VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING OF THE TRACKING SYSTEMS USED FOR SOLAR THERMAL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS

Abstract

Solar & photovoltaic collectors / panels are products used for conversion of the solar radiation in thermal or electric energy. For increasing the efficiency of the solar & photovoltaic collectors, tracking systems are used; basically, these are mechanical devices for orienting solar systems toward the sun. In this paper we attempt to carry out some aspects regarding the modeling and simulation of the tracking systems by using multibody systems software. The main advantage of this type of simulation consists in the possibility of realizing virtual prototypes of any mechanical system that has moving parts. As example, a dual-axis tracking system, with two degrees of freedom, has been taken into account. The analysis – simulation is made by using the MBS software ADAMS of MSC.