Straits Times 27 Oct 09;
A SOLAR car built by Singapore university students is currently in the top 10 in an ongoing international race.
The World Solar Challenge in Australia, which was flagged off on Sunday from Darwin, is expected to end on Thursday.
The Tokai Challenger, by Japan's Tokai University, is currently leading the race. Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) Nanyang Venture II is in 10th place as of early yesterday.
It is Singapore's only entry and is racing against more than 30 solar cars from countries such as the United States, Malaysia and the Netherlands.
The competition has been challenging, said team leader Debbie Phua, a fourth- year mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) student, whose role is to manage the energy usage of the car. 'It is an experience of a lifetime.'
The NTU team is made up of 23 people, comprising undergraduates, alumni and staff members from the School of MAE and the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Four drivers take turns to drive the car, while the remaining teammates follow in regular vehicles. Team members camp by the road at night when the race is stopped each day.
This is NTU's first time taking part in this race. It came fourth out of eight participants in the Shell Eco-marathon held in May in Germany with the Nanyang Venture I.
Work on Nanyang Venture II started in 2006, when a group of final-year students expressed their interest to compete in the race. The car was completed this year.
Shedding light on the solar car
NAME: Nanyang Venture II
SIZE: 5m long, 1.8m wide
BODY: Lightweight, aerodynamic shell made of carbon fibre woven cloth with a surface covered with solar cells. A Perspex canopy ensures clear vision. The frame of the car is aluminium. It takes one occupant.
MIRRORS: The rear and side view mirrors are placed inside the canopy to reduce aerodynamic drag.
SOLAR CELLS: The cells absorb energy from the sun's rays and are capable of producing 1.2 kilowatts of power at peak condition. The power is extracted and stored for use in the car's battery.
The car can achieve a top speed of about 95 kmh.
World solar car race begins in Australia
Yahoo News 25 Oct 09;
SYDNEY (AFP) - A 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) solar car race across Australia's desert heartland began in the northern city of Darwin Sunday, organisers said.
The cars left Darwin in hot and humid weather at about 8:30 am (2300 GMT Saturday) on the journey that is expected to end mid-week in the South Australian city of Adelaide.
"We had 32 vehicles start this morning," Mike Drewer, a spokesman for the World Solar Challenge, told AFP, adding that weather conditions were good for solar cars.
"The first away was Aurora 101 from Australia, having set the fastest speed time trial (of 91.83 kilometres per hour) yesterday."
It was followed by the Dutch car Nuna5, which posted a time of 85.49 kilometres per hour.
The Nuna team has won the last four solar challenge races in 2007, 2005, 2003 and 2001 but had to rebuild its new car before the start of this race after a testing accident in Darwin.
The third car to start was Germany's HS Bochum BoCruiser, which trialled at 82.52 kilometres per hour.
The solar cars race for nine hours each day, stopping at a certain cut-off time each night and camping by the side of the road, wherever they are at that moment.
"We would expect the fastest vehicles are capable of doing, depending on weather conditions, about 800 kilometres per day," Drewer said. "The fastest ones could be approaching Adelaide by Wednesday night, Thursday."
Event director Chris Selwood said picking a winner would be difficult.
"We won't really see the technology and ingenuity until the cars are scrutineered in Darwin and a lot of things can happen on the journey south," Selwood said ahead of the race.
The race is being run in tandem with the Eco Challenge, which involves production and prototype eco-friendly vehicles that are, or soon will be, available to the public.
Drawing bright ideas from solar-car race
Tom Simko for the Straits Times 28 Oct 09;
ON SUNDAY in Darwin, 35 solar cars from around the world crossed the start line of the World Solar Challenge (WSC). By Friday, they would have raced 3,000km to Adelaide, powered only by sunlight. Which team claims the chequered flag will depend on more than just technology.
The Nanyang Venture II from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be among the sleek wing- shaped vehicles racing through the desert.
Most solar cars are made from lightweight, ultrastrong materials such as carbon fibre, Kevlar, aluminium and titanium. The internal chassis of the Nanyang Venture II, for instance, is made of aluminium with holes drilled in it to reduce the weight.
