Solar Car Research Articles

History of Solar Car Technology and its Future Especially in Power Electronics

This paper describes the history and evolution of technologies related to the whole electrical system of solar car [1]. The components are the solar cell, maximum power point tracker, boost converter, motor& Inverter and battery. In a solar car, it is difficult to arrange the solar cells on a flat vehicle surface, and solar cells with different incident angles and temperature is different in each cell. This is a problem when many solar cells with different characteristics are connected in series, and the improvement method will be described in detail. Next, we will explain the development of a boost converter using a GaN power device that can improve the overall running efficiency. We will also discuss the technological advances in motors & inverters and batteries over the last 30 years. The evolution of solar cars is largely due to the evolution of semiconductors, including solar cells, and material technologies, but at the same time, we will explain examples of these technologies being first demonstrated in solar car race and then socially implemented

Design and Fabrication of Solar Operated Car

This work, focused on an idea about hybrid solar car technology which solves the major problem of fuel and pollution in present days. Determine how feasible widespread change to hybrids would be in future with all information taken into account, concluded that hybrids have several advantages as fuel efficient, low pollution. In the present work a complete drawing and drafting of hybrid solar car have been prepared using CATIA V5R19 software. After complete analysis of this drawing by using ANSYS 14.5 it is find out bear capability of load, stress, and strain of front & rear collision of car frame. A completed data are analyzed to examine the technical aspects of the hybrid car technology. Overall, hybrid technology has a lot of potential in the distant future, but as for right now they are not a significant applied over today's internal combustion engine.

Digital Twin Modeling of a Solar Car Based on the Hybrid Model Method with Data-Driven and Mechanistic

Solar cars are energy-sensitive and affected by many factors. In order to achieve optimal energy management of solar cars, it is necessary to comprehensively characterize the energy flow of vehicular components. To model these components which are hard to formulate, this study stimulates a solar car with the digital twin (DT) technology to accurately characterize energy. Based on the hybrid modeling approach combining mechanistic and data-driven technologies, the DT model of a solar car is established with a designed cloud platform server based on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to realize data interaction between physical and virtual entities. The DT model is further modified by the offline optimization data of drive motors, and the energy consumption is evaluated with the DT system in the real-world experiment. Specifically, the energy consumption error between the experiment and simulation is less than 5.17%, which suggests that the established DT model can accurately stimulate energy consumption. Generally, this study lays the foundation for subsequent performance optimization research.

Buck‐Boost‐Type MPPT Circuit Suitable for Vehicle‐Mounted Photovoltaic Power Generation

This paper presents a buck–boost maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuit suitable for solar cars. The MPPT controller, which consists of analog elements with a small number of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor elements, achieved accurate tracking of the maximum power point of photovoltaic power generation and contributed to the power savings and weight reduction. A buck–boost dc–dc converter was adopted as the main power converter of the MPPT circuit to reduce the power‐conversion loss due to the wide voltage change in the battery. The 12 proposed MPPT circuits were installed in a solar car called ‘2019 Tokai Challenger’ at an international convention and were shown to successfully generate sufficient solar power. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

The role of composites in getting the solar car to our driveways: Lightyear one

The Lightyear company are determined to make 2021 their year, working hard to be able to deliver the first solar-powered family car to a customer before the end of the year. We should be seeing many reports about it, the coming months. Reinforced Plastics made sure to get there early to talk in depth with their vehicle lead structural engineer Andrea Carpi and find out what role composites play in enabling this potentially game-changing technological breakthrough.

Numerical and Experimental Modal Analysis of Wheels of Solaris 10 Solar Car and Parametric Design of Lightweight EV Wheel

In this study, the natural frequencies of Solaris 10 Solar Car’s 2018 and 2019-Model wheels were determined experimentally by the impact hammer test under free-free boundary conditions and the results were compared with the natural frequency results obtained using ANSYS FEA software. Comparing the numerical and experimental vibration analysis, a maximum percent error of 7.46% was observed. The 7th and upper mode frequencies of 2018 and 2019 wheel models were shown to be above 200 Hz and the experimental results were validated. After expressing the mode shapes in the ANSYS-Modal Analysis, a parametric study was performed for the 2019 wheel model using the ANSYS- Parametric Design. As a result of the parametric design, the mass of the 2019 wheel model was decreased by 6.5% while maximum equivalent von Mises stress was decreased by 2%. Thus, a lighter wheel design was obtained with ANSYS FEA software and maximum equivalent von Mises stress value was achieved to be below pre-defined limit of 120 (MPa).

