fixed
horizontal array was inexcess of 30%.
 Minor M. Arturo W.C.E. Vol. II(2010), had proposed an innovative system
fortracking the sun which is based on the use of a commercial webcam as the sensor
element. An experimental electro-mechanismwas designed and developed to evaluate its
accuracy and efficacy in tracking the sun under different weather conditions. The use of a
commercial webcam as the sensor element allowed avoiding most of the common
problems usually seen with the solar trackers currently under use. One is the high
sensitivity of the discrete elements such as photodiodes or phototransistor to weather
conditions, particularly to temperature and humidity.Thesystem showed an accuracy of
0.1º and high immunity to temperature variations. It demonstrated its ability to
relocatethe sun, as well as extrapolate its position when it is invisible for a period of time.

S. Abdallah Desalination ELSEVIER 220(2008) 669-676has presented a

computerized sun trackingdevice for rotating the solar still with the movement of the sun.
A comparison between fixed and suntracked solar stills showed that the use of sun
tracking increased the productivity to around 22%, due to the increase of overall
efficiency by 2%. It showed that the sun tracking is more effective than fixed system
andis capable of enhancing the productivity. Using the sun tracker increases the water
temperature while it decreases thermal capacity of the water. This increases the
evaporation rate and hence the distillation rate.

M.R.I. Sarker IJMME-IJENS Vol. 10 discussed in his project worka sun

tracker which is claimed to have increased the amount of power generated by the solar
panelthrough tracking the sun and also an experimental study hasbeen performed to
investigate the effect of using two-axistracking system on the PV power output.The
system wasdesigned, as automatic system such that maximum energy would be generated
by the solar panel. This paper presents the design, construction and also an experimental
study of a two axis (azimuth and polar) automatic solar tracking system attached to PV
panels. The tracking system consisted of sensor, microcontroller with built in Analog to
Digital Converteroperated controlcircuitsto drive motor using control software, and
gearbearingarrangements with supports and mountings.
 F.R.Rubio et al., (2007), Energy Conversion & Management, 2174-2184 has
presented a sun tracker that is able to follow the sun with high accuracy without the
necessity of either a precise procedure of installation or recalibration. The hybrid tracking
system consists of a combination of open loop tracking strategies based on solar
movement models and closed loop strategies using a dynamic feedback controller.
Energy saving factors are taken into account, which implies that, among other factors, the
sun is not constantly tracked with the same accuracy, to prevent energy overconsumption
by the motors. Simulation and experimental results with a low cost two axes solar tracker
are exposed, including a comparison between a classical open loop tracking strategy and
the proposed hybrid one.

P. Roth et al., (2004), Renewable Energy Vol. 29, PP.393-402 describes design
and construction of an electromechanical system to follow the position of the sun. It
allows the automatic measurement of direct solar radiation with a pyrheliometer.It
operates automatically, guided by a closed loop servo system. A four-quadrant photo
detector senses the position of the sun and two small DC motors move the instrument
platform keeping the sun’s image at the center of the four-quadrant photo detectors.
Under cloudy conditions, when the sun is not visible, a computing program calculates the
position of the sun and takes control of the movement, until the detector can sense the sun
again. It is possible to use this type of tracker with larger and heavier systems, like
solarpanels and concentrators. Other cheaper tracking sensors could be used.
Digitalcontrol should be used to get higher resolution and better response.

B. J. Huang et al., (2007), Energy Conversion & Management 48, 1273-1280 has
presents a PV design, called ‘‘one axis three position sun tracking PV module’’, with low
concentration ratio reflector. A design analysis of the one axis three position sun tracking
PV module is covered in his study. The analytical results show that the optimal stopping
angle β is about 50°, and the optimal switching angle, which controls the best time for
changing the altitude of the PV moduleis half of the stopping angle, i.e. θH = β/2, and
both values are independent of the latitude. The power generation increases by
approximately 24.5% as compared to a fixed module for latitudes θ< 50°.
Hossein Mousazadeh et Al., (2011), Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol.
133 studied and investigated maximization of collected energy from an on-board PV
array, on a solar assist plug-in hybrid electric tractor (SAPHT). A sun-tracking system
was designed and installed. Considering the mobile structure above the SAPHT,
designing a time and date independent sun-tracker was desired. Using four light
dependent resistive sensors a sun-tracking system on a mobile structure was constructed
and evaluated. The experimental tests using the sun-tracking system showed that 30%
more energy was collected in comparison to that of the horizontally fixed mode. The
overall surface area of the PV array was approximately 6 m 2 and the peak output power
was 540 Wp. Four LDR sensors were used to sense the direct beams of sun. Each pair of
LDRs was separated by an obstruction as a shading device. A microcontroller based
electronic drive board was used as an interface between the hardware and the software.
For driving of each motor, a power MOSFETwas used to control the actuators. The
experimental results indicated that the designed system was very robust and effective.
Typically, test results in April illustrated that sun-tracking system as compared to the
horizontally fixed mode, enhanced collected energy by about 30%.

