Group 13: the dual-wing heliostat
Team Members: Kaden Bauer, Daniel Drew, Karl M. Jusino-Ortiz, Raul Lopez, Rodolfo J. Rodriguez, Samantha R. Scholl, Stephen Supinski
Abstract: The Weenie Hut Juniors Incorporated team believes in the power of simplicity. The design focuses on ease of assembly and installation using a combination of readily available and 3-D printed parts. Using fewer parts that can be quickly sourced and assembled, this team intends to make solar power generation cost effective and easy to use on both a small and large scale.
The core of the design is a square base that holds a vertical PVC pipe, containing a crossbar with two reflector mounts and mirrors. The vertical PVC pipe is split into a top and bottom half to separate each axis of rotation for a simpler assembly. The top half of the vertical PVC contains a hollowed crossbar, which has one reflector mount and mirror on either side of the vertical PVC. The crossbar is directly driven by a stepper-motor to change the elevation of the reflectors. The bottom half of the vertical PVC is driven by a stepper-motor to rotate the reflectors azimuthally. The motors and controls reside inside the heliostat structure and base to prevent damage from desert conditions.
The controls of the system are run through an ESP32 board and A4988 motor drivers to control the two stepper-motors; it accepts the coordinates of the sun and the target location in order to appropriately move and redirect the thermal energy to the desired location. The stepper-motors move in 1.8-degree steps but can be micro stepped down to achieve 0.45-degree steps while maintaining an appropriate level of torque.
Group’s 90-Second Pitch:
Archived Oral Design Presentation
Group’s Presentation Slides