Compact suspension systems can handle the roughest roads, and hydraulic disc brakes made for bicycles provide enough stopping power. As with most teams, NTU's uses special tyres that have an exceptionally low rolling resistance.
The use of advanced materials and simple components can keep the weight of the solar car down to 300kg - about a fifth that of a conventional car.
Solar cars are shaped like wings to minimise air resistance. In some designs, only a canopy for the driver breaks the streamlined surface. Computer programs for designing aircraft are used to develop the most aerodynamic shape, and some designs had been tested in wind tunnels.
Solar cells on these cars convert between 14 per cent and 28 per cent of the sunlight falling on them into electricity. The best and most expensive cells were designed for satellites. The electricity from the cells is stored in a battery pack and drawn off as needed to run the car.
Over the years, battery packs have evolved from simple and heavy lead-acid car batteries to more sophisticated lithium-polymer and lithium-ion systems like those in laptops. Some of the most efficient electric motors ever designed are used to run the cars. The best ones are built partly into the wheels.
But a team cannot win a race just because it bought the best technology. It also needs a creative race strategy.
'As with any race, a good race strategy is vital to getting ahead of the competition,' notes the NTU team on its website. 'For the WSC, race modelling is not only about the car, but is also about the weather conditions (such as solar intensity at the different times of the day), the terrain as well as the ability to get regular, reliable weather forecasts.'
A well-designed car will run at the speed limit during the middle of the day while still having extra energy from the solar panel to store in the batteries. This 'banked' energy is used later in the day and the next morning when the sun is low in the sky. It would also be needed when clouds block the sun.
Winning a race hinges on careful energy management. If the car travels at an unsustainable speed, a team might end up stuck at the side of the road the next day recharging the batteries.
If a storm is rolling in, should a team risk draining the batteries by trying to outrace it to stay under clear skies? Races have been won and lost on such decisions.
Are solar cars the way of the future? Probably not, for they are too expensive and cramped to appeal to most people. However, like the space programme, these vehicles provide an opportunity to demonstrate cutting-edge ideas. Consider how the WSC has evolved over the years.
The first WSC, held in 1987, was won by a futuristic car from General Motors. Other automotive companies have since participated in the event, including Honda, Ford Australia and Toyota.
The carmakers have used the race to test advanced technologies that have since been incorporated into their electric and hybrid cars. These include the advanced motor and battery systems as well as the same approaches to tyres and aerodynamics.
Such successful crossover of technology has led to a new race - the Eco Challenge. It features highly efficient production vehicles, mostly from automakers, powered by electricity, alternative fuels, petrol, diesel or hybrid systems. This event runs in parallel with the WSC over the same route, starting only a day ahead of the solar cars. Together, the two races form the Global Green Challenge.
In a way, the WSC has come full circle. The earliest solar vehicles pioneered some of the technology used by the fuel- efficient cars of the Eco Challenge. Likewise, the latest solar vehicles will inspire further advances in the automotive industry.
The writer is a Canada-based science journalist.
Japanese car wins World Solar Challenge in Australia
Yahoo News 28 Oct 09;
SYDNEY (AFP) – A Japanese sun-powered car won the World Solar Challenge on Wednesday after averaging speeds of more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour in a four-day race through Australia's desert Outback.
Organisers said the Tokai Challenger crossed the finish line in Adelaide, South Australia, at 3:39 pm local time, after 29 hours and 49 minutes' racing following Sunday's departure from the northern city of Darwin.
The futuristic Tokai put in a near-flawless run with only one flat tyre on the 3,000 kilometre race. Its nearest rivals were more than two hours behind and were due to battle it out for second place on Thursday.
The team, from Tokai University, averaged 100.54 kilometres per hour to snap a four-race winning streak by the Netherlands' Nuon outfit. It is the first Japanese victory since Honda Dream II in 1993.
The World Solar Challenge, aimed at promoting environmentally friendly solar technology, started in 1987 and runs every two years.
