International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No.

1, January 2018

A Mechanical Design of an Altitude-Azimuth

Two Axis Solar Tracking System for Sakarya,
Turkey
C. A. Tırmıkçı and C. Yavuz
Eng. Dept, Faculty Electrical and Electronics Eng., Esentepe Campus, Sakarya University, Serdivan, Sakarya, Turkey
Email: {caksoy, cyavuz}@sakarya.edu.tr

Abstract—This paper presents a mechanical design of an TWh/year [4] and [5]. Among all solar energy is a
altitude-azimuth two axis solar tracking system for Sakarya prominent alternative for Turkey with a potential of 3.6
province, Turkey. The design consists of a solar panel, two kWh/m2-day [1]. This potential is utilized effectively in
linear actuators and linkages. The main objective of this hot water heating with approximately 8 GWh installed
work is to build a mechanical construction: cost effective,
capacity, third largest capacity in the world [6]. However
durable to withstand the weather conditions of Sakarya; easy
to assemble; easy to move; long-lasting with no maintenance; the utilization in power generation is negligible. It is vital
capable to track the sun’s position in both altitude and for the government to encourage the investment and
azimuth axis.  studies in solar energy with effective energy policies to
expand the solar energy utilization in power generation to
Index Terms—altitude, azimuth, linear actuator, solar break the dependency on imported fossil fuels [7].
tracking A PV panel is a device that converts the solar energy
into electricity or heating. To increase the amount of
output power from PV panels, solar tracking systems are
I. INTRODUCTION used to minimize the angle of incidence between the
Turkey is a developing country with a population of incoming sunlight and the PV panel [8]. There are two
77,695.904 million [1]. The primary energy demand of the types of solar tracking systems: single axis tracking
country is recorded 121 million TPE in 2012 [2]. A systems and two axis tracking systems. The increase of the
considerable part of this demand has been met by fossil output power from the PV module is up to 20% compared
fuels: 31% from coal, 31% from natural gas, 25% from oil to a fixed module with single axis tracking [9] and [10],
[2]. 99% of the natural gas demand, 95% of coal demand while it is up to 30% with two axis tracking [11]-[13].
and 92% of oil demand is met by imports since the fossil Different types of two axis solar tracking systems have
fuel reserves of the country are incapable to meet the total been proposed in current studies. Roth, et al. designed an
demand [3]. It is clear that Turkey is heavily dependent on altitude-azimuth tracking system measuring direct solar
imported fossil fuels. This dependency harms the radiation with a pyrheliometer and providing movement
country’s economy negatively as well as the environment. with two stepper motors [14]. Barker, et al. presented a
It is recorded that greenhouse gas emissions have low-profile two axis tracking system with new actuation
increased 124% between 1990 and 2011 and reached to geometry comprising of two coplanar and perpendicular
422, 42 million metric tons of carbon dioxide [2]. The linear actuators [15]. Fathabadi suggested a sensorless
increase in greenhouse emissions is directly proportional altitude-azimuth tracking system with a tracking error of
to increase in burning fossil fuels. In 2011 fossil energy 0.43˚ [16]. Batayneh et al. presented an altitude-azimuth
based emissions of Turkey are recorded as 286 million tracking system controlled by a fuzzy controller [17]. Yao
metric tons of carbon dioxide, 0.91% of the total emissions et al. designed a declination-clock mounting system with
in the world and 2.32% of the total emissions in OECD [2]. normal tracking strategy and daily adjustment strategy
Thus it is one of the country's prior future goals to localize consisting of two linear actuators [18].
the energy sources for a sustainable growth. The primary purpose of this work is to establish a novel
Turkey has a favorable geographical position with an mechanical design of an altitude-azimuth two axis solar
enormous energy potential, more than 495 terrawatt hours tracking system for Sakarya province, Turkey. For this
per year (TWh/year) [4] and [5]. Renewable energy purpose a configuration of a PV panel and two linear
resources that contribute this potential are biomass energy actuators is constituted and developed according to
with potential of 196.7 TWh/year, hydropower with weather conditions and solar angle values of Sakarya in
potential of 125 TWh/ year, solar energy with potential of Solidworks environment. Then materials for mechanical
102.3 TWh/year, wind energy with potential of 50 construction are selected. The key parameters used for
TWh/year and geothermal energy with potential of 22.4 selecting the parameters are to be cost effective, durable
and long lasting. Finally the assembly of the mechanical
Manuscript received August 24, 2017; revised November 15, 2017.

