SMK TAMAN SERI KLUANG

PREPARED BY;
1. NAVIN PUNJ A/L SHOMDUTT SHARMA
2. MUHAMMAD FAIQ FAKHRY B MUHD YAZID
3. LING JIA WEN
ACCOMPANIED BY;
EN ONN AZRI BIN PUADE

TABLE OF CONTENT

Content

page

1. ABSTRACT

2. OBJECTIVES

3. SCIENTIFIC THEORIES

4. INNOVATIONS

12

5. FABRICATIONS

17

6. COSTS

19

7. TRIAL & ERROR

20

8. APPENDIX

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1. ABSTRACT
1.1 OBJECTIVES
Nowadays, in the age of science and technology, the
world is facing the threat of global warming. Greenhouse
gasses and vehicle emission not only poison our air, but in the
same time causes the thinning of the ozone layer, up in the
atmosphere. The world today is indeed addicted to fossil fuels.
These limited resources need huge energy, and cost
increasingly higher to produce fuel. Fortunately, today, there
are green technologies that can help reduce and combat the
effect of global warming.
One technology in particular is the solar technology.
Solar is the sun. Our closest star, which happens to be the
center of our solar system, emits radiations. Solar radiation is
radiant energy emitted by the sun, particularly electromagnetic
energy. These can be in a form of heat and light. The light can
be generated into electricity using solar panels.
Solar car has never been a hit, since it has always been
overshadowed by gas-guzzling vehicles. Fortunately, with
technology comes improvement. Solar panels today has come

a long way, enabling engineers and scientists to produce a

more stable and consistent current from each solar panels.

1.2 DESIGN INNOVATIONS

These pictures are from later years of solar car race

competitions. As you can see, not that many schools really got
the concept right. As the name implies, a solar car is a type of
automobile, usually with 4 wheels and at least a seat for the
driver and more for the passengers.
This raises a question. Where is the drivers seat?
Fortunately, with a little help from our teacher, we came up
with a design that incorporates user-friendliness.
Our solar car is designed with everything a car should
have.

1.3 COST

A simple formula in reducing cost ; mass production. The

most mass produced car, the Ford Model T is a brainchild of a
visionary, Mr. Henry Ford. He found out that early stages of car
development costs a lot of money. Then, he decided to mass
produce his car, reaching 1 million cars in only a few years. He
was successful and forever remembered as a automotive
genius.
The early stage of our solar car involves building a
prototype. The main costs are material to build the body and
researching for the best possible combination of solar panel
and motor. However, there hasnt been any monetary issue as
we had full support from our school.

1.4 MAXIMUM SPEED VS TIME OF DAY

After much discussing with our teachers, we came up

with a timetable, which we use to determine the maximum
speed of our solar car in relation with the time of day. We
created a table which we can monitor the results, thus
improving the angle of our solar panel.
Date \ Time
Date 1
Date 2
Date 3
Date 4
Date 5

11.00

12.00

13.00

14.00

Maximum speed (m/s)

The table above represents our trial in determining the
maximum speed in 4 different times in the afternoon/evening.
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At first, we would like to do the test in 3 days, but the cloudy

and rainy weather makes our data hard to read. So, more data
can lead to a more grouped numbers and makes averaging the
speed easier for us.

2. OBJECTIVE
2.1 PURPOSE
The objective of this competition is to motivate Malaysian
secondary schools students in science, engineering, and
technology and to learn about solar power. Teams will design,
fund, build, and run a vehicle that is powered only by solar
power.
Efficient balancing of power resources and power
consumption is the key to success during the race. At any
moment in time the optimal driving speed depends on the
weather (forecast). We were very fortunate to obtain the most
efficient balance in gear ratio and weight distribution. Our car
can go quite fast as we can get the right motor.

our

During

the

early stage of

R&D,

we

opted the use

of a regular DC

motor.

It

turned out to be a high speed but low torque motor. After

discussing with our teachers, we changed the motor to a
higher torque and low speed motor. As a result, our solar car
can go at the slightest sunlight.

