TECH FRONT Talk about cutting-edge research: Now, by borrowing from
kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting, research- ers at the University of Michigan have developed solar cells that can have it both ways.
“The design takes what a large tracking solar panel does and condenses it into something that is essentially flat,” said Aaron Lamoureux, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering.
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A team of engineers and an artist developed an array of small solar cells that can tilt within a larger panel, keep- ing their surfaces more perpendicular to the sun’s rays. “From the standpoint of the person
who’s putting this panel up, noth- ing would really change,” said Max Shtein, associate professor of materials science and engineering. “But inside ... the solar cell would split into tiny segments that would follow the position of the sun in unison.” By designing an array that tilts and spreads apart when the sun’s rays are coming in at lower angles, they raise the effective area that is soaking up sunlight. To explore patterns, the team of engineers worked with paper art- ist Matthew Shlian, a lecturer in the U-M School of Art and Design. Shlian showed Lamoureux and Shtein how to create them in paper using a plotter cutter. Lamoureux then made more precise patterns in Kapton, a space- grade plastic, using a CO2
laser.
To make the solar array, Kyusang Lee, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, built custom solar cells. He and Lamoureux attached them to an uncut piece of Kapton, leaving spaces for the cuts. Then, Lamoureux pat- terned the Kapton with the laser cutter. The optimized design is effective because it stretches easily, allowing a lot of tilt without losing much width. According to the team’s simulations of solar power generation during the summer solstice in Arizona, it is almost as good as a conventional single-axis tracker, offering a 36% improvement over a stationary panel.
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AdvancedManufacturing.org | November 2015
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