CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Phototropy

A Phototrope is a robot that reacts to light sources. To be more accurate, phototropes can either seek or flee bright sources of light. The simplest and most common form of phototrope is the photopopper [7] .Some of the photorollers are as simple as like two solar rollers stuck together. One mechanism for phototropism in robotics is implementation of a light sensor where a direct feedback system allows for interaction with the surroundings [7]. The phototrope analyzes the condition of its environment and decides whether to move into a certain area depending upon the light intensity. Alternatively, photovoltaic cells may be used to provide both feedback control and energy for a phototrope. Clever geometry in construction allows for current yielded by a photovoltaic cell to cause motion in the direction of (or away from) the most intense light source in the robots vicinity [1].

Fig. 1.1: Picture of a Bot that turns its solar cells in the direction of maximum light 1.2 Light Tracker

Sun tracking systems are very effective in increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) arrays, as they automatically align themselves to light [2]. Efficiency is maximum when sun rays are perpendicular to the surface of photocell or any general light to electrical
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energy conversion device.Fig.2 depicts a typical circuit for a photopopper which uses IC1381 for applying a trigger to the base of the transistor. This mechanism can be used as a typical beam bot photo roller. However the components are expensive and lot of power is wasted across the circuit elements. Thus it becomes imperative for us to find better configurations so as to produce the best tracking capability. Light tracking can be used to keep the solar panels of a satellite aligned to the sun for maximum power generation [9].

Fig. 1.2: Circuit diagram of a Photopopper with reset [7] 1.3 Heliostat

Heliostat is an electronically or manually controlled reflecting system of mirrors that generally follows the movement of sun. The heart of device is a mirror which can be oriented electronically or manually to focus the light towards a stationary receiver [3-5]. Heliostats can be of many types. Different varieties of Heliostat Concentrator are shown in Figure 3. 1.4 Problem formulation

Aim of this project is to device a cost effective method to direct light coming from variable angle source to fixed source for any given position. Such system is also known as heliostat. Heliostat can be used to increase the efficiency of a solar based system, as it can focus maximum intensity of light available at any particular instant. Mirror is an essential component of a light tracking system. In our design we consider a plane
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mirror, and proceed with the analysis. We would also require our design to work on light tracking mechanism, hence making the system dynamic. We would mainly concentrate on focusing floodlight placed at a particular angle with the horizontal, on a source such as solar cell etc.Reflection and refraction losses are ignored and we assume that the surface is perfectly smooth and 100% reflective. Since plane mirror results in pulse broadening we would have to use a mirror smaller than the target size in order to achieve better concentration of light per unit area.

Fig. 1.3: Two Dimensional Side View of our setup [5]

CHAPTER 2 DESIGN COMPONENTS

Fig 2.1: Picture of a Heliostat design with various parts shown 2.1 Components for Light Tracker

2.1.1 Monocrystalline Silicon Photocell In order to sense light we will use a solar cell made of Silicon. The Silicon is etched out in straight array fashion across the length of the detector. As photons hits the Doped Silicon it knocks charge carriers loose, and the increased number of carriers decreases the resistance of the device [8]. The schematic symbol for the device is shown in Fig 4.

Fig. 2.2: Circuit representation of two Photocells with middle voltage as output
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2.1.2

The H-Bridge L293D

Fig. 2.3: H-bridge configuration consisting of n and p channel MOSFETS with diode protection To control the motor we an H-bridge. In order to let the current to flow from left to right through the motor ,we have to set P1 channel as low and set N2 channel high .It is our duty to make sure that the gate of N1 is low and that the gate of P1 is high. In other words those transistors must be off. If either N1 or P1 is in a direct path of current exiting to ground, very high current will flow and will in turn damage the Integrated Circuit. In order to make the current flow in the opposite directions we have to make P1 low, N1 high, P2 high and N2 low as shown in table 1. Disaster will occur when we try to drive P2 low and N1 high simultaneously .In this situation we have a direct connection between 12 volts and ground [8]. To turn the motor we simply have to turn of all 4 transistors (gate of P1 and P2 high, gate of N1 and N2 low).

