Virtual prototyping of the solar tracking systems

The subject of the paper is now-a-days a priority on international level, because it provides alternatives to major problems resulting from the use of fossil resources: the limitative character and the pollution. The paper presents researches in the field of increasing the efficiency of the solar energy conversion by using tracking systems whose aim is to change the position of the solar panel correlated to the sun position for maximizing the radiation degree of use. Two main aspects are taken into consideration: optimizing the interaction between the mechatronic system components by integrating the control system in the mechanical model, beginning with the virtual prototype level, and reducing the cost & time for the design process by replacing the traditional tests on physical models with the testing in virtual environment, using complex digital (software) models.