TECHNICAL SEMINAR REPORT ON

“SOLAR ENERGY CAR”

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
Mechanical Engineering

Submitted by

BRAJESH PASWAN

(14P81A0305)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

JAGRUTI INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
Approved by AICTE, Affiliated to JNTUH
chintapalligudda (V), Ibrahimpatnam (M), R. R. Dist.(501510)
Telangana
2017- 2018

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JAGRUTIINSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
(Approved by AICTE, Affiliated to JNTUH)
Chintapalliguda (V), Ibrahimpatnam (M), R. R. Dist.(501510)
Telangana
Department of Mechanical Engineering

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the technical seminar report entitled “SOLAR ENERGY

CAR” Being Submitted by BRAJESH PASWAN (14P81A0305) In the Partial

fulfillment of requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in

Mechanical Engineering. Is the bonafide work carried by me.

The result of the investigation enclosed in the report have been verified and found
satisfactory.

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT PRINCIPAL

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 SOLAR ENERGY CAR

INTRODUCTION:-

The first solar car invented was a tiny 15-inch vehicle created by William G.
Cobb of General Motors. Called the Sun mobile, Cobb showcased the first
solar car at the Chicago Power convention on August 31, 1955. The solar car
was made up 12 selenium photovoltaic cells and a small Poorly electric motor
turning a pulley which in turn rotated the rear wheel shaft.The first solar car
in history was obviously too small to drive Now let's jump to 1962 when the
first solar car that a person could drive was demonstrated to the public. The
International Rectifier Company converted a vintage model 1912 Baker
electric car (pictured above) to run on photovoltaic energy in 1958, but they
didn't show it until 4 years later. Around 10,640 individual solar cells were
mounted to the rooftop of the Baker to help propel it.

In 1977, Alabama University professor Ed Passerine built the Bluebird solar

car, which was a prototype full scale vehicle. The Bluebird was supposed to
move from power created by the photovoltaic cells only without the use of a
battery. The Bluebird was exhibited in the Knoxville, TN 1982 World's Fair
Between 1977 and 1980 (the exact dates are not known for sure), at Tokyo
Denki University, professor Masaharu Fujita first created a solar bicycle, then
a 4-wheel solar car. The car was actually two solar bicycles put together. In
1979 Englishman Alain Freeman invented a solar car (pictured right). He road
registered the same vehicle in 1980. The Freeman solar car was a 3-wheeler
with a solar panel on the roof.

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ENERGY FLOW FOR A SOLAR CAR:-

Fig :- 1

The energy from the sun strikes the earth throughout the entire day . However,
the amount of energy changes due to the time of day, weather conditions, and
geographic location. The amount of available solar energy is known as the
solar isolation and is most commonly measured in watts per meter squared or
W / m 2. In India on a bright sunny day in the early afternoon the solar isolation
will be roughly around 1000 W / m 2, but in the mornings, evenings, or when
the skies are overcast, the solar isolation will fall towards 0 W / m 2. It must
understand how the available isolation changes in order to capture as much of
the available energy as possible.

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The sunlight hits the cells of the solar array, which produces an electrical
current. The energy (current) can travel to the batteries for storage; go directly
to the motor controller, or a combination of both. The energy sent to the
controller is used to power the motor that turns the wheel and makes the car
moves.

Generally if the car is in motion, the converted sun light is delivered directly
to the motor controller, but there are times when there is more energy coming
from the may than the motor controller needs. When this happens, the extra
energy gets stored in the batteries for later use.

Fig:-1

When the solar may can't produce enough energy to drive the motor at the
desired speed, the array's energy is supplemented with stored energy from the
batteries.

Of course, when the car is not in motion, all the energy from the solar may is
stored in the batteries. There is also a way to get back some of the energy used
to propel the car. When the car is being slowed down, instead of using the
normal mechanical brakes, the motor is turned into a generator and energy
flows backwards through the motor controller and into the batteries for

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storage. This is known as regenerative braking. The amount of energy returned
to the batteries is small, but every bit helps.

APPLICTION:-

• This concept can be utilized to build a single sitter four wheel vehicles in
practice.

