SOLAR CARS

PRESENTED BY: GUIDENCE BY :

951319114001-S.AKASH KUMAR MR D.SAMUEL M.E
951319114007-E.BALA ESAKKI
951319114013-M.GOBI MUTHU
 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
 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

 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
Thankyou.