Optimal Energy Management of a Solar-Battery Powered Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

In this paper, a hybrid power system comprising photovoltaic and lithium-ion battery will be studied for supplying power to a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. Due to the continuous movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a fuzzy logic MPPT controller is designed to extract maximum power from the solar cells positioned along the UAV's path. The advantages of the fuzzy logic MPPT controller include high accuracy and a fast response speed, particularly when weather conditions change continuously. A PI controller and a bidirectional DC/DC converter are designed to maintain a constant voltage on the DC bus. To prevent overcharging of the battery, a fuzzy logic supervisor is designed. The simulation results in the MATLAB/Simulink software indicate that the designed controllers are adequate and suitable for the electrical of the unmanned aerial vehicle.