• It can be extended to more commercial form of four wheeler vehicle.

• In industry where small vehicles are used to perform light weight conveys
work from one place to other place.

It can be used places where, fuel based vehicles are banned due to production
of pollution and noise

SOLAR ARRAY :-

Solar cells or photovoltaic collect the energy from the sun and converts it into
usable electrical energy. They are made from silicon by joining an n-type and
a p-type silicon semiconductor, creating an electron rich and an electron poor
layer. When sunlight strikes the cell, photons cause atoms of the
semiconductor to free electrons, leaving behind positive charges. The flow of
electrons thus created constitutes an electromotive force that drives the current
to charge a battery or power a motor.

The cell's positive contact is on the bottom while the negative contact, or bus
bar, is located on the top of the cell. Each cell produces approximately .5 volts
and 3 amps of current. Connecting the cells in series, i.e., positive to negative,
increases voltage. Parallel connections, i.e., negative to negative and positive
to positive, increase current. Therefore, connecting the cells in various series
and parallel configurations produces modules of different voltages and
currents.

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 Fig:-2

 HORIZONTAL:- This most common arrangement gives most overall

power during most of the day in low latitudes or higher latitude summers
and offers little interaction with the wind. Horizontal arrays can be
integrated or be in the form of a free canopy.
 VERTICLE:- This arrangement is sometimes found in free standing or
integrated sails to harness wind energy. Useful solar power is limited to

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 mornings, evenings, or winters and when the vehicle is pointing in the right
direction.
 ADJUSTABLE:- Free solar arrays can often be tilted around the axis
of travel in order to increase power when the sun is low and well to the
side. An alternative is to tilt the whole vehicle when parked. Two-axis
adjustment is only found on marine vehicles, where the aerodynamic
resistance is of less importance than with road vehicles.
 INTEGRATED:- Some vehicles cover every available surface with
solar cells. Some of the cells will be at an optimal angle whereas others
will be shaded.
 TRAILER:- Solar trailers are especially useful for retrofitting existing
vehicles with little stability, e.g. bicycles. Some trailers also include the
batteries and others also the drive motor.
Power Trackers:- Power trackers convert the solar array voltage to the
system voltage. In this step the power tracker in the car receive the energy
from the solar array, and change the energy that it receive to energy that the
car can be use After it converts energy, it send the energy to the battery.

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 Fig :- 3

REMOTE:- By mounting the solar array at a stationary location instead of

the vehicle, power can be maximised and resistance minimized. The virtual
grid-connection however involves more electrical losses than with true solar
vehicles and the battery must be larger.

The choice of solar array geometry involves an optimization between power

output, aerodynamic resistance and vehicle mass, as well as practical
considerations. For example, a free horizontal canopy gives 2-3 times the
surface area of a vehicle with integrated cells but offers better cooling of the
cells and shading of the riders. There are also thin flexible solar arrays in
development.

Solar arrays on solar cars are mounted and encapsulated very differently from
stationary solar arrays. Solar arrays on solar cars are usually mounted using

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industrial grade double-sided adhesive tape right onto the car's body. The
arrays are encapsulated using thin layers of teller.

Some solar cars use gallium arsenide solar cells, with efficiencies around
thirty percent. Other solar cars use silicon solar cells, with efficiencies around
twenty percent.

BATTERYS:-
The battery pack in a typical solar car is sufficient to allow the car to go 250
miles (400 km) without sun, and allow the car to continuously travel at speeds
of the speed 60 mph (97 km/h).

Fig : - 4

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MOTORS:- The motors used in solar cars typically about 2 or 3
horsepower, yet experimental light solar cars may attain the same speed as a
typical family car (100 mph (160 km/h)).

Fig :- 5

RACES:-
Two solar car races are the World Solar Challenge and the American Solar
Challenge, overland road rally-style competitions contested by a variety of
university and corporate teams.

The World Solar Challenge features a field of competitors from around the
world who race to cross the Australian continent, over a distance of 3,000
kilometres (1,900 mi). Speeds of the vehicles have steadily increased. So, for
example, the high speeds of 2005 race participants led to the rules being
changed for solar cars starting in the 2007 race and 2014 also.