Okpeki U.K.et. Al.,International Journal of Engineering & Science Vol. 2 (2013)

PP. 32-38, describes the design and construction of a bi-directional solar tracking system.
The constructed device was implemented by integrating it with 900V inverter and
12volts, 100AH battery. The amount of power available from a photovoltaic panel is
determined by three parameters, the type and area of the materials, the intensity of the
sunlight and the wavelength of the sunlight. With advancement in solar panel technology,
parameter one, the type and area of the material had been fully improved upon and
standardized. In this research work the other two parameters were fully addressed, as this
device ensures maximum intensity of sun rays hitting the surface of the panel from
sunrise to sunset. Test showed that power used by tracker system is less than the power
gain by tracking the sun accurately. The most important conclusion of this research is the
total cost of construction of the tracker system is very low.
 Ashraf Balabel et al., (2013), International Journal of Control, Automation and
Systems 26 2165–8285, reports on design and testing of control system to achieve
optimal operational efficiency of solar photovoltaic module using a mathematical
analysis. The proposed solar tracking system design was tested, based on calculated data
of the altitude angle at Taifcity, Saudi Arabia. The obtained system response results show
the simplicity, accuracy and applicability of design in meeting different operational
conditions.It is shown that the sun tracking algorithm can be classified into closed-loop
and open-loop systems, according to its control mode. Each system acquires relative
advantages/disadvantages which strongly affect their performance.

K.S. Madhu et al., (2012) International Journal of Scientific & Engineering

Research vol. 3, 2229–5518, states that a single axis tracker tracks the sun east to west,
and a two-axis tracker tracks the daily east to west movement of the sun and the seasonal
declination movement of the sun.Concentrates solar power systems use lenses or mirrors
and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts
light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. Solar power is the conversion of
sunlight into electricity.Test results indicate that the increase in power efficiency of
tracking solar plate in normal days is 26 to 38% compared to fixed plate. And during
cloudy or rainy days it’s varies at any level.

Omar Badran et al., (2013)IJMMME Vol. 1, EISSN 2320-4060,discuses about new

innovative tracking approach of water distillation taking advantage of high possible
concentration of parabolic trough collector. Through the use of Image Processing
Technique to catch the core of the sun as the target and using artificial intelligence
techniques to predict the sun position in abnormal climatic conditions.

Sanjay Sharma, (2012), International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research

& Studies Vol. 1 (2012): 162-166, the research study is on development and performance
evaluation of a solar thermal collector that warms up air as transferring medium of heat
for drying of grains. The statistical analysis showed that increase 1 in mass flow rate
significantly (P > 0.003) increases the performance of the solar collector. Also there was
decrease in performance by the change of months of year. The efficiency was 10% higher
in November 2011 as compared to January 2012. It was concluded that for drying of
grains the solar thermal collector must be operated at high mass flow rates of air from
9:00 am to 4:00 pm to get maximum performance from the solar thermal collector used
for grain drying.

Mohsen Taherbaneh (2010), International Journal of Photo energy, Article

312580is concerned with method based on simultaneous use of two fuzzy controllers
developed in order to maximize the generated output power of a solar panel in a
photovoltaic system, a fuzzy-based sun tracking and maximum power point tracking.
Three methods to maximize the output power of a solar panel were employed here.
Fuzzy-basedmaximum power point tracking was the first technique.It is observedthat by
use of the technique, approximately23W was obtained during the measurement time,
which is about 51 percent of the nominal output power. In the secondmethod,fuzzy-based
sun tracking was applied and it is observed thatapproximately 11W was obtained during
the measurement period, which is about 24.5 % of the nominal output power. The result
is expected because sun tracking was only employed without maximum power point
tracking andso a small amount of the nominal power was obtained from the solar panel.
Finally, the combination of fuzzybasedmaximum power point tracking and fuzzy-based
suntracking was used to maximize the output power. It was seen that by simultaneous use
of those techniques, the outputpower could reach 35W, which is about 78% of the
nominal output power.

