Removal of Dust from the Solar Panel Surface using Mechanical Vibrator

Abstract

Soiling and its effect on the performance of solar modules are generally of high concern for regions with a high deposition of dust and low frequency and less intensity of rainfall. The procedure of removing dust using traditional methods is capital and labour intensive. Additionally, most of the cleaning methods consumed power from the energy produced by the solar system. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of vibration magnitude on the dust removal index of solar panel. In this work, wind energy was transformed into mechanical energy i.e. vibration. The mechanical vibrator attached to a panel produced harmonic excitation force to overcome the adhesive force between the dust particles and the surface of the solar panel. The generated vibration force has a linear relationship with the air velocity. This new designed and fabricated system was able to remove 3.5 gram of dust out of 5 grams on the panel with a vibration force of 3.128 N at a tilt angle of 15°. The new system has effectively proven that wind energy if being converted into vibration force can be used for dust removal from the solar panel surface.

Numerical Analysis for Solar Panel Subjected with an External Force to Overcome Adhesive Force in Desert Areas

“…Vibration response of the solar panel, which subjected to an external excitation force, figure out the desired position for this force and verified with experimental work of Osam et al, [17] are the main objectives of the current study, where the simulation achieved the solar panel surface not including the supporting structure for it. The maximum force absorbed from Osam et al, [17] is 7.87 N at wind speed 5 m/sec.…”

“…Vibration response of the solar panel, which subjected to an external excitation force, figure out the desired position for this force and verified with experimental work of Osam et al, [17] are the main objectives of the current study, where the simulation achieved the solar panel surface not including the supporting structure for it. The maximum force absorbed from Osam et al, [17] is 7.87 N at wind speed 5 m/sec. Therefore ANSYS software was applied to achieve numerical simulation by evaluating solar panel vibration response with excitation force values (2, 4, 6, and 10 Newton) where 15 Newton also applied to be more trusted because wind speed reaching more than 10 m/sec as mention in previous studies [18][19] studies.…”

“…External force subjected at solar panel bottom surface causing a deformation on the upper surface or it. Comparison between experiments and numerical was done according to the values of excitation force which absorbed from Attia et al, [17] study, where the force values are 1.71, 3.25, 4.79, 6.33 and 7.87 Newton. Hence, these values applied in numerical analysis and camper the deformation values that appear at the panel surface with experimental values by used manual handling, vibration meter as shown in Figure 10, verification results as shown in Figure 11 are close to 94% and the average deformation values of testing points are 0.07 mm to 1.5 mm.…”

Electronic thygmonasty model in Mimosa pudica biomimetic robot

“…On the other hand, solar panels' operation is often constrained by the accumulation of dust and other objects that can reduce the efficiency of material performance and may damage the material system. Various attempts have been made to overcome these disturbances, for example using a modular robot for cleaning solar panels, adding vibration actuators on the solar panels, and applying charge induction on the panels to remove sand and dust contamination as efforts to replace the role of using clean water which is very limited in desert areas [3][4][5]. In addition, the use of solar panels equipped with environmental parameter sensors in a device requires additional protection to avoid contact with harmful or unwanted objects in the form of shields such as a hollow plastic shield on the temperature-humidity sensor and a certain thickness of resin layer to protect the main semiconductor parts of solar panels.…”

Do Functional Coatings Work for Solar Panel Dust Mitigation?

“…Consequently, several alternative active cleaning methods have been proposed to mitigate dust adhesion to solar panels. Landis categorized a range of active dust mitigation methods into four categories: air, mechanical, electromagnetic, and electric, including such approaches as changing surface orientation relative to gravity forces, mechanical wiping, blowing, sound/ultrasound shock exposure, electrostatic forces, and so on. Among the active options available for removing electrostatic dust, electrostatic dust removal techniques have the greatest likelihood of success, especially in dry climates, such as arid and dusty environments, where the adhering particles themselves are typically electrically charged .…”