The American Solar Challenge, previously known as the 'North American

Solar Challenge' and 'Sunrayce USA', features mostly collegiate teams racing
in timed intervals in the United States and Canada. This race also changed
rules for the most recent race due to teams reaching the regulated speed limits.
The most recent American Solar Challenge took place on July 21–28, 2014
from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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 Fig :- 6

The Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge is an annual solar-powered car

race for high school students. The event attracts teams from around the world,
but mostly from American high schools. The race was first held in 1995. Each
event is the end product of a two-year education cycle launched by the
Winston Solar Car Team. In odd-numbered years, the race is a road course
that starts at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas; the end of the course
varies from year to year. In even-numbered years, the race is a track race
around the Texas Motor Speed way. Dell has sponsored the event since 2002.

The South African Solar Challenge is an epic, bi-annual, two-week race of

solar-powered cars through the length and breadth of South Africa. Teams will
have to build their own cars, design their own

Engineering systems and race those same machines through the most
demanding terrain that solar cars have ever seen. The 2008 race proved that
this event can attract the interest of the public, and that it has the necessary

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international backing from the FIA. Late in September, all entrants will take
off from Pretoria and make their way to Cape Town via the N1, then drive
along the coast to Durban, before climbing the escarpment on their way back
to the finish line in Pretoria 10 days later. In 2008 the event was endorsed by
International Solar car Federation (ISF), Federation International
Automobile (FIA), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) making it the first Solar
Race to receive endorsement from these 3 organizations.

There are other distance races, such as Suzuki Phaethon, WGC

(WSR/JISFC/WSBR) and the World Solar Rally in Taiwan. Suzuki and WGC
is a yearly track race in Japan and Phaethon was part of the Cultural Olympiad
in Greece right before the 2004 Olympics.

SPEED RECORD:-
Guinness World Records recognize a land speed record for vehicles powered
only by solar panels. This record is currently held by the Sky Ace TIGA from
the Ashiya University.[12] The record of 91.332 km/h (56.75 mph) was set on
20 August 2014 at the Shimojishima Airport,
in Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan. The previous record was held by
the University of New South Wales with the car Sunswift IV. Its 25-kilogram
(55 lb) battery was removed so

the vehicle was powered only by its solar panels.[13] The record of 88.8 km/h
(55.2 mph) was set on 7 January 2011 at the naval air base HMAS Albatross
in Norway, breaking the record previously held by the General
Motors car Sunraycer of 78.3 kilometres per hour (48.7 mph). The record
takes place over a flying 500 metres (1,600 ft) stretch, and is the average of
two runs in opposite directions

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 Fig :- 7

LIMITATIONS:-

To put the limitations of a solar car in perspective, a simple calculation will

suffice. Only 1000 W/m2 of energy reaches the earth’s surface in an hour of
“peak sun”. This term can be thought of as the amount of sunlight that reaches
a sunny area on cloudless, summer day around noon. An average solar array
configuration span 8m, meaning the total amount of energy hitting the solar
car during peak sun is 8KWh/m2. Of this energy, average solar cells are only
able to convert 12.5% to electricity. As a result, the total amount of converted
energy available to a car consists of 1 KW/h, approximately the same amount
of energy used to run a hairdryer. With cars running on 700-1500 Watts,
efficiency is hypercritical. Therefore, advances in all aspects of engineering,

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from mechanical to electrical to materials and computer science are the key.
The three primary areas of energy loss consist of aerodynamic drag, braking,
and rolling resistance. To minimize aerodynamic drag, engineers make solar
cells as sleek as possible. Rolling resistance is proportional to weight. Hence
solar cars should be engineered to beverylight

KITE:-
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Our educational kits are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, (Math)

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Standards (NGSS) codes. A few kits also come with Energy Literacy,
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Teachers and students allows for optimal learning and understanding of

concepts taught in each provided lesson.

We have the perfect educational kit that will fit your budget and your
experimental needs, so take a look at our selection today.

