Layout Optimization of Solar Array for Stratospheric Airship with Thermal Effect

The layout of solar array is one of the main factors affecting the output power of solar array for long-endurance flight of stratospheric airship. The temperature of solar array plays a major rule in conversion efficiency of solar array. But the research about layout optimization of solar array considering the effect of temperature on conversion efficiency of solar array is rare. This paper develops a numerical model consisting of solar radiation model, stratospheric airship thermal model, power output model, and optimization model to optimize the layout of solar array considering thermal effect. The feasibility of the model is verified by comparing the calculation results with the results of other researchers. Then, the layout of solar array is optimized with thermal effect by genetic algorithm (GA). The results show that the output energy of the whole year rises by 7.6% after layout optimization of solar array. The results of the paper would provide a useful guide to obtain suitable layout of solar array for long-endurance stratospheric airship.