Solaris Project : The Design of a Solar Powered UAV

Abstract: Project Solaris is a unique student project that is carried out at Mälardalen University, Sweden. The project involves all the phases of the development and construction of a solar-powered UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), where every subproject involves a specific assignment in the development-process. The primary task of this project is the investigation of the energy balance for the entire aircraft. In other words, calculating the power that is generated through the solar panels, and the required power to fly the aircraft and operate all the electronic systems. The total thrust from the motors is 6,6 oz (1,834 N) which is completely sufficient to fly the aircraft during cruise-flight and take-off flight. And the provided energy from the solar panels (87,8381 Wp) is enough to operate the motors and the necessary system, including the battery-charging. As a result of these factors, the aircraft will theoretically have the ability to fly “constantly” without the need of landing. The presented data shows the capacity of the aircraft and all the essential parameters. The calculations have been based on the solar-powered UAV Zephyr Qinetiq, due to the fact that Zephyr successfully have managed to fly both day and night. However, the design of the Solaris aircraft has been a little different, regarding the battery and motor choice. But it’s also important to understand that the installation of the exact same components is not fully necessary to achieve the same goal, which is a 24h-flight.