L. Kancevica et al., (2012), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Vol.

2012, noted that a cause of sun tracking device, solar radiation were continuously striking
perpendicular on the flat plate collector, which ultimately produced average 1.4 times
more heat energy in comparison with stationary collector of the same size.

Gagari Deb et al., (2012), International Journal of Computer & Electrical

Engineering, Vol.4 2012, deals with the design and execution of a solar tracker system
dedicated to the PV conversion panels. His proposed single axissolar tracker device is to
ensureoptimum conversion of solar energy into electricity by sun tracking. Theoperation
of the experimental model of the device is based on a stepper motor intelligently
controlled by a dedicated drive unitthat moves a mini PV panel according to the signals
received from two simple but efficient light sensors.A Labview program is claimed tom
to have increased the efficiency of the solar panel.

Ahmed Rhif et al., (2012), International Journal of Control Theory & Computer
Modeling Vol.2, review the literature on tracking process for the dual axis sun tracker by
a sliding mode control law. The sun tracker considered inthis study has two degrees of
freedom and is significant due to lack of sensors. In this way, the tracker will have a set
of sun positions at every second during the day for a period of fiveyears. After sunset, the
tracker goes back to the initial position corresponding to sunrise.Experimental
measurements show that this autonomic dual axis sun tracker increases the power
production by over 40%.Experimental results showthe effectiveness of the sliding mode
control in the tracking process, its robustness and the high estimation quality of the
sliding mode observer.

Ahmed Abu Hanieh (2009), GCREEDER, Amman-Jordan 2009 highlights need

for sun tracking for solar panels in the desert regions to improve the efficiency of the
photovoltaic panels. Two degrees of freedom orientation is feasible and can be done
using part of the power output of the solar panel. Kinematics of the system are simple
andcan easily be controlled using astronomicgeometric calculations taking into account
thesymmetry of the system. Dynamics show that the orientation system behaves like a
low-pass filter which facilitates the pointing operation. To solve the problem of cloudy
days, closed-loop control can be added to the system by using solar tracking sensors and
feedback control loops. Aspecial care should be taken in the design of the grid
arrangement of panels in the collecting plant.A specific architecture and arrangement of
panels in the collecting grid is proposed at the end of the document.
 Md. Tanvir Arafat Khan et al., (2010), ICECE-2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh
have described a microcontroller based design which consists of light dependent
resistors as sensor, to be used as a tracking mechanism for PV Panels, of which
one prototype is also constructed. The prototype represents a method for tracking
the sun in both normal and bad weather condition. Moreover, the tracker can
initialize the starting position by itself which reduces the need of any more photo
resistor.

K. Sreenivasa Rao et al., (2012),IJMER Vol. 2, 2012, 2249-6645

describes a project using ARM7TDMI processor, which does the job of fetching
input from sensor and gives command to the motor to track the sun. The
monitoring controller based on the closed loop algorithm is designed and
implemented with ARM7 TDMI processor based LPC2148 controller in
embedded system domain. Because of this maximum current is obtained from
solar panel to maximize the energy production.

Bhavesh Pandey (2012), IJIRSET, 2012, Vol. 1, discusses a system using a

Programmable system on chip device to control a small model of solar tracker.
Voltage across the solar panel and a photo resistor is fed as an inputto the
PSoC(Programmable System on Chip) to be processed and the output is fed to the
geared DC motor.One microcontroller can be used to control many solarpanels;
only correct information needs to be sent. Efficiency is increased almost by a
factor of 2.

Mostefa Ghassoul, (2013), IJETAE, Vol. 3, No. 5, 2250-2459, describes

in his paper design, construction and testing of a cost effective intelligent sun
tracking system to extract maximum solar energy.It is designed to be driven by a
microchip PIC 18F452 micro controller. The system is based on two mechanisms.
The first one is the search mechanism (PILOT) which locates the position of the
sun. The second mechanism (intelligent PANELS) aligns itself with the PILOT
only if maximum energy possible could be extracted.