A solar car is a solar vehicle used for ground transportation. Solar cars usually run only from solar power, although some models will supplement that power by using batteries, or using solar panels to recharge the batteries or run additional systems for cars that primarily use battery power.
The solar cars incorporate technologies typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy, and automotive industries. The design of the solar vehicle is greatly limited by the amount of energy input into the car. Most solar cars have been built for the purpose of solar car racing. Some prototypes have been designed for general use, although no cars are primarily powered by commercially available sun.
The solar car relies on a solar array that uses photovoltaic cells (PV cells) to convert sunlight into electricity. Unlike solar thermal energy that converts solar energy into heat, PV cells directly convert sunlight into electricity. When sunlight (photons) invade the PV cells, they generate electrons and allow them to flow, creating an electric current. PV cells are made of semiconductor materials such as silicon and indium alloys, gallium and nitrogen. Silicon crystals are the most commonly used materials and have a 15-20% efficiency rate.
Video Solar car
History
The first solar car model to be found was a small 15-inch vehicle made by General Motors employee William G. Cobb. Called Sunmobile, he put it up in 1955 in Chicago, the Powerama convention. It consists of 12 selenium photovoltaic cells and a small electric motor.
Maps Solar car
Solar array
The solar array consists of hundreds of solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. To build an array, the PV cells are placed together to form modules that are placed together to form an array. The larger array used can generate more than 2 kilowatts (2.6 hp).
The solar array can be installed in six ways:
- horizontal . This most common arrangement provides most of the power for most of the day at lower latitudes or higher summer latitudes and offers little interaction with the wind. The horizontal array can be integrated or in the form of a free canopy.
- vertical . These settings are sometimes found in free-standing or integrated screens to utilize wind energy. Useful solar power is limited in the morning, evening, or winter and when the vehicle is heading in the right direction.
- customizable . Free solar arrays can often be tilted around the travel axis to increase power when the sun is low and good to the side. The alternative is to tilt the entire vehicle when parked. Two-axis adjustments are found only in marine vehicles, where aerodynamic resistance is less important than road vehicles.
- integrated . Some vehicles cover every surface available with solar cells. Some cells will be at optimal angle while others will be shaded.
- snippets . Solar trailers are very useful for retrofitting existing vehicles with little stability, such as bicycles. Some trailers also include batteries and others are also motor drives.
- long distance . By installing a solar array in a stationary location instead of a vehicle, power can be maximized and the resistance is minimized. Virtual network connections however involve more electrical losses than actual solar vehicles and batteries must be larger.
The choice of solar array geometry involves the optimization between power output, aerodynamic endurance and mass of vehicles, as well as practical considerations. For example, a free horizontal canopy provides 2-3 times the surface area of ​​the vehicle with an integrated cell but offers better cell cooling and shadow riders. There is also a thin flexible solar array in development.
The solar array on solar cars is installed and encapsulated very differently from the stationary solar arrangement. The solar array on a solar car is usually installed using industrial grade two-sided adhesive tape directly to the body of the car. The array is summarized using a thin layer of Tedlar.
Some solar cars use gallium arsenide solar cells, with an efficiency of around thirty percent. Other solar cars use silicon solar cells, with an efficiency of about twenty percent.
Battery
The battery pack in a solar car is common enough to allow the car to go as far as 250 miles (400 km) without the sun, and allow the car to continue traveling at 60 mph (97 km/h).
Motor
The motors used in solar cars are usually about 2 or 3 horsepower, but the experimental lightweight solar car can reach the same speed as a regular family car (100 mph (160 km/h)).
Telemetry
In order for the car to run smoothly, the driver must monitor some gauges to find possible problems. Cars with gauges almost always have wireless telemetry, allowing the driver team to monitor car energy consumption, capture solar energy and other parameters and thereby free the driver to concentrate on driving.
Races
Two solar car races are the World Solar Challenge and the American Solar Challenge, a road-rally competition contested by universities and corporate teams.
The World Solar Challenge has a field of competitors from all over the world racing across the Australian continent, over a distance of 3,000 kilometers (1,900 mi). The speed of the vehicle continues to increase. So, for example, high-speed race contestants in 2005 led to the regulation changed for solar cars that started in the 2007 and 2014 races as well.
The American Solar Challenge, formerly known as 'North American Solar Challenge' and 'Sunrayce USA', features most of the college teams that compete in time intervals in the United States and Canada. This race also changes the rules for the latest races as the team reaches the set speed limit. The latest American Solar Challenge is held from 21-28 July 2014 from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Solar Car Challenge The Dell-Winston School School is an annual solar-powered car race for high school students. This event attracts teams from all over the world, but mostly from American high schools. The first race was held in 1995. Each event was the final product of the two-year education cycle launched by the Winston Solar Car Team. In the odd numbered years, the race is a path that begins at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas; the end of the course varies from year to year. On even-year, the race is a track race around Texas Motor Speedway. Dell has sponsored the event since 2002.
The South African Solar Challenge is a two-year solar powered car race, twice a year, through the length and width of South Africa. Teams must build their own cars, design their own engineering systems and spur the same engine through the most demanding terrain ever seen by solar cars. The 2008 race proves that this event can attract public interest, and that it has the necessary international support from the FIA. By the end of September, all comers would take off from Pretoria and head to Cape Town via N1, then drive along the coast to Durban, before climbing a steep slope on their way back to the finish line in Pretoria 10 days later. In 2008, the event was supported by the International Solarcar Federation (ISF), FÃÆ' Â © dation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) making it the first Solar Race to receive support from these 3 organizations.
There are other long-distance races, such as Suzuka, Phaethon, WGC (WSR/JISFC/WSBR) and World Solar Rally in Taiwan. Suzuka and WGC are the annual track races in Japan and Phaethon is part of the Cultural Olympiad in Greece just before the 2004 Olympics.
Note speed
Guinness World Records recognizes a record of ground speed for vehicles powered only by solar panels. This record is currently held by Sky Ace THREE from Ashiya University. The record 91.332 km/h (56.75 mph) is set on August 20, 2014 at Shimojishima Airport, in Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan. The previous record was held by the University of New South Wales by Sunswift IV car. The 25-kilogram (55-lb) battery has been removed so that the vehicle is only powered by solar panels. The 88.8 km/h (55.2 mph) record was set on January 7, 2011 at HMAS Albatross naval airfield in Nowra, breaking the record previously held by the 78.3-mile Sunraycer General Motors. per hour (48.7 mph). The record takes place over a 500 meter (1,600 feet) flight stretch, and on average two run in opposite directions.
Cars for general use
The first solar family car was built in 2013. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University, have also developed better solar cars that can recharge faster, because better materials are used in solar panels.
Chinese solar panel manufacturer Hanergy plans to build and sell solar cars equipped with lithium-ion batteries to consumers in China. Hanergy says that five to six hours of sunlight should allow thin film solar cells to generate between 8-10 kWh of electricity per day, enabling the car to travel about 80 km (50 mi) on solar power alone. Maximum distance is about 350 km (217 mi).
See also
- List of solar car team
- List of solar-powered car prototypes
- Electric boat
- Car kits
- The Quiet Achiever
- Motorcycle wheel list
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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