2.1.3 Open-collector TTL Logic Earlier we had taken an assumption that we will have a circuit that outputs 12 volts as a high and 0 volts as low. Unfortunately this does not happen in practice. Standard Transistor Transistor Logic (TTL) uses circuit logic levels of around 3.5 volts and 0 volts. Thus we have to find another option to drive our circuit. That another option is to use open-collector TTL. In these devices, the output that we get is nothing but the collector
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voltage of a transistor. Although low output is still zero volts, in a high output the transistor is in cutoff so the output is equivalent to an open circuit. If we try connecting a resistor arbitrarily between the collector and 12 volts, the high output that we would obtain should be 12 volts. In order to obtain standard logic levels as used internationally, we use 5 volts instead of 12 volts. The resistor should be in the neighborhood of 1k. Easily available open-collector inverter is the IC 7406. The buffer IC is the 7407[8]. We have also made an assumption regarding the power supply. We have assumed that the 12V supply will remain at 12V only throughout the experiment. It is however known that the wall-mounted transformers are rated 12V at 1A - but the supply is not regulated. When there is no current, the voltage has to be substantially higher than the desired 12V.Thus instead of bread board supply we must use the separate (high-power) supply connected to the transistors along with voltage regulator IC.

Fig. 2.4: Input and output Voltage range of a buffer circuit

2.1.4 Geared DC Motor with shaft The DC motor we use in this experiment is brushed servo with carbon slip rings. This type of motor generates torque directly from DC power as supplied to the motor by using internal commutation, permanent magnets, and rotating electrical magnets. Here we attach the photocells symmetrically over the shaft .Photocells are rotated as and when the amount of falling light changes. The speed of a DC motor is directly proportional to the supply voltage, so if we reduce the supply voltage from 12 Volts to 6 Volts, the motor will run at half the speed. But this cannot be achieved if the battery is fixed at 12 Volts.

Also if torque increases, the speed also increases. Thus it is important for us to control the speed using some arrangement so that the motor does not become unstable.

Fig. 2.5: 12 V geared DC Motor with Shaft 2.1.5 Pulse Width Modulation The ON and OFF speed control works by adjusting the average voltage sent to the motor input. Immediate question arises that why we dont simply reduce the input voltage to the motor. Studies have shown that this is a very inefficient to go about our work. A much better technique is to fluctuate the motor's supply on and off very quickly. If the switching is fast enough, the motor only notices the average effect. When we close the switch the motor sees 12 Volts, and when it is open it sees 0 Volts. If the duty cycle of the PWM is 50%, our motor will see an average of 6 Volts. The PWM is obtained from a comparator which shall be discussed later. The time that a motor takes to speed up and slow down under switching conditions is dependant on the inertia of the rotor (basically how heavy it is), and also on friction and load torque [8].

Fig. 2.6: The graph showing the speed of a motor that is being turned on and off slowly

CHAPTER 3 CIRCUIT IMPLEMENTATION OF LIGHT TRACKER

3.1 Aim of the Device We will try to create a Light Tracking circuit that keeps the Photovoltaic Cells aligned with the light source such that equal amount of light falls on each of the Photocell cell . In order to implement the light tracker we used two monocrystalline Silicon photocells and a servo motor that rotated the photocells [10]. 3.2 Design I

