M2MotivationWhy Microwave?UsesRequirementsParametersArriving At An AnswerPerformance EstimateKey Elements of Current DesignAnalysisManufacturingCost EstimateFuture Work to be doneLessons LearnedM2Team WERMS(WE Rectify Microwave Signals)Zack AndersonDarrell CainMotivationWhy Microwave?• Efficient method of transmitting large amounts of energy• Small wavelength = higher energy• Passes easily through the atmosphereUses• Orbiting solar “power plant” satellites• Aircrafts• Transportation (“Space Elevator”)• Basically anywhere large power sources are not feasible to store, a tether is near impossible, and a high energy demand existsRequirements• Provide enough power to the climber over 50 seconds to meet the following requirements from it’s capacitor array– 24 V– 400 W– 16.7 amps• Properly shield the rest of the climber from the microwave sourceParameters• Must optimize for efficiencyPower Out/Power InConstraints-Size of Beam-Speed of climber-Amount of capacitor energy-Efficiency of Climberclimber climber climb02/climberclimb010( / )4110( / )24tout grosstuse nonuse panel rect gross grossPW dt mhgrA mv dtmhgμερε ε≤− ≤≤−≤∫∫Arriving At An AnswerMILAX (Canada)• Research into microwave power transmission started after WWII• NASA got involved in the 70s and 80s• Currently mostly space-based applications are being explored“Rectapenna”Texas A&M University RectennaPerformance EstimateKey Elements of Current Designclimber climber climb02/climberclimb0climb22/10( / )4110( / )24161254254.7 W/m = 3.14 m2/.2628tout grosstuse nonuse panel rect gross grossgrosspaneluse nonusePW dt mhgrA mv dtmhgmhg JAvmsrμμερε ερ≤− ≤≤−≤====∫∫This leaves only two variables, efficiency of climber and efficiency of rectenna• Possible to now generate a bounding constraint on the efficienciesupperlowerAnalysis• Beam density estimation is both low and idealized• Ratio is extremely lowManufacturingCost EstimateFuture Work to be done– Create a simulation of the equations mentioned above so as to accurately reflect the efficiencies envelope with various changes– Change the rectenna design so it captures more area of the beam per square foot of the rectenna panel– Do an actual build and test of the equipment, then tweak the tradeoff between efficiency and area of antenna till it’s optimalLessons Learned• Variable optimization can be subtle• Sometimes the fine tuned answer is not necessarily the best answer• The best way to get results, is to perform tests• Have very well defined goals that serve the long
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