3/17/2017 EquationsforSolarTracking

Sensors(Basel).201212(4):40744090. PMCID:PMC3355400
Publishedonline2012Mar27.doi:10.3390/s120404074

EquationsforSolarTracking
AlexisMerlaud, 1,*MartineDeMazire, 1ChristianHermans, 1andAlainCornet 2
1
BelgianInstituteforSpaceAeronomy,AvenueCirculaire3,1180Brussels,BelgiumEMails:martine@aeronomie.be(M.D.M.)Email:christh@oma.be
(C.H.)
2
InstituteofCondensedMatterandNanosciences,UCL,CheminduCyclotron2,1348LouvainLaNeuve,BelgiumEMail:alain.cornet@uclouvain.be
*
AuthortowhomcorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedEMail:alexis.merlaud@aeronomie.beTel.:+3223730382Fax:+3223748423.

Received2012Feb9Revised2012Mar16Accepted2012Mar16.

Copyright2012bytheauthorslicenseeMDPI,Basel,Switzerland.

ThisarticleisanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsandconditionsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionlicense
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Abstract Goto:

Directsunlightabsorptionbytracegasescanbeusedtoquantifythemandinvestigateatmosphericchemistry.In
suchexperiments,themainopticalapparatusisoftenagratingoraFouriertransformspectrometer.Asolartracker
basedonmotorizedrotatingmirrorsiscommonlyusedtodirectthelightalongthespectrometeraxis,correctingfor
theapparentrotationoftheSun.CalculatingtheSunazimuthandaltitudeforagiventimeandlocationcanbe
achievedwithhighaccuracybutdifferentsourcesofangularoffsetsappearinpracticewhenpositioningthe
mirrors.Afeedbackonthemotors,usingalightpositionsensorclosetothespectrometer,isalmostalwaysneeded.
Thispaperaimstogatherthemaingeometricalformulasnecessaryfortheuseofawidelyusedkindofsolar
tracker,basedontwo45mirrorsinaltazimuthalsetupwithalightsensoronthespectrometer,andtoillustrate
themwithatrackerdevelopedbyourgroupforatmosphericresearch.

Keywords:solartracker,Fouriertransforminfraredspectrometry,algorithms

1.Introduction Goto:

Spectroscopicanalysesofdirectincidentsunlightarecommonlyusedinatmosphericresearch.Suchexperiments
makeuseoftheSunasalightsourcetoquantifymolecularabsorptionsintheatmosphereandthenretrievetrace
gasabundances.Stratosphericozone[1]andgreenhousegases[2]areroutinelymeasuredwiththistechniquefrom
groundbasedFouriertransforminfrared(FTIR)spectrometers,e.g.,withintheNetworkfortheDetectionof
AtmosphericCompositionChange(NDACC,http://www.ndacc.org/).IntheUVvisiblerange,lightscatteringis
moreimportantandenablesspectroscopicstudiesoftheatmosphereinothergeometriessuchaszenith
measurements[3].However,directsunlightisalsoused[4,5],itsuniqueandunambiguouslightpathmakingit
advantageousforsomeapplications[6].Besidethespectrometer,themainpartoftheinvolvedapparatusindirect
sunlightspectrometryisthesolartracker,requiredtocompensatefortheSun'sdiurnalmotion.

Severalkindsoftrackers,sometimesreferredtoasheliostats,areusedforatmosphericspectrometry,basedon
setupsofoneorseveralrotatingmirrors.Someofthemareequatoriallymounted,likeinTableMountainFacility
[4]orHarestua[7].Inthiscase,onerotationalaxisisparalleltotheEarth'saxis.Itenablesahightrackingaccuracy
withoutacomputer,sinceonlyoneaxishastobedrivenattheEarth'srotationspeed.Toourknowledge,itisthe
onlysetupworkingwithoutfeedbackontheSun'sposition.Ontheotherhand,equatorialmountsarelarge,needto

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bealignedaccuratelyandtheirmechanicaldesignisdifficult.Mostofthetrackersusedtodayarecontrolledbya
computerenablingremoteoperationandautomation.ThecomputerfirstcalculatestheSunposition,movesthe
mirrorstopointtotheSunandthencontrolsthesemirrorstooptimizethesignalonsomekindoflightsensor.For
sometrackers,thelightsensorisattachedtothemovingpart,whetheritisasinglemirror[8]oramountoftwo
mirrors[9].Comparedtothesolutionpresentedbelow,theretroactionissimplified.Thedrawbackisthatthe
trackingisdonesomemetersawayfromthespectrometerandisthuslessaccurateandstable.