© 2018 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res. 35

doi: 10.18178/ijmerr.7.1.35-40
 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2018

system is performed in accordance with the design equator and the ecliptic (Fig. 2). Hour angle is the
developed in Solidworks. difference between solar local time and solar noon. In this
work declination and hour angles are calculated by the
II. SOLAR ANGLES equations below [19]:
Azimuth is the angle between north vector and the dec  0.33281  22.984*cos N  3.7872*sin N
projection of the sun down onto the horizon while the
altitude is the angle between the sun and the horizon (Fig.
0.3499*cos 2 N  0.03205*sin 2 N (3)
1). 0.1398*cos 3N  0.07187 *sin 3N
HRA  15*(hour 12) (4)

where N is the number of the day according to the

calendar.

III. TRACKING SYSTEM DESIGN IN SOLIDWORKS

In the presented design axis movement of the tracking
system is provided by two linear actuators. A linear
actuator is a device that converts the circular motion of an
electric motor into linear motion (Fig. 3). The durability
Figure 1. Definition of azimuth and altitude angles. and long lifetime without any maintenance of actuators are
reasons of preference in solar applications lately. The
specifications of the actuators used in this work are given
in Table I.

Figure 3. Linear actuator selected for the proposed tracking system.

TABLE I. LINEAR ACTUATOR SPECIFICATIONS

Input Voltage (VDC) 24 (tolerance 18-32)

Maximum Stroke Length (mm) 300
Figure 2. Definition of declination angle. Maximum Dynamic Load (N) 600
Maximum Static Load (N) 1300
Azimuth angle is measured clockwise from the north Maximum No Load Speed (mm/s) 30
Maximum Full Load Speed 20
vector between 0°and 360°. North, the reference plane, (mm/s)
has azimuth 0°, east has azimuth 90°, south has azimuth Screw/Nut Type Ball bearing with ball/ load lock
180° and west has azimuth 270°. Altitude angle is Operating Temperature (°) -25 to +65
measured between 0° and 90°. Different formulas are Protection Class IP44
Actuator Weight (kg) 2
presented for azimuth angle and altitude angle in current
studies. The formulas used in this paper are as follows The specifications of the PV panel selected for the
[19]: design are given in Table II.
azi  TABLE II. PV PANEL SPECIFICATIONS
cos lat *sin dec  cos dec *sin lat cos HRA (1)
1
cos ( ) Panel Size 668mm(w)x89 mm(h)x34mm(d)
cos alt Weight 7.6kg
Peak Power 80W
alt  Open Circuit Voltage 21.5V
(2) Short Circuit Current 5.1A
cos 1 (sin dec *sin lat  cos dec *cos lat *cos HRA) Power Allowance Range 5%
Maximum Power Voltage 17.5V
where azi is the azimuth angle, alt is the altitude angle, lat Maximum System Current 4.58A
Maximum System Voltage 700VDC
is the latitude, dec is the declination angle and HRA is the Number of Cells 36
hour angle. Declination expresses the angle between the

© 2018 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res. 36

 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2018

The configuration of the actuators and the PV panel is

determined in Solidworks environment in accordance with
standards below:
 EN 1991-1-3:Snow Loads
 EN 1991-1-4:Wind Actions
 IN 1990: Structural Calculations
 EN 1993-1-8: Design of Joints
Fig. 4 shows the proposed tracking system design in
Solidworks. The behaviour of the design is simulated for
the parameters below:
 The durability under the weather conditions of
Sakarya,
 The rotation abilities of two axis to follow the sun’s
position in Sakarya.
Finally the assembly drawings of the design are created
Figure 4. The proposed altitude-azimuth two axis solar tracking system
to ease the mounting stage of the work (Fig. 5). design in Solidworks.

Figure 5. Assembly drawings of the proposed system design in Solidworks.

