Cemil Sungur

Sun-Tracking System with PLC Control for Photo-Voltaic Panels

In this study, the electromechanical control system of a photovoltaic (PV) panel tracking the sun on the axis it moves along according to its azimuthal angle was designed and implemented. In this system, Programmable Logic Controls (PLC) were used instead of photosensors, which are widely used for tracking the sun. The azimuthal angle of the sun from sunrise to sunset times was calculated for each day of the year at 37.6 degrees latitude in the Northern hemisphere, the location of the city where the experiment was conducted. According to this azimuth angle, the required analog signal was taken from the PLC analog module and sent to the actuator motor, which controlled the position of the panel to ensure that the rays fall vertically on the panel. After the mechanical control system of the system was started, the performance measurements of the solar panel were carried out. For this, the necessary measurements were implemented when the solar panel was in a fixed position. Afterwards, the panel was moved on a single axis according to the azimuthal angle and the necessary measurements were performed. The values obtained from the measurements were compared and the necessary evaluations were conducted.

Smart Bus Station-Passenger Information System

The people who use inner city public transportation vehicles want to get information about the current status of the public transportation vehicles and they want to know the travel time of the vehicles both while travelling and waiting at the bus stops. In this study, a smart bus stop-passenger information system was developed in order to enable administers effectively monitor the public transportation system and also enable the people who utilize this system simultaneously observe the information about the location and status of those vehicles. In the designed system, the embedded mini-computer based systems and digital monitors were used in order to instantly present the information related to the travel and transportation in the public transportation vehicles. The instant movement information of the vehicle was transferred to the central server through a GPS module which functions integrated to the embedded computer systems and web services. Moreover, the embedded mini-computer based systems and digital monitors were installed to the bus stops in order to present the information related to the movements of the public transportation vehicle and their approach to the related bus-stop. The mini-computers embedded on the bus stops provide communication with the central server through web services and the bus stops, public transportation vehicles and central server formed information network of the transportation. The software developed to manage the system provided the authorities the advantages of instant status observation, remote-informing and updating related to the management of the status and travel of the public transportation vehicles. Through this developed system, moreover, it was ensured that the position and travel information of the vehicles through the monitors both inside the public transportation vehicles and at the bus stops, increase the life qualities of the people who use the public transport vehicles and facilitate their urban life cycles.

The Extension of Battery Lives Used in a Solar Irrigation System with Regards to Charge-Discharge Numbers

In the present study, an irrigation system with an adaptive control system and powered by solar photovoltaic panels was designed and implemented. The control circuit, which was produced by using dsPIC, performed the online processing of the data received from current-voltage sensors and liquid level measurements. Different from the other studies in the literature, in this study, the source from which the irrigation system is fed was determined based on the power produced by the panel. If the power produced by the panel was lower than the determined power value, the system was fed from the battery, if higher, directly from the panel. With this developed algorithm, it was aimed to keep the tank full and to extend the expected life of the battery in terms of the number of charges-discharges through preventing the unnecessary discharge of the battery at times when water was needed. As the result of this study, the system was operated at an optimum level without requiring any energy other than the photovoltaic panel.

A real time quality control application for animal production by image processing.

BACKGROUND Standards of hygiene and health are of major importance in food production, and quality control has become obligatory in this field. Thanks to rapidly developing technologies, it is now possible for automatic and safe quality control of food production. For this purpose, image-processing-based quality control systems used in industrial applications are being employed to analyze the quality of food products. In this study, quality control of chicken (Gallus domesticus) eggs was achieved using a real time image-processing technique. RESULTS In order to execute the quality control processes, a conveying mechanism was used. Eggs passing on a conveyor belt were continuously photographed in real time by cameras located above the belt. The images obtained were processed by various methods and techniques. Using digital instrumentation, the volume of the eggs was measured, broken/cracked eggs were separated and dirty eggs were determined. In accordance with international standards for classifying the quality of eggs, the class of separated eggs was determined through a fuzzy implication model. CONCLUSION According to tests carried out on thousands of eggs, a quality control process with an accuracy of 98% was possible.

Road vehicles identification and positioning system

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is untouched automatic identification technologies in which information can be transmitted by radio frequency. In this study, an RFID system which can determine the position and place of any desired vehicle is designed and developed. Microprocessor transmitter devices, on which the vehicle information is loaded, are placed on the vehicles. Receiver circuits are located at certain points in order to receive the RF signals sent by these transmitter devices. The communication of all the points with each other is maintained by connecting the receiver circuits via the internet. The functionality of the system is tested by performing receiver-transmitter experiments based on the various speeds and locations of the vehicles. According to the results obtained in the experiments, it is seen that the system designed in the study could be used in place of the GPS system for determining the place and position of vehicles, since it is more economical when compared to the GPS system.