Figure1showsapopularaltazimuthaltrackerdesign.Itconsistsoftwoellipticalmirrorsheldin45degreesrelative
tothevertical,facingeachother(M1andM2).BothM1andM2rotatealongtheazimuthalaxisandM2rotatesas
wellaroundahorizontalaxis(altitudedirection).M0,andpossiblyotherfixedmirrors,directthelightbeamintothe
spectrometeropticalaxis.A4quadrantphotodiodeisusedasapositionsensorforaclosedloopcontrolofthe
mirrorspositiononcetheirpositioningtowardstheSunhasbeensetwithenoughaccuracy,i.e.,oncetheSun's
imageisvisiblebythephotodiode.ThisaltazimuthalsetupisusedwithFTIRsystems,e.g.,inKiruna[10]and
ParkFalls,Wisconsin[11]ithasbeeninstalledinHarestuatoreplacetheequatoriallymountedsystem[12].
Compactversionshavealsobeendevelopedforfieldcampaigns[13,14].AcommercialversionissoldbyBruker
tobeinstalledontheirFTIRspectrometers[15].Arecentprogressinthepointingaccuracyhasbeenreported[16],
replacingthetraditionalquadrantdiodewithaCCDcamera,buttheproblemsdiscussedhereafterremainthesame.

Figure1.
Geometricalsetupoftheconsideredsolartracker,usingtwo45degree
mirrors,M1andM2,rotatingalongorthogonalaxes.MirrorM0directsthe
Sunlightintoaspectrometer.Afractionofthelightbeamisdeflected
towarda4quadrantphotodiodeenabling...

Becausedevelopingasolartrackeristypicallyamaster'sthesiswork[10,13,14],technicalimplementationsare
difficulttoaccessintheliterature.Somemoreinformationisavailableaboutthesystemsusedinsolarenergy
applicationsbuttheirgeometriesdiffer[1720].SomeonebuildingaSuntrackercanquicklyfindephemeris
calculationsinmanyprogramminglanguages,butotherissuesarisequickly.Itisfirstnecessarytocharacterizethe
fieldofview(FOV)ofthe4quadrantdiodeintheconsideredopticaldesign.Thisservestwopurposes:
determiningtheaccuracyneededfortheephemeris'salgorithmandmakingsurethisFOVislargerthantheSun's
apparentdiameter(9mrad).ThislastpointisimportanttotrackconstantlythecenteroftheSun,whichreducesthe
uncertaintiesintheairmassfactorandavoidsDopplershiftsontheedgesoftheSun([16]).Asecondproblemlies
inthecorrectionofthetrackerorientationcomparedtothealtazimuthalsysteminwhichtheephemerisisgiven,
necessaryforthecalculatedmodeifthebaseofthesolartrackerisnotleveled.Thirdly,therelationshipbetweenthe
quadrantsignalandthecorrectiontoapplyonthemirrorspositionsdependsonthetrackerpositionitself[16].
Understandingthisrelationshipiscompulsorytoachieveasmoothtracking.Thisarticledealswiththesethree
problemssuccessively.

2.TheoreticalBasis Goto:

2.1.EphemerisAccuracyandFieldofViewofthe4QuadrantDiode
CalculatingtheSunpositionintheskygiventhetimeofobservationandthegeographicalcoordinatesiswell
documented.AreferencealgorithmisgivenbyJeanMeeusin[21],forwhichC([22])orMatlab
(http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/4605sunpositionm)versionsareavailable.Thisaccuracy
degradeswithlargerzenithalangleduetoatmosphericrefraction,whichdependsonlocalmeteorological
conditions(foranaccurateandwavelengthdependentrefractionformula,see[23]).IrregularvariationsinEarth
rotationalsolimittheaccuracyofephemeridsindependentlyofrefraction.Ontheotherhand,theabsoluteaccuracy
ofcommercialrotationstagesusedinSuntrackers,e.g.,NewportRV160,isonly0.01.Thisreducestheinterest
ofusinganaccuratebutcomplexalgorithmforephemeris'scalculation,whichisanywaynotnecessaryprovidinga
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closedloopcontrolisperformedonthemirrors'position.Inthiscase,thelowestacceptableaccuracyisthus
determinedbythefieldofviewofthe4quadrantdiode:oncetheSunimagehitsthequadrant,thetrackingcanbe
performedinclosedloop.