Fig. 3.1. Schematic of design I Fig. 3.1 shows our initial design. We had some problems, which we will mention in detail later. Our initial design was very simple using minimal number of components. We had battery of 5V on one end of the first photocell and ground on the other end. A resistor

was also connected at the ground end of both the photocells, so as to provide protection against current overflow. If the same amount of light would fall on both solar cells (photocells), our middle voltage would be approximately 2.5V.We also connected a variable resistor or potentiometer in order to tweak the threshold. In the second stage, we have a comparator that compares the middle voltage between two photocells with the threshold i.e. 2.5V. If the photocell voltage is higher than 2.5V, means more light falls on the left photocell. In this situation the comparator would output 1 and subsequently the H-bridge would send signal to the servo to turn to the photocell group to the left, aiming to equalize the amount of incident light falling on both photocells. 3.2.1 Problems in Design I Initially we were on right track but later we had some technical problems in our design which are discussed below 1. No matter what intensity of light fall on the photocells, the motor would rotate with full speed. This directly implied that no matter even if photocells received slightly different intensity of light, the LM324N would output a 1 or 0 and turn the motor very fast. 2. The comparator generally gives an output of about 3.5V, but we would be happy to have higher voltages of around 12V also. 3.2.2 Proposed Solution for the Problem in Design I 1. In order to solve problem 1, we used pulse width modulation (PWM). PWM allows us to drive the motor with low voltages as well as high voltages. 2. For the second problem we use one buffer. 3.3 Design II As discussed earlier we would try to use Buffers and Pulse Width for improvement of our existing Design I. Earlier we used 2.5V only. However now if we compare the input voltage to a high frequency triangle wave, the output of the motor will be high for some
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fraction of time and low rest of the time. Hence the motor will be periodically ON and OFF. Thus motor will effectively run at an average value as dictated by the Duty Cycle of the output Square wave.

Fig 3.2: Schematic of Modified design II 3.3.1 Problems in Design II 1. Generation of Triangular Wave makes our design immobile which is a big hindrance for mobile dynamic systems. 2. Braking mechanism is not addressed in this design. If equal light falls on both photocells, the motor keeps on oscillating back and forth within the equal intensity light range. This is damaging for the mechanical coupling in case any external application is required. 3. Photocells used work well in dim light conditions but fail to give effective response when the ambient light is considerable.
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4. The system is not self powered which makes it inconvenient for use in Renewable Energy Systems. 3.3.2 Proposed Solution for the Problem in Design II To solve problem 1 we would continue using a fixed DC supply of 2.5 V as threshold. It is much easier to change threshold value according to the ambient conditions in such systems. To solve the second problem we would use Two BIT logic instead of single BIT. This allows us to set the braking and coasting modes according to the BIT combination. We achieve this by using a Quad operational Amplifier LM324N. To solve the third problem we plan to use an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor). LDRs are much sensitive to external light and are much smaller in size as compared to the Photocells. To make the system self powered, we would use a solar array whose axis would be aligned at the same angle as that of LDR.This would allow the configuration to fetch maximum Light for the array. The array can be used to power the circuit itself with some additional storage device for backup. 3.4 Design III

Fig 3.3: Schematic of Final design III

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The above design uses Two comparators to compare the input voltage from the LDR and give a Low or High output. Low out here is defined as 0 and High as 1. When more light falls on the LDR on left, we have Logic 1 at output of first comparator and Logic 0 at the output of the other. Thus, now we have our PNP and NPN transistors on the left as ON and OFF while the PNP and NPN transistors on the right are OFF and ON respectively. This completes the path for current to flow and we have a clockwise rotation of the motor shaft.

When more light falls on the right LDR, vice versa happens and the motor coasts in the anticlockwise direction. Two BIT logic helps us in Braking the motor when equal light falls on both the LDRs.

Comparator 1 Comparator 2 Result 1 0 Motor moves right 0 1 Motor moves left 0 0 Motor brakes 1 1 Motor brakes Table 3.1: Motion of the motor according to the comparator output

The above design was tested successfully and all the requirements were met. The output motor was chosen with a Low RPM and high torque so as to drive any external load. There were some minor problems regarding the alignment of LDR. It was desired that the light incident on first LDR from one side could not reach on the second LDR. By intuition we placed an opaque substance between the two LDRs as a barrier so that the light from one side could not fall on the other. This design change considerably increased the sensitivity of our design and reduced the external interference light also.

