Harness Heat Energy for Drone Power - How To?

AI Thread Summary
Harnessing heat energy in drones poses challenges, primarily due to the need for a significant temperature difference for effective heat engine operation. While solar energy is a viable option, the maximum temperature achievable is around 120°C, leading to limited efficiency in practical applications. Heat engines tend to be heavy, making them less suitable for drone use compared to photovoltaic panels. Solar cells are recommended for energy collection, although they still face limitations in providing sufficient power for flight. Using solar power to recharge batteries when not in use is suggested as a more effective strategy for energy management in drones.
FeyStein
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Is there a way I could harness heat energy in a drone, if so, how?
 
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Hi there
Welcome to PF :smile:
FeyStein said:
Is there a way I could harness heat energy in a drone, if so, how?

energy from where and to use it for what ?Dave
 
@davenn Heat energy from the sun to power the said drone
 
In order for a heat engine to work, you need a temperature difference. In a drone, you can easily pick up heat, giving you a "warm reservoir". You could try to use the surrounding air as a "cold reservoir", but the thermal resistance between a "heat sink" and air is fairly high (that is why CPU's use a fan).
 
I am trying to build a drone which could be used in African villages and am looking to find a backup energy, in case the battery fails. Solar seems like the predominant choice, but I feel like heat could work really well too, so I need a way of harnessing it.
 
Couple of points. The maximum attainable temperature with Solar flux is 120C. If you consider your cold reservoir at 0C, Carnot's efficiency is 30 percent. Practically it would be much lower. Also heat engines are generally not that light weight. You could better consider Photovoltaic panel instead.
 
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FeyStein said:
I am trying to build a drone which could be used in African villages and am looking to find a backup energy, in case the battery fails. Solar seems like the predominant choice, but I feel like heat could work really well too, so I need a way of harnessing it.

OK

Anand Sivaram said:
Couple of points. The maximum attainable temperature with Solar flux is 120C. If you consider your cold reservoir at 0C, Carnot's efficiency is 30 percent. Practically it would be much lower. Also heat engines are generally not that light weight. You could better consider Photovoltaic panel instead.

Agreed
You would never get enough useful energy
Solar cells would be much better, but you will still have a problem of collecting enough energy to keep a drone flying
The best you could do would be to use solar power to recharge batteries whilst they are not in use and then swap
them with the discharged ones from the droneDave
 

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