Figure2showsthetypicalopticalschemebetweenthetrackerandthequadrantdiode,theopticalaxishasbeen
alignedforthesakeofclarity.ThedistanceLismeasuredfromthefirstmirrorwhichreflectsthesunlight,i.e.,M2
inFigure2.Closetothespectrometer,apartofthebeamfromthetracker,withdiameterTcorrespondingtothe
smallaxisofM1andM2onFigure2,isdeflectedbyamirrorofdiameterMtoalenswhichfocusesthebeam
ontothequadrant.Themaximumfieldofviewseenbythediode(FOV1)dependsonthefocallengthofthelens(f)
andonthediameterofthequadrant(D),accordingtoFOV1=arctanDf.ThelensL1isunlikelytoreducethe
FOVassumingitssizesuperiortothemirror'sone.Indeed,thebeamisparallelbeforethelenswhichimpliesthat
distanceDcanbereducedifnecessary.Thetrackeraperture,inourcasedefinedbytheazimuthalstagefree
aperture,ismoreimportant,especiallysincethediameterofarotationstageislimitedandthedistancebetweenthe
trackerandthedeflectingmirror(M4)dependsontheobservatoryconfiguration.Themirror'sFOVduetothe
trackerisFOV2=arctanTL.

Figure2.
Opticalschemefromthetrackermirrorstothe4quadrantdiode.Thefieldof
viewseenbythediodedependsonthedifferentaperturesizesandpath
lengths.ThegreenandredbeamsrepresenttheSunlightpathwhenthe
trackerisnotperfectlyaligned...

ConsideringoursetupinBrussels,whichisatypicalFTIRstation,thetracker'smirrorsare10cm(T)wideand
theopticalpathtothespectrometer(L)5mlong,whichleadstoaFOV2of20mrad.Ontheotherhand,the
quadrantdiameter(D)is6mmwhilethefocallengthofthelens((f))is200mm,whichgives30mradforFOV1.
TheactualFOVistheminimum,20mrad,limitedbythetrackersize.Thisvalueissuperiortotheapparent
diameteroftheSolardiskwhichisimportanttotrackthecenteroftheSun.Asimplealgorithmcanachievesuchan
accuracyfortheephemeriscalculation,liketheonegivenintheappendix.Itishowevernecessarytotakeinto
accounttheorientationofthetracker,whichcanleadtopointingerrorssuperiortotheFOV.

2.2.CorrectingtheTrackerOrientation
Onesourceoferror,whenpointingtothecalculatedSunposition,istheorientationofthebaseplateofthetracker
comparedtothealtazimuthalsystem.Dependingontheobservatoryconfiguration,itmaybedifficultorimpossible
toalignaccuratelythetrackeralongtheNorthSouthdirection.Ifitwastheonlyproblem,theremainingconstant
offsetcouldbesimplyfittedandaddedinthecalculatedazimuth.However,becausethebaseplateisnever
completelyleveledeither,otheroffsetsareaddedtothecalculatedpositions,affectingbothazimuthandelevationin
awaythatdependsonthepointingdirectionofthetracker.Sometrackerusesanactivesearchmethodtosolvethis
problem.Inpracticetheyreachthecalculatedpositionandachievespiralmotionaroundthispointtosetthesun
spotinthefieldofviewofthesensor.Misalignmenteffectcanontheotherhandbetakenintoaccountinthe
calculationrequiresdeterminingtheEuleranglesoftheobservatoryandthetrackerbaseplate,respectively,
comparedtotheazimuthalsystem.WediscusstheEuleranglesbeforedescribingourwaytodeterminethem.For
thesakeofsimplicity,weonlymentiontheobservatoryinthefollowing,consideringthatthebaseplatetobepartof
it.

Euleranglesofanobservatorymaybeseen,asinFigure3,asconsecutiverotationsaroundthreeorthogonalaxes
neededtoaccountforthepitch,rollandyawofthisobservatoryConvertingthesolaraltitudeandazimuthtothe
observatoryframerequiresthustocomputethemultiplicationofthreerotationmatricesalongthedifferentaxes,i.e.,
Rx(),Ry()andRz().TheresultingmatrixMoffsetexpressesthetransformationofcoordinatesduetotheEuler
angles.

