Integration of an On-Axis General Sun-Tracking Formula in the Algorithm of an Open-Loop Sun-Tracking System

doi:10.3390/s91007849

This article is

freely available
re-usable

Sensors 2009, 9(10), 7849-7865; doi:10.3390/s91007849

Article

Integration of an On-Axis General Sun-Tracking Formula in the Algorithm of an Open-Loop Sun-Tracking System

Kok-Keong Chong* , Chee-Woon Wong, Fei-Lu Siaw, Tiong-Keat Yew, See-Seng Ng, Meng-Suan Liang, Yun-Seng Lim and Sing-Liong Lau

Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman,Off Jalan Genting Kelang, Setapak, 53300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 29 July 2009; in revised form: 19 August 2009 / Accepted: 28 September 2009 / Published: 30 September 2009

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

Download PDF Full-Text [2925 KB, uploaded 30 September 2009 11:07 CEST]

Abstract: A novel on-axis general sun-tracking formula has been integrated in the algorithm of an open-loop sun-tracking system in order to track the sun accurately and cost effectively. Sun-tracking errors due to installation defects of the 25 m² prototype solar concentrator have been analyzed from recorded solar images with the use of a CCD camera. With the recorded data, misaligned angles from ideal azimuth-elevation axes have been determined and corrected by a straightforward changing of the parameters’ values in the general formula of the tracking algorithm to improve the tracking accuracy to 2.99 mrad, which falls below the encoder resolution limit of 4.13 mrad.

Keywords: general sun-tracking formula; azimuth-elevation; sun-tracking accuracy; passive sensors; solar concentrator; solar collector

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Chong, K.-K.; Wong, C.-W.; Siaw, F.-L.; Yew, T.-K.; Ng, S.-S.; Liang, M.-S.; Lim, Y.-S.; Lau, S.-L. Integration of an On-Axis General Sun-Tracking Formula in the Algorithm of an Open-Loop Sun-Tracking System. Sensors 2009, 9, 7849-7865.

AMA Style

Chong K.-K., Wong C.-W., Siaw F.-L., Yew T.-K., Ng S.-S., Liang M.-S., Lim Y.-S., Lau S.-L. Integration of an On-Axis General Sun-Tracking Formula in the Algorithm of an Open-Loop Sun-Tracking System. Sensors. 2009; 9(10):7849-7865.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chong, Kok-Keong; Wong, Chee-Woon; Siaw, Fei-Lu; Yew, Tiong-Keat; Ng, See-Seng; Liang, Meng-Suan; Lim, Yun-Seng; Lau, Sing-Liong. 2009. "Integration of an On-Axis General Sun-Tracking Formula in the Algorithm of an Open-Loop Sun-Tracking System." Sensors 9, no. 10: 7849-7865.

Sensors EISSN 1424-8220 Published by MDPI Publishing, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert