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School of Materials Science and Engineering

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    The Effects of Polycrystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Performance
    (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.