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Moffsets=[1000cossin0sincos][cos0sin010sin0cos][cossin0sincos0001] (1)

Figure3.
IllustrationoftheEulerAnglesofanobservatorycomparedtothe
altazimuthalcoordinatesystem.

Thecalculationsleadsto:

Moffsets=
[coscossincossincossinsin+sincos()coscossinsinsincossinsinsincossincos (2)
cossin+sinsincoscoscos]

InCartesiancoordinates,theunitvector(xt,yt,zt)givingthedirectionoftheSunintheobservatoryframewillthus
berelatedtothesolarsphericalcoordinates(az0,alt0)inthealtazimuthalsystem:

[xtytzt]=Moffsets[cosalt0cosaz0cosalt0sinaz0sinalt0] (3)

SubstitutingMoffsetwithEquation(2)wegetthefollowingexpressionsforthosecoordinates:

{xt=cos(+az0)coscosalt0+sinsinalt0yt=
(cos(+az0)sinsin+sin(+az0)cos)cosalt0cossinsinalt0zt= (4)
(sin(+az0)sincos(+az0)sincos)cosalt0+coscossinalt0

ThesenewCartesiancoordinatescanthenbeconvertedtoaltitude(altt)andazimuth(zt)anglesrelativetothe
tracker:

{t=xt2+yt2alt0=atan2(zt,t)azt=atan2(yt,xt) (5)

Intheaboveequation,atan2(y,x),availableinmanyprogramminglanguages,standsfortheargumentofthe
complexnumberx+iy.Itiscloselyrelatedtothearctangentofy/xbutitindicatesunambiguouslythequadrantof
thisangleonthetrigonometriccircle.

DeterminingEuleranglesaccuratelybymeasurementsisnoteasy.Ananalyticalmethodtoestimatethemisgiven
in[17]whichbasicallyconsistsofrecordingthepositionofthetrackeratthreedifferenttimesandsolvingEquation
(4).Thisisappropriateforthestudiedcase,i.e.,acollectorforsolarenergyapplicationinstalledoutsidewithonly
onemirrorandnoclosedloopcontrol.Withourconsideredtwomirrortracker,whichdoesnotcollectlightbut
directsittowardaspectrometer,othersourcesofmisalignmentsappear.Indeed,thetrackerisalsolikelytobe
misalignedcomparedtothespectrometer,andmirrorthemselvescanbetilted.Otheranglescanbeconsideredin
Moffsetsandisdonein[10].Inpracticalapplications,despitethethreeEulerangles,thecalculatedmodeislikely
abletoreachtheSunwithintheFOVofthe4quadrantdiode.Withtheclosedloopcontrolitiseasytotrackthe
SunduringawholeclearskydayprovidinganoperatorcorrectlysetstheSuntrackerinitially.Euleranglescan
thenbefittedusingalltherecordedpositionsofthemirrorsduringtheday.Ithastheadvantagethatothersources
ofmisalignmentareincluded:evenifonlythreeanglesarefittedwhichmaynotexactlybetheEulerangles,they
minimizesimultaneouslytheeffectsofalloffsets.WeimplementthismethodinSection4.Thisrequirestheclosed
loopcontrolofthetrackerontheSunposition.

2.3.RayTracingintheTracker

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ThephotodiodesignalindicatesthattheSunbeamistiltedcomparedtotheopticalaxisofthespectrometer.The
photodiodesignalsmustbeconvertedintoangularmovementsofthealtitudeandazimuthaxesofthetrackerto
correctthemisalignment.IfthephotodiodewasplacedonthereferenceframeofthemirrorM2thisconversion
wouldbestraightforward,butduetoitspositionafterthetrackeritdependsonthepositionofthetrackermirrors.A
trialanderrormethodtocorrectthemisalignmentistheoreticallypossibleusinganalogueelectronicswithouta
computerbutasmoothertrackingcanbeachievediftheconversionisunderstood.

Theconversioncanbeexpressedonceagainbyamatrix,whichtransformsinthiscaseavectorhittingmirrorM1
toavectorpointingtoadirectionintheskygivenbyitsaltitudeandazimuth.Itistheoppositeofthelightdirection
butissimplertofigureout,andconsideringFermatprinciple,yieldsthesameinformation.

Therotationofthetwomotorizedstagescanbeaccountedforusingrotationmatricesasdescribedintheprevious
section.Thereflectiononthetwomirrorsismodeledusinganothermatrixwhichtakestheform:

M=I2nnT (6)

whereIistheidentitymatrixandnthenormalvectortothemirrorsurface.Atreferenceposition,themirrorare
parallelandthustheirnormalisthesame,givenbythevector(0,12,12).Thetransformationmatrixforthetwo
mirroristhusthesame,MR,whichis,fromEquation(6):

MR=[100001010]

Figure4presentsthetrackerpointingtoanazimuth1andazenithangleof2.Thereferenceframes1and2
arerespectivelyattachedtothemirrorsM1andM2,withthexaxesinthedirectionoftheirsmallsemiaxesandthe
yaxesalongthelinejoiningthetwomirrors.Theopticalsysteminsidetheframe,withonlymirrorsM1andM2,
canbeexpressedasatransformationwhosematrixMtrackeris:

Mtracker=Rz(1)Ry(2)MRRy(2)MRRz(1) (7)

Figure4.
Thetrackermirrorsandtheirrotationcanbemodeledasrotationmatricesin
theirreferenceframes,whichapplytothebeamvector.Notethatthezandy
axesarethesamerespectivelyfor(0,1)and(1,2).

Theaboveformulaisderivedasfollow:(a)thereflectiononM2(MR)isexpressedinthereferenceframeof1
withachangeofbasisinvolvingRy(2)(b)thisproductofthreematricesismultipliedonitsrightsidebythe
preceding(seenfromthespectrometer)reflectiononM1(MR)(c)anotherchangeofbasisisperformedtoexpress
thetransformationin0,involvingRz(1).i.e.,

Mtracker=
[cos1sin10sin1cos10001][cos20sin2010sin20cos2][100001010][cos20sin2010sin (8)
20cos2][100001010][cos1sin10sin1cos10001]

Developingthematrixproductyieldsthematrixofthetrackeropticalsystemasafunctionofthetrackerposition
(1,2):

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Mtracker=
[cos1cos2cos(12)+sin1sin(12)cos1cos2sin(12)sin1cos(12)cos1sin2sin1cos2cos(1
2)cos1sin(12)cos1cos(12)+sin1cos2sin(12)sin1cos2sin2cos12sin2sin12cos2]

ThetransformationexpressedbyMtrackercannowbeappliedtoavectorcorrespondingtotheSunlightbeam
directiononthespectrometersideofthetracker.ItwillleadtothepositionoftheSuninCartesiancoordinates.The
vectorisbuiltfromthe4diodesignals(VA,VB,VC,VD),asrepresentedinFigure5.Basicallyanoffsetposition
(1,2)iscomputedfortheSunspotonthediodeplanecomparedtoitscenterby:

{1=(VB+VC)(VA+VD)2=(VA+VB)(VC+VD) (9)

Figure5.
Sunspothittingthequadrant,nottoscale.

Thespotoffset(1,2)defines2coordinatesofthebeamvector.Thelastone,,shouldrepresentthedistancefrom
thediodetomirrorM1.MultiplyingMtrackerbythequadrantvector(1,2,)wouldyieldaccurateSunanglesafter
conversiontosphericalcoordinates,butisnotpracticallypossiblewithadiode,contrarytoanimagingsensor.The
calculatedposition(xs,ys,zs)hereafteristhusnotabsolutebutissufficienttogetthesignoftherotationstoapplyon
theaxes.canbechosenarbitrarilyaslongasitsabsolutevalueislargeenoughcomparedto1and2.Thesolar
pseudocoordinatesarethen:

[xsyszs]=Mtracker[12] (10)

Inpractice,thequadrantvectormaydifferfrom(1,2,)duetoreflectionssuchasonthemirrorsM0andM4qon
Figure1,necessarytodeviateapartofthebeamtothe4quadrantphotodiode.Definingthepositionvectorthus
requirestopayattentiontotheopticalpathfromM1tothephotodiode.Insection4,weexplainhowwedealwith
theprobleminourparticularcase.

DevelopingEquation(10)yields:

{xs=(cos1cos2sin(12)sin1cos(12))2+
(sin1sin(12)+cos1cos2cos(12))1+cos1sin2ys=
(sin1cosbsin(12)+cos1cos(12))2+ (11)
(sin1cos2cos(12)cos1sin(12))1+sin1sin2zs=sin2sin(12)2sin2cos(12)1
+cos2

Itisthenpossibletocalculateroughlyanaltitude(2S)andazimuth(1S)fortheSunapplyingtheCartesianto
sphericalcoordinatesconversion(Equation(5)).Thispositionisapproximateandrelativetothetrackersinceit
doesnottakeintoaccounttheEuleranglesdescribedinthelastsection,butwhatmattersarethesignsofthe
differencesbetweenthesecalculatedvaluesandthecurrentaltitudeandazimuthrelativetothetracker,definedby
1and2.Theangularcorrectionstoapplyonthetwoaxesarethen:

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{d1=sgn(1S1)k1d2=sgn(2S2)k2 (12)

wherek1andk2arethetrackinganglestepsthatshouldbesmalltohaveasmoothtracking,yetlargeenoughfor
themechanicalresolutionoftherotationstagesandtheapparentmovementoftheSun.Theazimuthchangesfor
instanceatarateof15perhour,assuming1secondbetweenthesteps,k1shouldnotbeunder0.004.

3.AutomationIssues Goto:

Fromacontroltheoryperspective,thealtazimuthaltrackeranditsfeedbackisanonlinearmultiinputmultioutput
(MIMO)system.Indeed,twooutputsdefiningthepointingdirection(1and2)arecontrolledbytwoinputs,i.e.,
thecoordinatesoftheSunspotonthephotodiode(1and2),andtherelationshipbetweentheinputsandthe
outputsvarieswiththepositionofthetracker.However,havingmodeledthisrelationshipintheprevioussection,it
ispossibletochangethefeedbackschemewhiletracking.Incontroltheory,thisisanexampleofadaptivecontrol.

Thecorrectionoftheazimuthandaltitudeanglesdiscussedearlieronlytakesintoaccountthecurrenterror,i.e.,the
tiltofthesolarbeamcomparedtotheopticalaxisofthespectrometer.Thisisverycoarseandcanleadto
oscillations.Aproperfeedbackloopincludesthederivativeandintegraloftheerrorrelativetothetimeaswell,
respectivelytoreducetheovershootandtheresidualpartoftheerrors.Thisinvolvestotunethethreeparametersof
aproportionalintegralderivative(PID)controller.Consideringthetwooutputs,thesetupneedstwoPID
controllers.

Figure6suggestsafeedbackloopforthetracker.Notethat1cand2carenullifthephotodiodeiscorrectly
alignedcomparedtothespectrometeropticalaxis.Theadaptivecontrolalgorithmonthefigure(f(1(t),2(t)))
originatesfromtheformuladerivedintheprevioussection.Thereare6parameterstotunetooptimizethe
feedback,whichcorrespondstotheproportional,derivativeandintegraltermsofthetwoPIDcontrollers.Several
methodsexisttooptimizePIDparameters,withdifferentcomplexity.WethinkthesimpleZieglerNicholsmethod
couldbeappropriate.ItconsistsinsettingKiandKdto0andincreasingKpfrom0tothevalueKpcwithwhich
oscillationsoccuratconstantamplitude,withaperiodTc.ThreegoodvaluesforKp,KiandKdcanthenbe
derivedas:

{Kp=0.6KcKi=2KpTcKd=KpTc8 (13)

Figure6.
Controlloopforanaltazimuthaltracker.

ConsideringthelatitudeoftheReunionIslandobservatorywherethetrackerisinstalled(20.9S)itisworth
consideringanissueoccurringwiththealtazimuthalgeometry,i.e.,thesingularityatzenith.Asthealtitudegets
closertozenith,theazimuthrotationgetsmoreandmoredifficulttocontrol.AtReunionIsland,themaximum
altitudeisreachedaroundNovemberthe26thandJanuarythe16th.Aroundthisdate,themeasurementdeadtime
canreachonehour.Toourknowledge,thereisnogoodsolutiontosolvetheproblem.Nevertheless,tolimitthe
measurementdeadtimearoundnoon,weproposetoimplementintheadaptivecontrolleranothermodestarting
whenthealtitudeistoohighandtheproblemhappens:shiftingtheazimuthmodefromfeedbackcontrolledto
calculatedmode.Theelevationisstillcontrolledbythephotodiode.Thismaynotbeaccurateenoughtokeepthe
Sunspotinthespectrometer'siris,butitwouldatleastavoidpossibleincoherentmovementofthetracker.

4.ApplicationforaFTIRMeasurementStation Goto:

OurgrouphasbeendoingFTIRmeasurementsatReunionIslandforseveralyears([2426]).Theplaceis
interestingsinceatmosphericmeasurementsaresparseinthetropicalandsubtropicalregions.Aimingatlongterm
monitoringandcosteffectiveness,astationatSaintDenis(20.9S,55.5E,50ma.s.l.)hasbeenautomated[9],
whichincludesSuntracking,meteorologicalloggingandFTIRmeasurementswithaBruker120M.Thesolar
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trackercurrentlyusedwasdevelopedatDenverUniversity.SinceSeptember2009,thisstationisofficiallypartof
theNDACCnetworkandinSpring2012itwillmovetothenewMaidoObservatory(21.1S,55.4E,2200m
a.s.l.).

AsecondFTIRstationhasbeeninstalledinSaintDenisinSeptember2012.Thisstation,whichisalsoautomated,
isbasedonaBruker125HRspectrometer,moreappropriatetomeasureCO2atmosphericloading,inthe
frameworkofthenewTotalCarbonColumnObservingNetwork(TCCON).ThegeometryoftheSuntrackeris
altazimuthal.Itwasbuiltatourinstituteandusedtovalidatethemethodsdescribedinthelastsection.

ThisnewsolartrackerusesaNewportRV160rotationstagefortheazimuthrotationandaVextasteppingmotor
withagearboxforthealtitude.BothrotationsaredrivenbyaNewportXPScontroller,linkedtothecontrolling
PC.Thetrackermirrorsareellipticalwitha10cmminoraxis.ThephotodiodesetupwaspurchasedfromBruker
withthespectrometerandisinstalledattheinputwindowofthespectrometer.Itconsistsofa1cmmirrorwhich
reflectsasmallportionoftheincominglighttoa18cmfocallengthlenswhichfocusesthebeamontothe4
quadrantphotodiode.TheopticalpathisshowninFigure7.TheFOVofthe4quadrantphotodiodeis20mrad
(seeSection2.1).Thealgorithmusedtocomputetheephemerisistheonegiveninappendix.Duringoperation,the
mirrorspositionsarerefreshedeveryhalfsecondaccordingtothecalculatedpositionortothesignalonthe4
quadrantphotodiodeusingthemethodsdescribedinSection2.3.FromFigure7,itisclearthanthebeamfromthe
trackerundergoestwoorthogonalreflectionsbeforehittingthephotodiode,whichwetakeintoaccountmultiplying
MtrackeronitsrigthsidebythecorrespondingfactorsderivedfromEquation(6).

Figure7.
Opticalpathsofourparticularsetupfromthetrackertothe4quadrant
diode(nottoscale).

Figure8showsafitoftheEulerAngles.Thetrackwasperformedon12September2011inSaintDenis.Theleft
panelshowsthecalculatedmirrorpositionsneglectingEulerAngles,togetherwiththeactualoneswhentheactive
trackerwasoperational.WeatherwasclearskyandenabledtorecordalongSunpath,demonstratingthecapacity
oftheactivetrackingalgorithmdescribedinSection2.3.Aroundonehundredpointswereextractedfromthelog
fileofthetrackerpositionandusedtofittheEulerAngleswithanunconstrainednonlinearminimization.Thethree
angles,anddescribedinSection2.2wererespectivelyestimatedtobe9.96,0.888and0.174.Theright
panelshowshowthesefittedanglesimprovethecalculatedSunposition.Themaximumoffsetbetweencalculated
andactualpositionisnow0.5,i.e.,9mrad,whichisunderthe20mradofthephotodiode'sFOV.Providingthis
accuracyinthecalculatedmode,thetrackingsystemisabletosettheSun'simageontothe4quadrantphotodiode
andthenstarttheactivetrackingwithouttheneedofanoperator.

Figure8.
FitoftheEulerAnglestotakeintoaccountthealignmentoffsetsinthe
calculationmode.Thetrackwasperformedon12September2011.

5.Conclusions Goto:

WehavederivedthegeometricalformulasneededtotracktheSunwithakindofaltazimuthaltrackerwidelyused
inatmosphericremotesensing.Thesetupisbasedontworotating45mirrorsfacingeachotheranda4quadrant
photodiodeinvolvedinaclosedloopcontrolofthetracker.Afterdiscussingtherequiredaccuracyforthe
calculatedmodeandcalculatingtheFOVofthesensor,wedescribedhowtotakeintoaccountandestimatethe
Eulerangles,representingtheorientationofthetrackercomparedtotheground.Thesesectionscanactuallybe
appliedtoothertrackingsetups.Ontheotherhand,evenifthemethodisgeneral,theformulafortheactive
trackingdependsstronglyontheopticalconfigurationandmaynotbeusedforothertrackers'geometries.Wehave

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proposedacontrolloopwithPIDtoachieveasmoothtrackingwhilereducingovershootandtheresidualpartof
theerror.Finally,wehavetestedtheformulaswithacustombuiltsolartrackerthathasbeeninstalledtogetherwith
aFTIRspectrometeratReunionIslandinSeptember2011.

Amongthefutureworkwillbetheimprovementofthetrackingsmoothness,andparticularlythetuningofthesix
parametersofthePIDcontrollers.WewillalsoimplementthesolutionpresentedinSection3andcheckwhether
themeasurementdeadtimecanbereduced.

AcharacteristicoftheMaidoobservatoryistheveryregularcloudcycle.Atnoon,thecloudsreachtheobservatory
almosteveryday.Thisisveryconvenientforcloudsstudiesbutlessforsolaroccultationtracegasesmeasurements.
Ontheotherhand,thenightsaresoclearuptherethattheobservatorywasfirstsupposedtobededicatedto
astronomicalresearch.ThisisthusagoodplacetotryMoontrackingandweplantoworkonthatinthefuture.

Acknowledgments Goto:

ThisworkwasfundedbytheBelgianSciencePolicy(BELSPO).TheauthorswishtothankThomasBlumenstock
forhisadvicesandforhavingsenthimtheworkofM.Huster.TheyalsothankFilipDesmet,BartDilsand
SbastienHenrotinforusefuldiscussions.

A.EquationsforSolarEphemeris Goto:

Forthesakeofcompleteness,wereproduceherethesimplealgorithmweusetocalculatethesolarcoordinates
givenadateandaposition,takenfrom[27].Itshouldbeaccurateenoughformosttrackingpurposes.

Wefirstcomputethefractionalyear()inradians:

=2365(JD1+T1224) (14)

whereJDstandsfortheJuliandayandTfortheUTCdecimaltime.

Thenwederivetheequationoftime(t)inminutes:

t=229.18(0.000075+0.001868cos0.032077sin0.014615cos20.040849sin2) (15)

Theequationoftimerepresentsthedifferencebetweenapparentsolartimeandmeansolartime,whichcanbeas
largeas16min.Itisduetotheobliquityoftheeclipticandtheellipticalformoftheearthorbit.

Fromthefractionalyear,wealsogetthesolardeclination()inradians:

=0.0069180.399912cos+0.070257sin0.006758cos2+0.000907sin20.002697cos3+0.00148
(16)
sin3

Thedeclinationistheequivalentofthelatitudeonthecelestialsphere.

TheoffsetToff(inminutes)betweentheUTCtimeandthetruesolartimedependsonthelongitude(indegrees
East)andis:

Toff=t4longitude (17)

Thetruesolartime(tst,inminutes)isthen:

tst=hour60+min+sec/60+Toff (18)

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3/17/2017 EquationsforSolarTracking

wherehour,minandsecarethecomponentsoftheUTCtime.

Thesolarhourangle,indegrees,comesfromthetruesolartimeas:

ha=tst4180 (19)

Foragivenlatitude,thehourangleandthedeclinationareconvertedtohorizontalcoordinates,i.e.,solarzenith
angle()andazimuth(,fromsouthpositiveeastwards)as:

=arccos(sinlatsin+coslatcoscosha) (20)

=atan2(sinhacos,coshasinlatcoscoslatsin) (21)

Finally,theeffectofrefractioninarcminutescanbeapproximatedusingSmundsson'sformula[21]:

R=1.02tanh+10.3h+5.1 (22)

wherehistheunrefractedaltitudeindegree.

FigureA1.

ComparisonbetweentheformulasreproducedinappendixandJPLephemerides.

FigureA1showsacomparisonbetweenthealgorithmpresentedbelowandtheJetPropulsionLaboratory
HORIZONS(http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?horizons)ephemeriscalculator.Wecomparethealtitudeandazimuthofthe
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3/17/2017 EquationsforSolarTracking

SunseenfromBrussels(50.85N,4.35E)overa30yearperiod,between1990and2020.Differencesinaltitude
andazimutharewithin0.5.

Footnotes Goto:

Classification:PACS42.68.Wt92.60.hd92.60.hf42.68.Ay

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