A Case Study Exploring Learning Experiences in a Science Summer Camp for Middle Level Students From Taiwan and the United States

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how young adolescents participated in various activities in a science summer camp. A total of 26 Taiwanese students and 16 U.S. students participated in a one-week “Argue like a Scientist” summer camp. Based on the design features of project-based learning, this science summer camp aimed at engaging the students in collaborative scientific argumentation about alternative energies and involved them in various activities related to alternative energies such as a field trip to an ethanol plant and a hands-on project building a solar car. All activities, including the students’ collaborative argumentation, were recorded. Their post-camp surveys were also collected. Three themes emerged from the data analysis. First, regardless of cultural background, age, or gender, all students actively constructed their understanding of alternative energies by participating in all hands-on activities: conducting research on different types of alternative energies, building their solar cars, and racing their solar cars. Second, regardless of cultural background, age, or gender, all students were engaged in the discussion and exploration of a real-word meaningful problem: “Which alternative energy is the best?” Third, regardless of cultural background, age, or gender, all students engaged in the social interaction with the support of a cognitive tool. This study concluded that the summer camp incorporated four principles of project-based learning (active construction, situated learning, social interaction, and cognitive tool), showing the potential of engaging students in science.

A Review on the Emergence of Graphene in Photovoltaics Industry

Graphene is considered one of the most significant materials of contemporary time, establishing a high impact in every research field domain and recently setting foot in the commercial market. The exclusive characteristics have made it one of the essential materials for many energy generating devices. Before using graphene electrodes, lithium was mostly used by energy-producing devices, but after the graphene invention, the electrode situation changed. Lithium-ion batteries are now getting attached to graphene electrodes to increase the device's efficiency and energy production rate. This review comprehensively covers the present scenario of leading graphene industries entering the photovoltaics market and highlighting the pristine futuristic vista where it might reign as a chief component in most energy devices. The light weightiness, cost-effective fabrication charge than other 2D materials is more promising for assembling in solar cell industries. It has also spread over benchmark prototypes in solar cars, space crafts, robotics, and artificial intelligence. The article also canvassed the science behind its mechanism in photovoltaics as well as emphasized ingenious modifications by several research institutions and conglomerate industries to exploit this wonder material for the welfare of humankind.

Solar powered cars - a review

The world population is increasing and so is the demand for transportation. The commonest of the means of transportation has been the automobile. And while the automobile industry is growing proportionally with population increase, there are still many problems with managing the causes of the pollution by automobiles. Hence, to cater for the needs of the society and still protect our environment, researchers have been seeking alternative sources to power transportation with little or no harmful emission. Suggested forms of energy for automobiles would be ones that are sustainable over the years. There are various available options of solar-powered vehicles which produces electricity through photovoltaic cells without any form of harmful waste to the atmosphere. In developing solar cars in particular, some discovery has been made in the aspect of effectively capturing, converting, and storing the solar energy to make it competitive with the conventional fossil fuel drive vehicles. This review covers the advancement and gaps in existing literature in the modulus operand of solar cars.

Direct yaw moment control of an ultra-lightweight solar-electric passenger vehicle with variation in loading conditions

Large variations load-to-curb weight ratios are linked to significant changes in parameters critical to control design for vehicle stability control system. Unique and highly customised vehicles, such as the lightweight solar car in this paper, are more susceptible to the impact of such variations when developing control methods. The purpose of this study is to study the influence of variation in loading conditions, the effect of ignoring changes in inertial parameters, and develop and compare a number of alternative vehicle stability control methods that can be applied to rear-wheel driven vehicles via in-wheel motors. In this paper a Sliding Mode Control (SMC) both nominal and when including uncertainty, Dynamic Curvature Control (DCC) and a Proportional–Integral Control (PI) strategies are compared to the baseline open-loop control case. Each controller is implemented through co-simulation via MATLAB® Simulink® and Siemens Amesim™ using a 15-DOF non-linear vehicle model. The results show that SMC achieves the best performance, whilst DCC tends to overshoot target conditions prior to settling, indicating that SMC is the preferred control strategy. It is also demonstrated that by ignoring the change in the inertial parameters in simulation environments can produce an incorrect translation of the control performance.

Optimal design and static simulation of a hybrid solar vehicle

This paper deals with the design and simulation analysis of the hybrid solar vehicle under static conditions. The solar hybrid vehicle is effective in our everyday lives because many people have petrol cars and the emissions and fuel cost is now a serious problem. In addition to controlling vehicles pollution in the city, reduced fuel consumption and hybrid solar car use is used in vehicles to effectively reduce global warming and the environmental challenge in large-scale applications. In the last ten years, research has taken place on a large quantity of solar, hybrid solar and electrically operated cars, which is originating from several independent developments that all resulted in the idea of hybrid solar car and electric operated car. A hybrid solar vehicle was successfully designed, analyzed and fabricated at the end of this research.

Case study: Solar electric vehicles in India.

