CHAPTER 1

1 Introduction

A solar car is a vehicle, which is powered by suns energy. A solar car is a light weight,
low power vehicle designed and built with a single purpose in mind racing. They have
limited seating (usually one, sometimes two people), they have very little cargo capacity,
and they can only be driven during the day. It does, however, offer an excellent
opportunity to develop future technologies that can be applied to practical applications.

Figure 1.1: Energy Flow Diagram of a Solar Car

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 The main component of a solar car is its solar array, consisting of photovoltaic cells,
which collect the energy from the sun and converts it into usable electrical
energy. The energy is passed either to the battery for storage, or to the motor to run the
car, though a device called power tracker, which convert it into the required voltage. The
decision on whether to transfer the power to the motor or battery is made by a small
onboard computer called the motor controller. It is responsible for sending the electricity
smoothly to the motor when the accelerator is depressed, controlling the torque that goes
to the motor such that the car maintains the desired speed. Some cars also use a process
called regenerative braking, which allows some of the kinetic energy stored in the
vehicles translating mass to be stored in the battery when the car is slowing down.

A solar car is made up of many components that have been integrated together so that
they work as a single system. For the ease of explanation it has been broken down into
five primary systems:
Driver Controls & Mechanical Systems

Electrical System

Drive Train

Solar Array

Body and Chassis

1.1 DRIVER CONTROLS & MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Solar cars do have some of the standard features found in conventional cars, such as turn
signals (front & rear), brake lights, accelerator, rear view mirrors, fresh air ventilation,
and usually cruise control. The drivers and passengers are protected safety harnesses and
helmets. Drivers and passengers can look forward to uncomfortable seats, cramped
positioning, and high cockpit temperatures as these cars have very few amenities for the
driver.

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1.2 REAR VISION

Mirrors mounted to a car's exterior greatly increase aerodynamic drag; therefore, an out-
of-thebox thinking is required to find a solution. SUNRUNNER, a solar car developed
by the University of Michigan in 1995, utilized a fibre optic cable connecting an eyepiece
in the driver's area to a lens located in an aerodynamic fin mounted on top of the canopy.
MAIZE & BLUE, a later model developed by the University, on the other hand, chose an
electronic system consisting of a miniature camera installed in the car's trailing edge and
a pocket television in the driver's area. Some cars also have externally mounted mirrors
of mirrors within a bubble canopy.

1.3 VENTILATION

High temperatures are obviously bad for the driver (and passenger), but they are also bad
for electrical and electronic components as high temperatures will generally reduce the
efficiency and shorten the life of solar cells, batteries, motors, motor controllers and other
electronic equipment.

Figure 1.2: The comfortable interior temperature and air flow rate as a function of
outside temperature

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Something like 10 kilograms of air would typically have to be provided every minute to
approach passenger car comfort levels. Obviously, that's seldom feasible in a solar car
due to the drag that it might impose on the vehicle, if such cooling flows are not also
required by electrical, electronic and mechanical components of the vehicle.

Vehicle designers usually use the same airflow several times over as it passes through the
vehicle; for example cooling driver, electronics, electrics and motor sequentially. Placing
a sizeable air inlet at the forward stagnation point of the vehicle minimises drag due to
the opening. 'NACA ducts are an alternative for getting air into the car if there's a
reasonably-flat, external surface nearby that doesn't have significant divergent (or
convergent) flow.

The mechanical systems of a solar car are designed to minimize friction and weight
while maintaining the strength needed to handle the various road conditions. Lightweight
metals like titanium and composites are commonly used to maximize the strength-to-
weight ratio. It includes:

1.4 STEERING

The major design factors for steering are reliability and efficient performance. The
steering system is designed with precise steering alignment because even small
misalignments can cause significant losses and increase tire wear. Different cars use
different steering mechanisms depending on their budget and other considerations. The
SUNRUNNER utilized a rack and pinion system that was attached to the steering arms
by means of tie rods. TESSERACT, a single-seat high performance solar racecar, uses a
centre mounted handlebars, much like that on bicycles that connect to a rack-and-pinion
steering system.

1.5 BRAKES

To maximize efficiency, the brakes are designed to move freely, eliminating brake drag,
which is caused by brake pads rubbing against the brake surface. Hydraulic disc brakes
are commonplace in solar cars because of their adjustability and good braking power. As

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a supplemental system, some teams have regenerative braking which allows some of the
kinetic energy stored in the vehicles translating mass to be stored in the battery when the
car is slowing down. Here the car's motor becomes a generator as regenerative braking is
applied and adds energy to the batteries during deceleration. Both MAIZE& BLUE and
SUNRUNNER had hydraulic disc brakes while only SUNRUNNER used regenerative
braking.

