Flexible High-Efficiency Corrugated Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells for Application in Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Payload Transportation
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) DivisionElectrical Engineering Program
Integrated Nanotechnology Lab
Date
2020-08-17Online Publication Date
2020-08-17Print Publication Date
2020-11Embargo End Date
2022-07-21Submitted Date
2020-07-21Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/664582
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In recent years, small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) have proven to be exceptionally useful. However, most of the commercially available drones are electric powered and therefore have a short endurance. Solar powered UAVs have recently received increased attention due to their ability to fly continuously for several days using solar energy. For this purpose, solar cells must show high-efficiency, lightweight and ultra-flexibility in order to be fully compliant to the drone wings/body and avoid degrading its aerodynamic characteristics. Nevertheless, previous demonstrations used rigid/semi-flexible cells. Here, corrugated ultra-flexible silicon solar cells (19% efficiency) with a smaller specific weight (645 g/m2, encapsulated) are considered and used. A theoretical comparison between the performances of the corrugated vs. commercial semi-flexible cells is performed in terms of flight endurance in “AtlantikSolar” UAV. The results show that due to the ultra-lightweight of the corrugated cells and their ability to expand at higher temperatures without bowing, an enhancement in the flight time up to 19% can be achieved compared to the commercial cells which enables heavier payloads (7 lbs) transportation. Finally, the corrugated cells (12.5 cm by 4 cm) are experimentally tested on a small-sized drone under different conditions indoors and a 10% extended flight is reported.Citation
El-Atab, N., Khan, S. M., & Hussain, M. M. (2020). Flexible High-Efficiency Corrugated Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells for Application in Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Payload Transportation. Energy Technology. doi:10.1002/ente.202000670Sponsors
The work is supported by the Lockheed Martin and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR).Publisher
WileyJournal
Energy TechnologyAdditional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ente.202000670ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/ente.202000670