The threshold can be tweaked in the above design using a variable resistor. Thus the problem of ambient light can be eliminated by changing the threshold value conveniently. The output logic is sufficient to drive the input gates of H-Bridge L293D.
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Fig 3.4: Complete PIN diagram of the Light Tracking Circuit

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CHAPTER 4 DECIDING THE GEAR RATIO

4.1 Gear Coupling Arrangement As discussed earlier, we have to use three gears in order to effect our desired direction of rotation. The configuration of gears is as shown. The gear with bigger diameter drives the gear with smaller diameter. But driving gear inverts the sense of rotation of the other gear. Hence to maintain the same direction sense we couple the driven gear with another gear of same diameter. This arrangement maintains the net direction of the output shaft in the same direction as that of the light tracker motion.

Fig 4.1: Gear Coupling Arrangement

4.2 Deciding the Gear Diameter ratio In order to decide the gear ratio we look back at the problem statement once again. Our problem demands that we always focus the light in a constant direction, irrespective of the source angle. With the help of ray optics we can make accurate conclusions about the Gear Diameter ratio. From the fig 4.1 we can assume that AOB= Let the rotation of mirror be by an angle of .
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(1)

Then the normal to the surface of mirror will also rotate by an angle COD= and GOH= AOC =COE= 45 0 (2) (3)

Fig 4.2: Relationship between rotation of mirror and rotation of Light Tracker EOG=GOI= 45 0 (4)

Since angle of incident ray with normal is equal to the angle of reflected ray with the normal, we have FOH=HOI This yields HOI=450 - + GOH+HOI=45 This gives = 2 To find the relationship between and we utilize the fact that the tracker surface is always perpendicular to the incident light. Hence BOF=90 0 450 - + + 45 0 + = 90 0 Which gives =
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0

(5)

(6) (7.a)

Hence 450 - + + =450

Finally = 2 Differentiating on both sides with respect to time of eqn. (7.b) we get = 2

(7.b)

(8)

or

In other words, angular velocity of the Tracker is two times that of the mirror We have well established formulae (9) This gives Here D is the diameter of the gear and is the angular speed. tooth and gear connected to

We arbitrarily choose Gear connected to Tracker with mirror with 30 tooth. This completes our design for gear systems.

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CHAPTER 5 CONTROL SYSTEM

The control system is an important part of a design as it helps us identify the stability regions of a design. It also helps us determine the optimum value of various adjustable parameters like gain, overshoot etc. From the control system, we expect to find the % overshoot so we can choose a motor with correct amount of RPM and torque. This will help us increase the sensitivity of the system, which in turn will result in better tracking of light. Also adjustable parameters like gain of the LDR can be tweaked according to the analysis results and we can decide a finalized value for gain.

5.1 Transfer function of DC Servo Motor In order to start with our analysis, we shall first develop the control system of our DC servo motor from scratch [6].

Fig 5.1: Circuit diagram of the servo motor with Inertia Load [6]

Applying Voltage balance equation we get, (10) Also, (11) (12) Back EMF,
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Substituting eqns. (11), (12) in (10)

(13) Applying Torque balance equation, we get (14) And, (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) Taking Laplace transform on both sides (20) (21)

If initial conditions are assumed to be relaxed, we have

(22) (23)

Thus we have our initial design of control system

Fig 5.2: Initial Control system design [6]

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Fig 5.3: Simplified Block diagram: Stage I The above block can be simplified by using the formulae as described below

Fig 5.4: Simplified Block diagram: Stage II 5.2 Transfer function of the complete Heliostat Design The photo-detection circuit and amplifier can be considered as a single gain variable K in Volts/radian. Motor used in this setup is a DC servo motor. Transfer function of this motor has been developed in previous section.

