(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-05)
Pyronneau, Ponthus
The objective of this study was to investigate the differences
in performance between monocrystalline silicon and
monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells in addition to the
effects on the performance of solar powered unmanned aerial
vehicles. This was accomplished by casting both monocrystalline
and polycrystalline silicon solar cells optimized for the specific
test drone of the study and then observing the differences
in electrical and mechanical performance. Performance
parameters that were examined in depth included endurance,
range, power to weight ratio, lift to weight ratio as well as
power differences between both types of photovoltaic cells. In
addition, examination of how much absorption of solar radiation
occurred within the actual cells, and observation of any other
optical phenomenon were performed. The cells were further
characterized by examining the correlation between the solar
cell microstructure and observed performance. The results of
this study will potentially benefit the fields of materials science,
aerospace, and electrical engineering by confirming that a
cheaper means of fabricating solar cells will yield relatively higher
performance data.