The paper describes a novel method for the detection of damage in carbon composites as used in drone frames. When damage is detected a further novel corrective response is initiated in the quadcopter flight controller to switch from a four-arm control system to a three-arm control system. This is made possible as a symmetrical frame is utilized, which allows for a balanced weight distribution between both the undamaged quadcopter and the fallback tri-copter layout. The resulting work allows for continued flight where this was not previously possible. Further developing work includes improved flight stability with the aid of an underslung load model. This is beneficial to the quadcopter as a damaged arm attached to the main body by the motor wires behaves as an underslung load. The underslung load works are also transferable in a dual master and slave drone system where the master drone transports a smaller slave drone by a tether, which acts as an underslung load.

This paper aims to improve the estimation of state of charge (SoC) of the battery component for a small-scale photovoltaic stand-alone system through the use of a simple summing equation, at a set measurement interval. The system uses a predefined parameter to accurately predict the open-circuit voltage (OCV) of a cell at a much reduced measurement time of 5 minutes, while maintaining a maximum prediction error of less than 1%SoC. A simulation model has been provided that allows measurement of the cell voltage and current for prediction of the equilibrated OCV. The simulation can be used for single cell, modules and battery packs which use lithium-based technologies. Validation of the model has been performed using experimental data from tests conducted at the Centre for Automotive and Power System Engineering (CAPSE) laboratories, at the University of South Wales. An application has been proposed for this work, which includes a photovoltaic module for energy generation to power an illuminated advertizing sign. The energy is stored in a lithium-based battery model which uses a combination of a battery management system and remote monitoring for real-time data acquisition.

This paper investigate the capture and storage of photovoltaic (PV) energy for domestic consumption. System sizing and cost - benefit analysis are carried out for the development of a solar powered sustainable energy system. This work also, contains an investigation to examine an advanced low cost energy monitoring system to help lower the overall system cost for consumers.