Design and Analysis of a Solar Operated Lawn Mower

Abstract

The majority of lawn mowers available in the market are either fuel or electrically operated. Both sources of energy demand high operational and maintenance costs, and they are not environmentally friendly. This paper proposes the design and fabrication of a simple solar operated lawn mower. Its blade cutting operation is based on the scotch yoke mechanism. All other components are also presented. In addition, the necessary calculations of converting solar energy into electrical energy are done, as well as the calculations on the battery capacity and time needed to charge. The 3D CAD prototype is created, and the structural analysis to check stresses and deflections at critical locations on frame and blades of the lawn mower is performed by using SolidWorks© software. Structural analysis results show that the maximum stress on the frame is 0.34 MPa, and on the blades it is 0.82 MPa, both which are less than the yielding stress. Furthermore, the deflection at critical location on frame is 0.108mm and on blades it is 1.33 mm respectively. Those results have been compared to analytical calculations and good agreement was found. As a conclusion, this design demonstrates that a simple, efficient and sustainable solar operated lawn mower can be produced at minor costs