Figure 6. HDG’s time to first maintenance time for different environments.

process where all rust, oil and mill scale are removed from
IV. APPLICATION OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN the surface. When the cleaning process is completed, the
The undercarriage of the mechanicalconstruction is coating process begins. The steel is dipped into the molten
constructed from hot dip galvanised (HDG) steel zinc at around 460 °C temperature. When the galvanising
metal.Hot dipgalvanized steel providescorrosion process is complete, the steel is left to cool in a quench
resistance without the cost of stainless steel, and is tank. Finallythe metallurgical process begins where the
considered superior in terms of cost and life-cycle. The zinc coating is bonded to the steel. The advantages of hot
process can occur only on a clean surface. Therefore the dip galvanizing process are as follows [20]:
steel goes through a thorough chemical clean before the  Long lifetime

© 2018 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res. 37

 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2018

 Low cost
 Reliability
 Ease of application
 Environmentally friendly
Fig. 6 shows HDG’s time to first maintenance for
different territories [20]. From the figure, it is observed
that HDG rarely needs maintenancewithout any special
protection even in industrial environments.
A special aluminium mounting frame is utilized for the
top of the mechanical construction, solar panel frame (Fig.
7). The frame is selected a flexible slide in construction
that reduces installation time and equipment cost with the
elimination of the clamps and brackets. Besides the
weather resistance of the frame contributes system Figure 8. The front view of the proposed altitude-azimuth two axis solar
tracking system design.
durability and aesthetics looking clean and neat for a long
time without any additional painting or maintenance.

Figure 7. Aluminium mounting frame for the solar panel.

Nuts and bolts made of steel with strength of 8.8 and in

accordance with TS EN ISO 898-1are utilized for Figure 9. The back view of the proposed altitude-azimuth two axis solar
assembling the whole mechanical body. Proof loads for tracking system design.
the bolts used in this work are given in Table III.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
TABLE III. PROOF LOADS FOR THE BOLTS

Size Load (kg) TABLE IV. WIND STATISTICS FROM SAKARYA

Months Wind Probability (%) Average Wind Speed (km/h)

M6 1,160 January 6 9.26
February 5 9.26
M8 2,120 March 8 11.11
April 8 11.11
M10 3,370 May 5 11.11
June 6 11.11
M16 9,100 July 8 12.96
August 8 11.11
September 9 11.11
When the assembly is completed, the system is settled
October 3 9.26
on locking carters (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9).
November 3 7.41
December 2 7.41

TABLE V. MONTHLY MEAN RAINFALL AMOUNT FOR SAKARYA[KG/M2]

January February March April May June July August September October November December

93.6 75.4 75.9 59.1 49.9 69.6 48.6 45.2 54.0 79.6 77.8 105.9

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 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2018

TABLE VI. WIND SIMULATION RESULTS OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN

Wind Speed [km/h] Displacement [mm]
7 0.00
8 0.00
9 0.00
10 0.00
11 0.00
12 0.00
13 0.00
14 0.00
15 0.00
20 0.00
25 0.01
30 0.02

TABLE VII. RAINFALL SIMULATION RESULTS OF THE PROPOSED located on the coast of Black Sea in Marmara region,
DESIGN Turkey. Both Black Sea climate and Marmara type
Pressure [kg/m2] Displacement [mm]
Mediterranean climate are observed in the province. The
northern part of the province expresses the characteristics
30.00 0.00
of Black Sea climate, colder and wetter. The climate in
40.00 0.01
southern part is warmer, drier and less affected by
50.00 0.02 humidity with the effect of the Mediterranean climate. The
60.00 0.02 greatest monthly mean wind speed and rainfall for the
70.00 0.02 province is recorded12.96km/h (Table IV) and 105.9 kg/m2
80.00 0.03 (Table V) respectively [21] and [22]. The durability of the
90.00 0.03 presented design is simulated for those maximum values.
100.00 0.04 The simulation results show that the system moves
maximum 0.04 mm under these conditions (Table VI and
120.00 0.04
Table VII).As mentioned in Section II the materials of the
mechanical construction, aluminum and HDG, contributes
It is vital for a mechanical system to resist the physical the system to withstand the related weather conditions
conditions of its environment. Sakarya is a province since they are all weather resistant.
TABLE VIII. ALTITUDE ANGLE(°) AND AZIMUTH ANGLE (°) VALUES FOR A SPECIFIC DAY FROM EACH SEASON