Brjesh paswan mechanical branch Page 15

 Fig :- 8

WORKING:-

A solar car gets the energy it needs to move from sunlight. If you look at the
solar car below you can see that much of its surface looks black. This helps it
to absorb the sunlight-black objects absorb most of the light that falls upon
them. Usually, black objects just get hot in the sun. But in a solar car, some of
the light is converted to electricity by a device called a “solar cell.” Each of
the dark panels that you can see in the photograph contains many such solar
cells. The electricity is used to drive the car’s electric motor. Excess electricity
is stored in a battery for cloudy periods.This car was created large-20 feet long
and 6 feet wide-in order to catch a lot of sun. If we could make perfect solar
cells that converted all the light falling on the car, its engine would have about
10 horsepower. But even the best of today’s solar cells can convert only 20%

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to 24% of the sun’s power into electricity. Therefore, under full sunlight, the
motor puts out about 2 hp.

Fig :- 9

MOTOR AND CONTROLLER:-

• The motor controller adjusts the amount of energy that flows to the motor to

correspond to the throttle.

• The motor uses that energy to drive the wheels. How Solar-Power
Car Runs

• When the energy is send from the battery to the motor,

The motor adjust the amount of energy that flows to the throttle. The motors
use the energy that receives to run the wheel.

• This is the process how solar car runs.

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KINDS OF BRAKES:-

• Friction brake is a type of automotive that restores heat in the rotating part
(drum brake or disc brake) brake during the application and then releases it in
the air

• Drum brake if you press with your leg the brake is connected to the wheel
that is spinning.

• Disc brake this one brake all the wheels together and make the car slow down
or stop at that moment. Hand Brake

• In cars hand brake can also help you when you park your car in shopping
mall to not let someone move you.

• Another way to call hand brake is emergency brake e-brake, park brake,
slide stick, or parking brake.

Fig :- 10

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 Fig :- 11

Fig :- 12

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ADVANTAGES:-
 Unlike regular cars, solar energy powered cars are able to utilize
their full power at any speed.
 Solar powered cars do not require any expense for running.
 Solar cars are quite.
 Solar cars require very low maintenance.
 Solar cars produces no harmful emissions.

DISADVANTAGES:-

 Solar cars don’t have speed or power that regular cars have.
 Solar powered cars can operate only for limited distances is there
is no sun
 If it is dark out for many days, the car battery will not charge and
you this can seem as a problem to many problem. This is the
main reason why people don’t rely on solar cars.
 A good solar powered car is expensive. It will cost $200,000 or
more.
 Parts used in solar cars are not produced in large quantity so they
are expensive.

CONCLUSIONS:-

The solar cells collect a portion of the sun's energy and stores it into the
batteries of the solar car. The motor uses that energy to drive the wheels. 12.
C.G.P.I.T Conclusion Solar energy and more specifically solar cars would be
an amazing advancement in future car technology.

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BUT NOTICE:-

There are different types of inverters. The type of inverter advised has an
output ofpure sinus. Using them will avoid troubles that can occur on critical
devices like television orpersonal computers. If the inverter has a modified
sinus output or (worst case) a rectangularoutput, a significant part of the stored
electrical energy will be wasted, and on long-termrunning critical devices may
damage.With the stored power of 600 Wh to 900 Wh (one solar panel, see
example above), it ispossible to use the following devices: • 4 energy saving
lamps 11W, time of use 46 hours (4 x 11 W x 4 h = 176 Wh) • 1 fan 75 W,
time of use 3-5 hours (1 x 75 W x 3 h = 225 Wh) • 1 television 100 W, time
of use 2-3 hours (1 x 100 W x 2 h = 200 Wh) Total consumption = 601 Wh
We recommend the usage of two solar panels to get a buffer capacity in case
of less sun. The main thing is to get an idea of the electrical power needed for
the devices that aresupposed to be powered by solar energy, and also an idea
of the duration of use of eachdevice. With this two information’s, it is possible
to calculate the size of the solar panelrequired to obtain good results.On most
electrical devices, the power consumption is written on it, and these
specificationsare based on one hour of usage.

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