Active Methodology Applied in Engineering by PBL. II-Development

This paper, which is a continuation of the corresponding paper "Active Methodology Applied in Engineering by PBL. I. Approach ", presents in a summarized and generalist way the process of building the experimental prototype associated with a battery charging system using solar energy. In it the design and implementation and functional testing of the prototype are described. It starts with several tests on the operating characteristics of the solar panel used to create a model from the experimental data obtained. It is emphasized the importance which it has for the system, if the solar panel system works at the maximum power point. Subsequently the system is described from both software and hardware perspective. To generate the necessary virtual instrumentation, the LabVIEW program has been used, and for the development of the controller card based on the microcontroller T89C51AC2, the Keil environment has been used. It ends with the functional testing of the complete system and an evaluation of this experience of project-based cooperative learning.