SOLAR CARS

AN OVERVIEW
 Powered by sun’s energy
 Solar array collect the energy from the sun and
converts it into usable electrical energy
 Power trackers convert it into the required voltage
 Motor controller sends power to the motor
 Divided into five
• Driver Controls & Mechanical Systems
• Electrical System
• Drive Train
• Solar Array
• Body and Chassis
Borealis III Raycing with the Sun
- Photo by Colin Burnett
 DRIVER CONTROLS &
MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
 Standard features
 Steering
• Precise steering alignment
• SUNRUNNER utilized a rack and pinion system
that was attached to the steering arms by means of
tie rods
 Brake
• Designed to move freely by eliminating brake drag
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Regenerative braking
 Suspension
• front suspension- MacPhearson struts or double A arms
• MacPhearson strut requires a large vertical clearance
• Double A arms require less vertical clearance, but
consist of more components
• rear suspension is a trailing arm, similar to that in
motor cycles
 Wheels
• rolling resistance
• three or four wheels
• wheel designs are similar to those of bicycle tires
 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

 Made up of batteries and power electronics

 Batteries
• Lead-Acid
• Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)
• Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad)
• Lithium Ion
• Tesseract uses 512 li-ion batteries
Energy Flow Diagram of a Solar Car
 Peak Power Trackers
• maximize the power
• protect the batteries from being damaged by
overcharging
• efficiencies above 95%

 Motor Controllers
• decides how much current actually reaches the motor
• up to 90% efficient
 DRIVE TRAIN
 Consist of the electric motor and the means to by
which the motor's power is transmitted the wheel
 power generated is less than 5 hp
 only one wheel in the rear of the car is driven by the
electric motor
 motor types
• brushed DC
• dual winding DC brushless
• induction
 Dual-winding DC brushless
• used as an electronic transmission
 Types of transmissions
• variable ratio belt drive
• hub motor
 SOLAR ARRAY
 made from silicon, by
joining an n-type and a p-
type semiconductor
 grouped into space grade
and terrestrial grade
categories
 Encapsulation
 Array
 SUNRUNNER'S array
consisted of 14,057 razor-
blade sized, 16% efficient
space grade cells.
Solar array
 LIMITATIONS
• Only 1000 W/m2 of energy reaches the earth’s surface
in an hour of “peak sun”
• average solar array configuration spans 8m²
• total amount of energy hitting the solar car during peak
sun is 8KWh/m²
• average solar cells are only able to convert 12% to 18%
to electricity
• the total amount of converted energy available to a car
consists of 700-1500 Watts
• three primary areas of energy loss consist of
• aerodynamic drag, braking, and rolling resistance
 BODY & CHASSIS

 goals
• minimize the
aerodynamic drag
• maximize the exposure
to solar insolation
• minimize weight
• maximize safety
 Body Shapes

• Unified aero body and panel

• Fixed or tilting, flat panels with a separate driver cab
• Catamaran shape
• uniquely designed shape
 MAIZE & BLUE and SUNRUNNER are catamaran
shaped.
 Chassis
• space frame
• welded tube structure to support the loads and the body
• body is a lightweight, non-load bearing, composite shell
• Semi - monocoque or carbon beam
• composite beams and bulkheads to support the loads
• integrated into a non-load bearing composite belly pan
• monocoque
• uses the body structure to support the loads
 MATERIALS USED
 composite material
 combination of a filler material sandwiched between
layers of a structural material
 structural materials
• Carbon fibre, Kevlar and fibre glass
 filler materials
• Honeycomb and foam
 bonded together using epoxy resins
 FALLING SHORT
 characteristics that a commercially viable car
• extremely reliable
• comfortable
• be able to function on its own
• maintain the required speed
• amenities such as air conditioning, radio, and power locks and
windows
 Solar cars
• Limited seating capacity
• Frequent flat tyres
• Often was incapable of maintaining highway speeds
 THE FUTURE
IN THE SHORT TERM
 terrestrial application of the rovers that NASA uses in
space
 Data collection in a hot, sun rich area

 Carry-over of expertise
• substantial advances to the design of electric vehicles
• better motors, better use of batteries, and better motor
controller design
 composite hull car
 spread the word about the use of harnessing solar
power
 IN THE LONG RUN

 Electric car
 Increase in petroleum prices
 short distance commutation
 improvements
THANK YOU