DC electric motor
2.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The main objective of any solar car manufacturer is to

build an efficient, "winning" vehicle. Design considerations
included hundreds of tradeoffs, but certain elements are
essential.
Reliability is an important design factor. A vehicle which
performed well without any major breakdowns would cover the
race distance in less time.
The overall shape of a solar car is another important
design factor. Teams had to determine how and where they
would mount the solar cells for maximum energy grain. They
also had to decide how to maintain low weight and minimize
aerodynamic drag.
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3. SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
3.1 HOW DOES A SOLAR CELL WORKS?

A solar cell (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectric

cell) is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy

of sunlight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

Assemblies of cells are used to make solar modules, also
known as solar panels. The energy generated from these solar
modules, referred to as solar power, is an example of solar
energy.
Photovoltaic is the field of technology and research
related to the practical application of photovoltaic cells in
producing electricity from light, though it is often used
specifically to refer to the generation of electricity from sunlight.
Cells are described as photovoltaic cells when the light
source is not necessarily sunlight. These are used for
detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near the
visible range, for example infrared detectors, or measurement
of light intensity.

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The solar cell works in three steps:

1. Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed
by semi conducting materials, such as silicon.
2. Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose from

their atoms, allowing them to flow through the material to

produce electricity. Due to the special composition of
solar cells, the electrons are only allowed to move in a
single direction.
3. An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a

usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity.

4. The current produced turned the motor, which in turn
drives a set of gears to run the car.

The power of our solar panel is;

*Tests are done under maximum sunlight;
Sunlight
Solar panel

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V

Current

Voltmeter

Voltage = 2.5V
The current calculation must be done in a complete circuit,
since current doesnt flow in a load-less circuit.
According to our experiment under maximum sunlight, the
current for our solar car is; 0.075A
P=IxV
2.5V x 0.075A
P = 0.1875W
= +- 0.2Watt
P = 0.2W, lower than the 1W regulation.#

4. INNOVATIONS
4.1 SOLAR CELL SELECTION
Our solar car project uses a common commercially
available solar panel, which retails at RM15.00. The low cost
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and high efficiency solar cell is modified. We do without the

panel holder, which further lighten our final product.
The solar panel is efficient that we need only one unit to
power up our DC motor.

4.2 SOLAR CELL CIRCUIT

The solar panel, according to the shop salesman, are 2
solar panel in a serial connection. Serial connection limits the
voltage output, but combines the current from each of the
panel. As a result, in theory the combined solar cell voltage
output is only about 3V, but the current can go as high as
0.1amp.

A famous misconception of voltage-current

4.3 AERODYNAMICS
Aerodynamic is the key in designing any vehicle,
especially a vehicle built for speed. Slipstream design can
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helps reduce air resistance, an archenemy of speed. A sloping

nose section not only directs air upwards, it can also provides
down force, which can helps to stabilize the vehicle in high
speed.
A bubble canopy, made from high grade polyglass can
also give the car a slipstream design, thus further improving
the aerodynamics of the car.
One section which we havent missed is the floor. A lot of
high-performance cars, such as Ferrari and Porsche have a
flat underside of the car. This enables air to pass through and
generates negative lift. Negative lift can helps the car sticks
firmly to the ground during high speed run. We incorporated
the flat underside concept for our prototype.

Wind tunnel image of an F1 car

4.4 DRIVE GEAR SELECTION

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Pinion gear (8 teeth)

Drive shaft
Secondary gear (30 teeth)

The image above is our drive train. Unlike many

competitors, we used gear instead of belts. Gears are a vital
piece of engineering, and unlike belting system, slippage is not
a problem in gear systems. Power transfers efficiently, to up to
98%.
The gearing in our solar car is calculated by counting the
number of teeth on both the pinion gear and the secondary
gear. The ratio is as stated below;
Primary gear

Gear ratio

secondary gear

30

3.75

These numbers translate as each rotation of the primary

(pinion) gear is equal to 3.75 rotation of the secondary gear.
This configuration gives us the most efficient speed and torque
needed in the race.

