Design of renewable energy based charging station for rotary wing UAVs

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as remotely controlled aerial systems whose range of applications has expanded significantly in parallel with technological advancements. These vehicles, which do not carry human operators onboard, are widely utilized across various sectors due to their superior flight capabilities, low operational costs, and ease of development. However, their operational efficiency is often limited by short flight durations resulting from restricted battery capacities. To overcome this limitation, a renewable energy-supported charging station has been developed to enable rotary-wing UAVs to autonomously recharge during mission execution or standard flight operations. The proposed system integrates photovoltaic (PV) panels powered by solar energy as the primary energy source, alongside a battery storage unit. The conceptual design of the charging station is realized, simulation-based analyses are conducted, and hardware-testing procedures are implemented. The simulation studies include energy flow modeling between the PV panels, battery storage system, and the UAV battery. The autonomous charging of the battery and instantaneous charging status monitoring are performed via the charging pad in the developed system and the functionality is accomplished. According to the tests, the UAV has been charged in a balanced manner via the charging pad, regardless of the landing direction. The proposed system allows the autonomous charging of rotary wing UAV batteries without any human intervention and mission flight.

Keywords

• Charging station
• Photovoltaic panel
• Renewable energy
• Rotary wing
• UAV

References

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