Caracas, 28/04/2010, Aeroblog .- The Solar Impulse is, as the creators define it, a "revolutionary concept leave behind the limits of our knowledge the subject of materials, energy management and the man - machine interface. Is a device on a scale commensurate with its weight and aerodynamic unmatched quality these days, able to resist, despite its lightness to terrible attacks. "
propellers Solar collectors are used to optimize different links of the chain drive and to integrate in a hostile environment both materials pilots, respecting of course, the constraints of weight and resistance.
The energy issue affects the entire project, from the dimensions of the structure to the extreme limits of mass. At midday, each m2 of land surface receives the equivalent of 1,000 watts, or 1.3 hp light. Distributed in 24 hours, the energy of the sun only provides an average of 250 W/m2. With 200 m2 of photovoltaic cells and 12% of total yield of the chain drive, the average power generated by the plane's engines do not pass the 8 hp or 6 KW. It is available to some of the Wright brothers in 1903 when they made the first powered flight. It is with this energy, optimized from the solar panel to the propeller through the work of a team, the Solar Impulse intends to fly day and night without fuel!
PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE CAPACITY
12,000 were selected monocrystalline silicon solar cells of 130 microns thick for its ability to combine lightness and performance. Its effectiveness could still have improved, like the panels used in space, but its weight would have been too big, punishing the plane while flying at night. Being the most critical phase, the project's current major limitation is related to the batteries. Since these are still heavy, forced to drastically reduce the weight of the rest of the plane, to optimize the entire energy chain and maximize performance streamlined through a high aspect ratio and an aerofoil designed for low speeds. With an energy density of 200 Wh / kg, the mass of batteries needed for an overnight flight amounts to 400 kg, ie more than ¼ of the total mass of the aircraft. An improvement in battery capacity would eventually ship a second pilot and the wing span decrease or increase the speed of flight.
STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS
TDOT size of 61 m to 1,500 kg weight of the whole team is a challenge never achieved so far in terms of rigidity, lightness and flight control. The Solar Impulse is built around a kind of frame composite material made from carbon fiber and honeycomb sandwich assemblies. The surface of the wing is covered with a flexible film and the top surface has a coating of solar cells encapsulated. 120 carbon fiber ribs arranged every 50 cm outlined two layers to give the whole aerodynamic shape.
PROPULSION SYSTEM Under the wings are 4 trays, each with a motor, a lithium polymer battery composed of 70 and a management system that controls the load and temperature. The thermal insulation has been designed so that you keep the heat from the batteries, allowing and operating at -40 ยบ C and 8,500 meters. Each engine has a maximum power of 10 hp with a restrictor that limits to 200-400 rpm spin of a two-blade propeller diameter of 3.5 meters.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
The onboard computer system board receives and analyzes hundreds of useful parameters to govern the flight. Provides the operator with information that can be interpreted for decision making, critical data transmitted to the ground equipment and, especially, provides the optimum power engines given flight configuration and state of loading or unloading batteries. The plane is thus able to correct and minimize their own energy consumption.
Article taken from the official website of the Solar Impulse project.
DNA / Aeroblog.
Links:
TDOT size of 61 m to 1,500 kg weight of the whole team is a challenge never achieved so far in terms of rigidity, lightness and flight control. The Solar Impulse is built around a kind of frame composite material made from carbon fiber and honeycomb sandwich assemblies. The surface of the wing is covered with a flexible film and the top surface has a coating of solar cells encapsulated. 120 carbon fiber ribs arranged every 50 cm outlined two layers to give the whole aerodynamic shape.
PROPULSION SYSTEM Under the wings are 4 trays, each with a motor, a lithium polymer battery composed of 70 and a management system that controls the load and temperature. The thermal insulation has been designed so that you keep the heat from the batteries, allowing and operating at -40 ยบ C and 8,500 meters. Each engine has a maximum power of 10 hp with a restrictor that limits to 200-400 rpm spin of a two-blade propeller diameter of 3.5 meters.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
The onboard computer system board receives and analyzes hundreds of useful parameters to govern the flight. Provides the operator with information that can be interpreted for decision making, critical data transmitted to the ground equipment and, especially, provides the optimum power engines given flight configuration and state of loading or unloading batteries. The plane is thus able to correct and minimize their own energy consumption.
Article taken from the official website of the Solar Impulse project.
DNA / Aeroblog.
Links:
0 comments:
Post a Comment