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In the field of aviation, solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have attracted attention owing to their high-altitude cruise and the availability of renewable energy , .
As shown in Fig. 1(a), the energy supply system, which includes photovoltaic and battery systems, provides the UAVs with energy during the cruise. The photovoltaic system contains photovoltaic arrays and a maximum power point tracker (MPPT).
Considering the actual situation in the flight process, the principle of energy distribution was used to distribute the energy inside the UAVs, and the energy distribution of solar-powered UAVs was optimized using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. A solution flow chart involving all models is shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7. Model solving flow chart.
Fuel cells, particularly proton exchange membranes, demonstrate high energy density, enabling long flight durations for lightweight UAVs, yet face challenges such as slow response and hydrogen storage limitations.
The capacitance value of a supercapacitor is determined by two storage principles: Double-layer capacitance – electrostatic storage of the electrical energy achieved by separation of charge in a Helmholtz double layer at the interface between the surface of a conductor electrode and an electrolytic solution electrolyte.
In comparison, the self-capacitance of the entire planet Earth is only about 710 µF, more than 15 million times less than the capacitance of a supercapacitor. While an ordinary electrostatic capacitor may have a high maximum operating voltage, the typical maximum charge voltage of a supercapacitor lies between 2.5 and 2.7 volts.
Supercapacitors have a specific power 5 to 10 times greater than that of batteries. For example, while Li-ion batteries have a specific power of 1 - 3 kW/kg, the specific power of a typical supercapacitor is around 10 kW/kg.