19.06.2016 19.10.2016 19.01.2016 19.04.2016

Time Altitude Azimuth Altitude Azimuth Altitude Azimuth Altitude Azimuth
07:00 15.1 71.9 -3.5 100.4 - - 7.9 81.8
08:00 26.1 80.7 7.6 110.3 -4.1 113.6 19.2 91.4
09:00 37.4 89.9 17.7 121.3 6.0 123.5 30.5 101.9
10:00 48.7 100.7 26.7 133.9 14.8 134.7 41.3 114.2
11:00 59.5 115.5 33.8 149 21.9 147.4 50.9 130.4
12:00 68.6 139.6 38.1 166.4 26.8 161.9 58.0 152.7
13:00 72.7 180.1 38.9 185.3 28.8 177.6 60.6 181.3
14:00 68.6 220.6 36.0 203.6 27.7 193.5 57.6 209.5
15:00 59.5 244.7 30.1 219.7 23.7 208.5 50.7 231.3
16:00 48.7 259.3 21.8 233.3 17.1 221.7 40.4 247.0
17:00 37.4 270.1 12.1 244.9 8.8 233.3 29.6 259.2
18:00 26.1 279.4 1.7 255.2 -1.0 243.6 18.3 269.5

The rotation ability of a solar tracking system is the autumn, 09:00 am - 17:00 pm in winter and 07:00 am -
determining parameter in performing the tracking 17:00 pm in spring. This result is an important input when
accurately. The simulation results show that maximum programming the control unit of the system to maximize
rotation limits for altitude and azimuth angle of the the output power of the system.
presented design are 6˚ and 260˚ respectively. The daily In designing solar systems, it is one of the main
azimuth and altitude values of Sakarya for a specific day objectives to low the system cost. Mounting and
from each season are given in Table VIII. According to the maintenance costs constitute a significant part of the total
table, the mechanical construction of the design allows cost. In Section III mounting costs are reduced by the
tracking between 08:00 am - 17:00 pm in summer and assembly drawings developed to perform the mounting

© 2018 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res. 39

 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2018

stage with few workers. In Section IV maintenance costs [8] C. Aksoy Tırmıkçı and C. Yavuz, “Comparison of solar trackers
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT C. Aksoy Tırmıkçı was born in Denizli on

November 2, 1988.She received the B.Sc.
This work is supported by Sakarya University Scientific degree and M.Sc. degrees from Ege
Research Projects Unit within the project number University in 2011 and Sakarya University
2015-50-02-028. 2013 respectively. Her present research
interests are photovoltaic system applications.
She joined the Electrical and Electronics
REFERENCES Engineering Department at Sakarya
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[2] World Energy Council Turkish National Committee, “Energy
Report 2013,” January 2014.
[3] Turkish Electricity Generation Company (EUAS), “Electricity Cenk Yavuz was born in Sakarya on July 3,
generation sector report 2012,” Ankara, Turkey, EUAS, 2013. 1979. He received the B.Sc., M.Sc. and Phd.
[4] F. Evrendilek and C. Ertekin, “Assessing the potential of renewable degrees from Sakarya University in 2002, 2004
energy sources in Turkey,” Renewable Energy, vol. 28, pp. and 2010 respectively. His present research
2303-2315, 2003. interests are PV systems, renewable energy
[5] Z. B. Erdem, “The contribution of renewable resources in meeting sources, lighting design, energy efficiency and
Turkey’s energy-related challenges,” Renewable and Sustainable quality.
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[6] S. O. Topkaya, “A discussion on recent developments in Turkey’s Engineering Department at Sakarya University
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[7] C. Aksoy Tırmıkçı and C. Yavuz, “Performance evaluation of a 295 Dr. Yavuz is a longtime member of Turkish National Committee of
kWp grid connected photovoltaic system in Kocaeli, Turkey,” in Illumination and has several international publications on different
Proc. International Conference on Green Technologies and subjects of Electrical Engineering.
Energy Efficiency, 2016, pp. 92-97.

© 2018 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res. 40