Working characteristic affecting factors of transformable airships' solar cell array

Solar cell array is the main power system of near-space transformable airship, which generally determines the performance of airship. According to the features of transformable airships, the geometry model and sun radiation model of solar cell array was established when transformable airships operate in the cruise condition. Applying models, the solar radiation intensity and power received by solar cell array was calculated based on the changes of solar radiation and airships' flight altitude. Results show that the power at noontide is 3-4 times as much as that at morning and nightfall. When solar elevation angle is low, power collection is affected by the flight angle of airship. Season is a main factor that influences the intensity distribution and power at noon. Latitude influences the total power of solar cell array. It is good for power collection to place the solar cells on the top of the airship.