Wings, Sun, batteries: ask questions Solar Impulse
Hello friends!
The preparation of the second Solar Impulse aircraft for a round-the-world trip, which is scheduled for next March, is in full swing. I talked to their representative and received interesting materials specifically for Geektimes (under the cut).
And, most importantly, you can ask questions in the comments to this post, which I will pass on to Solar Impulse and post answers.
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The aircraft has more than 17,000 solar panels capable of collecting up to 340 kWh of energy per day. Their total area is 269.5 square meters.
Want more? 17 thousand 248 silicon wafers 135 microns thick each are mounted in the wings, fuselage and horizontal tail stabilizer. The effectiveness of the panels - 23%. To improve aerodynamic qualities, the aircraft was built with a wingspan of 72 meters, which is more than the similar parameter of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet.
The solar plates from SunPower Corp are checked for electrical conductivity each three times, after which they are placed on a special substrate and “prepared” for 7 hours at a temperature of 95 degrees. Then put on a special mold, where they take the final appearance. And only after that they are manually mounted by Solar Impulse engineers.
This process is shown in this video.
Energy collected by solar panels is stored in lithium-polymer batteries with a capacity of 260 Wh / kg. These batteries are located in the “nacelles” of four engines, insulated with high density foam.
The total weight of the batteries is 633 kg - that is, about a quarter of the weight of the entire aircraft. The batteries are insulated with high density foam, and special sensors monitor their temperature.
It is also important to say that for efficient and economical use of energy during the day, Solar Impulse will rise to 8.5 km and fly at an altitude of about 1.5 km at night.
Questions?
As I noted above, you can ask questions in the comments, and I will send them to Solar Impulse for a response.
The preparation of the second Solar Impulse aircraft for a round-the-world trip, which is scheduled for next March, is in full swing. I talked to their representative and received interesting materials specifically for Geektimes (under the cut).
And, most importantly, you can ask questions in the comments to this post, which I will pass on to Solar Impulse and post answers.
')
Solar panels
The aircraft has more than 17,000 solar panels capable of collecting up to 340 kWh of energy per day. Their total area is 269.5 square meters.
Want more? 17 thousand 248 silicon wafers 135 microns thick each are mounted in the wings, fuselage and horizontal tail stabilizer. The effectiveness of the panels - 23%. To improve aerodynamic qualities, the aircraft was built with a wingspan of 72 meters, which is more than the similar parameter of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet.
The solar plates from SunPower Corp are checked for electrical conductivity each three times, after which they are placed on a special substrate and “prepared” for 7 hours at a temperature of 95 degrees. Then put on a special mold, where they take the final appearance. And only after that they are manually mounted by Solar Impulse engineers.
This process is shown in this video.
Batteries
Energy collected by solar panels is stored in lithium-polymer batteries with a capacity of 260 Wh / kg. These batteries are located in the “nacelles” of four engines, insulated with high density foam.
The total weight of the batteries is 633 kg - that is, about a quarter of the weight of the entire aircraft. The batteries are insulated with high density foam, and special sensors monitor their temperature.
It is also important to say that for efficient and economical use of energy during the day, Solar Impulse will rise to 8.5 km and fly at an altitude of about 1.5 km at night.
Questions?
As I noted above, you can ask questions in the comments, and I will send them to Solar Impulse for a response.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/362725/
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