Over exploitation of fossils fuel to meet humans luxurious in present day life has created imbalance in the ecosystem so to have a balance “Green revolution” is required. It means that there is need of using renewable energy resources instead of non-renewable energy which do not harm the environment and also does not contribute in increasing carbon footprint. In context to this each and every sector in the world is adopting alternative resources (renewable energy) to reduce somehow the degradation of environment so that the ecosystem can be balanced and healthy livelihood is achieved. Seeing the condition of the global environment many researchers are attempting to find technological advances which can efficiently transform this renewable energy into mechanical energy in that they have succeeded India has abundance of resource of renewable energy; amongst them solar energy is available with minimum limitation and in abundance. If transportation sector shifts to renewable energy utilization, a good amount of green house gases(GHG) can be minimized. This paper exemplifies the cases of solar electric vehicles including solar cars, solar e–rickshaws, solar tricycles, solar buses and solar vans, that have been successfully implemented in India. These examples demonstrate that the solar electric vehicles can transform a future scenario on a larger scale for India and also other countries.

New Design and Implementation of a Solar Car of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah: Electrical Vision

New Design and Implementation of a Solar Car of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah: Electrical Vision

Aerodynamic Effect of Wing Mirror Usage on the Solaris 7 Solar Car and Demobil 09 Electric Vehicle

This study focuses on the aerodynamic performances of two vehicles by Dokuz Eylul University Solaris Solar Car Project Team. The first vehicle (S7) is a solar-powered vehicle that is designed for World Solar Challenge and the second (D9) is an electric vehicle which is designed for Tubitak EV Challenge. Both vehicles are manufactured using polymer composites and challenged in mentioned races. In this research, a formal optimisation technique based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to determine the efficient aerodynamic structures under various scenarios. Results clearly show that strategists of the racing teams should take intoaccount the aerodynamic structure of the racing car. Especially before the races which based on efficiency, the apex line is determined, and mirrors should be replaced by back view camera.

MPPT circuit with analog control suitable for solar cars

AbstractThis paper presents a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuit composed of analog circuits suitable for solar cars. The MPPT controller circuit, which consists of analog switches and two op‐amps achieved precise MPPT during solar power generation. This MPPT controller circuit was constructed using a small number of CMOS elements, and the circuit of the step‐up DC‐DC converter achieved a conversion efficiency higher than 98% as well as weight reduction. Eighteen of the proposed MPPT circuits were installed (in serial and in parallel) in a solar car called “2013 Tokai Challenger” at an international competition, and it was shown that it could generate sufficient power supply from solar power.

Design and Analysis of Solar Car Chassis

A solar car is a lightweight, low power vehicle designed and built with a single purpose in mind–racing with and only drive during the day. It has limited seating (one or two peoples) and usually has very little cargo capacity. However, it offers an excellent opportunity to develop future technologies that can be applied to practical applications. This study will focus on design and analysis solar car chassis part. The primary challenge in developing an effective solar car chassis is to maximize strength and safety while minimizing the weight. Every extra pound requires more energy to move down the road. However, safety is a primary concern and the chassis must meet stringent strength and safety requirements. The purpose of the study is to understand the concept design of solar car chassis in terms of calculation, material selection, chassis style selection and virtual analysis for chassis using CATIA software.

The Use of Gridded Model Output Statistics (GMOS) in Energy Forecasting of a Solar Car

For many years, primary weather forecasting services (Global Forecast System (GFS) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)) have been made available to the public through global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models estimating a multitude of general weather variables in a variety of resolutions. Secondary services such as weather experts Meteomatics AG use data and improve the forecasts through various methods. They tailor for the specific needs of customers in the wind and solar power generation sector as well as data scientists, analysts, and meteorologists in all areas of business. These auxiliary services have improved performance and provide reliable data. However, this work extended these auxiliary services to so-called tertiary services in which the weather forecasts were further conditioned for the very niche application environment of mobile solar technology in solar car energy management. The Gridded Model Output Statistics (GMOS) Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) model developed in this work utilizes historical data from various ground station locations in South Africa to reduce the mean forecast error of the GHI component. An average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) improvement of 11.28% was shown across all locations and weather conditions. It was also shown how the incorporation of the GMOS model could have increased the accuracy in regard to the State of Charge (SoC) energy simulation of a solar car during the Sasol Solar Challenge 2018 and the possible range benefits thereof.

Aerodynamic Design and Development of Infiniti 4.0 Solar Car using CFD

Aerodynamic Design and Development of Infiniti 4.0 Solar Car using CFD - written by Tanmay Chitnis , Navoday Borkar , Sandesh Kumawat published on 2020/04/01 download full article with reference data and citations

MPPT Circuit with Analog Control Suitable for Solar Cars

MPPT Circuit with Analog Control Suitable for Solar Cars

Возможности использования суперконденсаторов в веломобилях на солнечных панелях

Возможности использования суперконденсаторов в веломобилях на солнечных панелях