Dynamic Modeling and Simulation for 2DOF Parallel Mechanism Solar Tracker

This paper aims to model the dynamic behavior of a 2 DOF parallel mechanism which can be used as dual axis solar tracker. Kinematic constraints are determined to account for the dynamic interaction of the parallel mechanism at joints. Then undetermined close form reaction forces at joints are obtained from the kinematic constraints. Finally, a fully determined equation of motion, which is a system of algebraic-differential equations, is obtained by appending kinematic and dynamic equations. For both kinematic and dynamic equations, Cartesian coordinates and Euler parameters are used to describe translation and rotation motions respectively. As a verification, the equation of motion for the mechanism is applied to the case of one body attached to the ground by a spherical joint of which the close form solution is known. The comparison shows good accuracy of numerical method. Having verified the solution with the case mentioned above, three cases of externally applied loads were selected to examine their effects on the orientations of the solar panel. Results showed that the solar panel changed its orientation as expected for each case study.