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4.5 MATERIAL SELECTION

Thin high density polystyrene sheets.

UHU tube glue

We use the lightest material possible in order to achieve

the maximum power to weight ratio. Sir Isaac Newton famous
Newton's second law stated that the formula F = ma
establishes that as m is more, the force needed to produce the

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same acceleration will also be higher. Heavy means more

weight. More weight due to more mass.
We believe by stripping down our cars weight, we will be
able to leave the competitors in the dust.
4.6 TYRE SELECTION

The tyres of our solar car is salvaged from a cheap toy which
belongs to Navins younger brother. It is very light, made of
plastic and looks nice. Chrome wheels are always a head
turner, and the diameter is excellent for high speed. The
wheels, drivetrain and motor in our solar car are a match made
in

heaven.

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5. Fabrications
Our solar car begins as a sketch (refer appendix). A
credit goes to Ling Jia Wen, the artist of our group. She was
able to draw her ideas, presented and approved by our
teachers.
Firstly, we cut the polystyrene sheet using a sharp knife.
Then we glued all the pieces together using UHU tube glue.
The first problem that we encounter is the wheel shaft got
stuck on the polystyrene hole. Our solution is to use a small
straw to go between the shaft and the body.
The solar panel is the last thing that we assemble on the
solar car. Our teacher, Mr Onn Azri raised a question weather
to put the panel on the back or on the front. As a proof of
concept, we run a few tests, with the panel on the front and on
the rear. It turned out that putting the panel directly on the
motor makes the car at least 1 second slower than on the
front.
The next problem we face is the steering. At first, the car
tends to swerve to the right on the 3 meter mark. The solution
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is simple, just like the rear wheels, we use a small straw, which
we can adjust to steer the car, and thus making the car go
straight.
All the calculations and measurement are done with our
teacher. Along the way, we learned the proper way to measure
voltage and current, as well as meter connection to the circuit.

Voltage measurement

Current measurement

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6. COST

Building a solar car today is quite inexpensive. The main

reason is that the technology has been duplicated by smaller
companies in China. A made in China DIY kit can cost as low
as RM15, and can be obtained easily over the internet.
For our project car, we use the lightest material. As our
school cannot support the cost of using of carbon fibers, we
use thin polystyrene sheet. The material is very easy to cut
and shape, plus it is lightweight, perfect for making our
prototype.
The total cost of our prototype is as follows;
Solar cell

RM 15.00

DC motor

RM 6.50

Wheels

RM free

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 Polystyrene

RM 8.00

Stationeries

RM 7.30

Total cost

RM 36.80 #

*winning the 1st place = priceless :p

7. Trial & error

These results are collected in the stated date and time.
Date \ Time

In order to calculate the average speed, we take the 3

fastest times and divided them by three. All experiments are
done during hot sunny days.
Fastest speed 1 ;
Fastest speed 2 ;
Fastest speed 3 ;

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Average speed

Fastest speed is obtained at ____________(time)

8. Appendix

Early stage of development

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Flat underside of the car

Gear
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Solar panel placement, optimum weight balance

Our solar car

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I.

FOREWORD

Tn Hj Abd Sukor Bin Salikin

The Principal
SMK Taman Seri Kluang
86000 Kluang, Johore.

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First and foremost, I would like to congratulate our

schools student for making it to the states level of the
competition. This is the first time ever that our students qualify
to the state level in the Science and Technology Carnival.
The solar car race competition is a part of science
carnival. These students show high interest and appreciation
towards the usage of alternative energy source, which is solar.
According to the skills and knowledge provided by our
teachers, students are able to explore science in a way they
could not just by studying theories. The competition allows our
student to do practical works.
Finally, it is a hope that our school representatives are
able to go further, up to the nationals final. This will definitely
do our school proud.

______________________.

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