Design and Simulation of a Sensor-less Pneumatic Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System in Baghdad City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31272/jeasd.2567Keywords:
Dual-axis tracker, Photovoltaic panel, Pneumatic actuators, Rack and pinion gear, WindAbstract
Fixed photovoltaic panels suffer from a major issue, which is low energy production due to their inability to track the sun. To solve this problem, these panels are installed on systems equipped with appropriate actuators to ensure they remain permanently aligned with sunlight during the day, thereby increasing solar radiation absorption. This paper aims to design and implement double-acting pneumatic actuators to steer a sensorless dual-axis solar tracking system under the worst climatic conditions. To achieve accurate tracking movement, the tracking angles were modeled in this system. The pneumatic solar system is designed using MATLAB/SIMSCAPE. Several tests were conducted under the worst weather conditions in Baghdad to collect data on the system model's input and output signals and evaluate its real-time performance. By modeling the system, specific pneumatic components can be selected to achieve the desired behavior by predicting and optimizing the performance of the pneumatic actuators under load. The results demonstrated that the analytical and simulation models agreed. The findings showed that when the solar panel was angled in two axes rather than a fixed panel, its efficiency increased by 56.4%.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mustafa A. Abdul-Hussein, Jamal A.-K. Mohammed , Wisam E. Abdul-Lateef , Amjad R. Mohammed (Author)
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