Optimal design and performance analysis of photovoltaic power systems for solar vehicles

With the rapid development of renewable energy technologies, solar vehicles have emerged as a promising solution for sustainable transportation. The power generation performance of photovoltaic systems in solar vehicles is closely linked to the tilt angle of the photovoltaic panels. While adjusting the panel tilt can enhance energy harvesting, it may also increase aerodynamic drag, raising overall vehicle energy consumption and partially offsetting the power gain. To improve the overall system efficiency, this study establishes a methodology for evaluating effective power variations by integrating full-vehicle modeling under different tilt configurations with Computational Fluid Dynamics–based aerodynamic analysis and system-level simulation. Results indicate that, under typical illumination and vehicle speed conditions, appropriately adjusting the photovoltaic panel tilt can significantly enhance effective power without markedly increasing aerodynamic drag. Within the investigated scenarios, the maximum improvement in effective power reaches 66.7%, with an average increase of 15.64%. These findings provide theoretical guidance and technical insights for the control strategies and energy efficiency optimization of photovoltaic systems in solar vehicles. • 1.Introduced an effective power metric linking PV generation and aerodynamic loss. • Developed system-level CFD and Simulink models for static and dynamic conditions. • 3.Designed a practical single-axis PV tilt mechanism achieving near-optimal efficiency. • 4.Demonstrated up to 66.7% peak and 15.6% average improvement in effective power.