Mathematical Modeling of Photovoltaic Generation Applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Resumo

The increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in long endurance and range missions has intensified the demand for energy solutions capable of extending operational autonomy. Among the energy sources most employed, electrochemical batteries remain the predominant solution. However, the available energy depends on the energy density of these devices, meaning that extending autonomy requires the installation of additional units or higher-capacity batteries, resulting in a significant increase in aircraft mass. A complementary alternative consists of integrating photovoltaic cells into the UAV structure, operating in conjunction with batteries to partially provide the power demand of on-board systems and contribute to the recharging of the energy storage system during flight. In this context, this work presents a mathematical modeling approach based on the singlediode equivalent circuit to represent the electrical behavior of photovoltaic cells under varying irradiance conditions, enabling the estimation of solar generation potential considering the expected operational profile of the UAV. The results indicated an additional autonomy of 4 hours and 14 minutes in the most favorable irradiance scenario and 2 hours and 51 minutes in the least favorable scenario, corresponding to increments of 70.55% and 47.50%, respectively. The integration of the photovoltaic system added 575 g to the total aircraft mass, equivalent to 1.44%. The trade-off analysis between energy gain and mass impact demonstrated a favorable relationship, reinforcing the potential of on-board solar generation as a complementary strategy for UAV projects still in the early design phase, in which extending autonomy constitutes a design guideline and the feasibility of photovoltaic integration remains under evaluation.