1.6 SUSPENSION

Of the available front suspension variants, Mac Phearson struts or double A arms are
most common in solar cars. A Mac Phearson strut requires a large vertical clearance since
it is positioned perpendicular to the ground. Double A arms require less vertical
clearance, but consist of more components. Depending upon the design a suitable one is
chosen. The most common rear suspension is a trailing arm, similar to that found in
motorcycles. Due to a single degree of motion, the trailing arm suspension allows for
convenient packaging of dampers and the drivetrain.

1.7 WHEELS

Wheels, however, are the least efficient part of a solar car due to rolling resistance. About
one third of the energy used by a solar car is lost due to this factor. Due to this limitation,
contact with the ground should be minimized.

Solar cars typically have three or four wheels. The common three-wheel configuration is
two front wheels and one rear wheel (usually the driven wheel). Four-wheel vehicles are
sometimes configured like a conventional vehicle (with one of the rear wheels being
driven). Other four-wheel vehicles have the two rear wheels close together near the centre
(similar to the common three wheel configuration).

Solar car wheel designs are similar to those of bicycle tires. Generally, the wheel's rims
and hubs are aluminium while the spokes are made of steel. A Mylar film is placed over
the spokes to increase aerodynamic efficiency. Pneumatic tires are preferred over solid
rubber tires because they weigh less and provide a smoother ride. The best tires currently

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available are the Bridgestone Ecopia tires made for solar cars. They are very thin and
operate at over one hundred pounds/inch pressure.

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 CHAPTER 2

2 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The heart of a solar car is the electrical system, which is made up of batteries and
power electronics. Power electronics include the peak power trackers, the motor
controller, and the data acquisition system. The primary function of the power electronics
is to monitor and control the electricity within the system.

2.1 BATTERIES

A solar car uses the battery pack to store energy, which will be at a later time. The battery
pack is made up of several individual modules wired together to generate the required
system voltage. The types of batteries used include:

Lead-Acid
Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)
Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad)
Lithium Ion

The NiCad, NiMH, and Lithium batteries offer improved power to weight ratio over the
more common Lead-Acid batteries, but are more costly to maintain.

The battery pack is made up of several individual modules wired together to generate the
required system voltage. Typically, teams use system voltages between 84 and 108 volts,
depending on their electrical system. For example, Tesseract uses 512 li-ion batteries,
broken down into twelve modules, which are each equivalent to a car battery, but only
weigh 5 lbs each. Through an innovative pack design, the batteries are ventilated with
even airflow to minimize temperature differences between the modules.

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2.2 PEAK POWER TRACKERS

The peak power trackers condition the electricity coming from the solar array to
maximize the power and deliver it either to the batteries for storage or to the motor
controller for propulsion. When the solar array is charging the batteries, the peak power
trackers help to protect the batteries from being damaged by overcharging. Peak power
trackers can be very lightweight and commonly reach efficiencies above 95%.

A maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is a DC-DC converter that matches the output
of a PV string to the battery voltage in a way that maximises the power generated by the
PV string.

The power generated by a PV string depends on the operating voltage. PV power

increases steadily with operating voltage to a maximum, and then drops off rapidly as the
voltage is increased further to the open-circuit voltage. A tracker allows the PV string to
always operate at the most efficient point, independently of the battery voltage. For
example, if your battery voltage is 100V and the ideal operating point for an array string
is 2A x 120V = 240W, the tracker output will be 2.4A x 100V = 240W. In practice, there
is always a small loss of 1-2% due to inefficiencies in the tracker electronics.

MPPTs are of three types:

down (buck) converters, which convert the PV voltage to a lower battery voltage;
up (boost) converters, which convert the PV voltage to a higher battery voltage;
and
dual (buck-boost) converters, which will convert either way, though usually with
a penalty in efficiency.

2.3 FINDING THE MAXIMUM POWER POINT

There are two methods to find the maximum power point.

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 Open-circuit voltage tracking: The tracker periodically measures the open circuit
voltage, VOC, of the PV string, then sets the operating voltage to V mp = k VOC,
where k is a constant. The method is simple, and reasonably effective. This
method is used by AERL trackers.
Power tracking: The tracker measures changes in output power as it makes small
changes to the operating point, and adjusts the operating point to maximise output
power.