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Since the LDRs act as differential amplifier, we have feedback coming into picture. When unequal light falls on the LDRs we have an error voltage signal that is generated and fed to the motor. The voltage is converted into rotational velocity which changes according to the direction of incident light. Output position is subtracted from the input position. Hence, the control system is negative feedback type. By integrating the velocity we can get the position.

Fig 5.5: SIMULINK model of the Light Tracking based Heliostat design The following equations can be derived from the above SIMULINK model.

E(s) = Error Voltage Va(s) = Output Voltage of the LDR W(s) = Output speed of motor Theta A(s) = Angular Position of the Motor Shaft Theta M(s) =Angular position of the mirror with respect to the horizontal K=Gain of the LDR K1=Gain of the gear=0.5 (assumed) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28)

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Fig 5.6: Simplified Control System of the heliostat with gear gain

Fig 5.7: Reduced Transfer function model of the Light Tracker with coupled Gear 5.3 Step Response When we increase the gain, overall sensitivity of system changes when the input light source position changes. When we increase the gain to a certain extent, system becomes unstable. When gain is low, system is over-damped system. When gain is mild, system is critically damped and for high gain, system is under damped.

Fig 5.8: Step response of the Control System

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CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION
Solar energy when harnessed to its maximum potential could yield approx 500 times more energy than the existing fossil fuel based energy. Yet the field is still nascent and underdeveloped mainly due to low efficiency of conversion. Thus it is necessary to design systems that can maximize the available energy conversion efficiency.

This project is one step forward in that direction. Our design uses easily available components and is implementable within a modest budget. Also, the circuit losses in the form of heat are minimized using appropriate elements. Our project was built within a budget of $15

In this project, we tried to build a light focusing device that reflects the light in a constant direction. Circuit was built in stages. First, we tried to build the Light seeker circuit. Designs were modified again and again. Two designs were modified and finally the third design was finalized.

Light tracker was the important part of the design along with various sensors used. Finally LDR was decided as the light sensor. A light tracker would automatically track the sun for a maximum daily intake of solar energy to supply a predetermined amount of direct current electricity for various applications. It would automatically align itself perpendicular to the Light source.

Our design was initially plagued with some problems. We proposed some solutions, and we finally built a working design of a heliostat with a reflecting plane mirror mounted on the shaft of the bigger gear.

Future work includes making the system self powered, inclusion of a voltage regulator in the circuit design. The circuit is practically implementable and its effectiveness has been demonstrated. Thus the device finally serves the purpose for which it was built.
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REFERENCES
[1]. Rai ,G.D.,Non Conventional Energy Sources',Khanna publishers, New Delhi,4 th edition, February 2008, pp. 173175 [2]. Boyle, Godfrey, Renewable Energy: Power for a sustainable Future, Oxford University Press ,London,2004 [3]. Bent ,Sorenson, Renewable Energy, Second Edition, Academic

Press,London,2000 [4]. Ravindranath N H.et al, Renewable Energy and Environment, Policy Analysis for India, Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi,2000 [5]. Abbasi ,S .A., Abbasi, Naseema, Renewable Energy Sources and their Environmental Impact, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi 2001 [6]. [7]. [8]. Ogata,Katsuhiko, Modern Control Engineering, Prentice Hall, New Jersey,2010 http://http://www.solarbotics.net, accessed March 2010 http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/echeeve1/Class/e72/E72L6/Lab(SolarSeeker) .html, accessed May 2010 [9]. Smith, T., and Jones, M. Control and Power Supply Problems of Instrumented Satellites Stuhlinger, Arsenal, Ernst Redstone, Huntsville, Alabama ,IRE

transactions on Instrumentation., 1956,Vol.5, pp. 1956 [10]. Brown, F. Solar seeker. United States Patent 6443145, March 2002

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APPENDIX I DATASHEET OF IC/MOTOR USED IN THE PROJECT

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