2.4 MOTOR CONTROLLERS

This component performs the complex task of deciding how much current actually
reaches the motor at a given time. This determination of current by the motor controller
allows the car to accelerate, decelerate, or stay at a constant speed. The better motor
controllers are up to 90% efficient.

2.5 TELEMETRY

A team's telemetry system is used for data acquisition. A commercial or custom system
monitors conditions such as speed, battery voltage, power collection and consumption,
and motor temperature. The system then relays that information to the driver and team
strategists. Most telemetry systems allow for two-way data transmissions and are based
on microcontrollers and radio modems.

2.6 DRIVE TRAIN

The drive train will consist of the electric motor and the means by which the motor's
power is transmitted to the wheel causing the vehicle to move. Due to the low amount of
power generated (less than 5 hp) usually only one wheel in the rear of the car is driven by
the electric motor. The motor types that have been used in solar cars include

brushed DC motors
DC brushless motors
induction motors

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DC brushless motors are commonplace in solar car racing. Rare-earth, permanent
magnets mounted on the rotor, reacts to magnetic fields produced by the motor's
windings. Three-phase windings allow the rotor remain at constant torque. A motor
controller sends signals to the windings, regulating the magnetic field around the rotor.
The most common type of motor used in solar cars is the dual-winding DC brushless. It is
fairly lightweight and can reach efficiencies of 98% at their rated rpm.

The dual-winding motor is sometimes used as an electronic transmission. Switching

between the dual windings changes the speed rating of the motor. The low speed
windings provide high torque for starting and passing, while the high speed windings
have higher efficiencies and are best for cruising.

There are several variations of two basic types of transmissions used in solar cars.

single reduction direct drive

variable ratio belt drive
hub motor

In the past, the most common type was the direct drive transmission where the motor is
connected to the wheel through a chain or belt with a single gear reduction. This is a
reliable and easily maintained transmission if special care is taken when aligning the
components. Efficiencies above 75% can be achieved when designed properly.

For a variable ratio belt drive, gear ratio changes as the speed of the motor increases. This
gives the motor more starting torque at lower speeds, but still allows the car to run
efficiently at higher speeds. Variable belt drives require precise alignment and careful
setup to work efficiently.

A hub motor eliminates the need for any external transmission because the motor shaft is
connected directly to the wheel hub. This greatly increases the efficiency of the drive
train and reduces the number of moving parts necessary to drive the wheel. A hub motor
uses low rpm to account for the lack of gear reduction, which tends to drop their
efficiency slightly, but they still can achieve efficiencies in excess of 95%.

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 CHAPTER 3

3 SOLAR INSOLATION

The energy from the sun strikes the earth throughout the entire day. However, the amount
of energy changes due to the time of day, weather conditions and geographic location.
The amount of available solar energy is known as the solar insolation or irradiance and is
most commonly measured in watts per meter squared or W / m 2.

Figure 3.1 : Typical solar insolation for a sunny day.

Solar irradiance is generally modelled as having three components:

direct beam irradiance,

diffuse irradiance, from the sky, and
reflected irradiance, from the ground.

The sum of these components is called global irradiance. The irradiance that will fall on a
surface depends on the many factors, including:

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 the day of the year
the position of the sun in the sky
the inclination of the surface
cloud cover.

These factors should be taken into account while designing the solar array

3.1 SOLAR ARRAY

Solar cells or photovoltaics collect the energy from the sun and converts it into usable
electrical energy. They are made from silicon by joining an n-type and a p-type silicon
semiconductor, creating an electron rich and an electron poor layer. When sunlight strikes
the cell, photons cause atoms of the semiconductor to free electrons, leaving behind
positive charges. The flow of electrons thus created constitutes an electromotive force
that drives the current to charge a battery or power a motor.

The cell's positive contact is on the bottom while the negative contact, or bus bar, is
located on the top of the cell. Each cell produces approximately .5 volts and 3 amps of
current. Connecting the cells in series, i.e., positive to negative, increases voltage.
Parallel connections, i.e., negative to negative and positive to positive, increase current.
Therefore, connecting the cells in various series and parallel configurations produces
modules of different voltages and currents.

Figure 4: Schematic Diagram of a Solar

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 Figure 3.2 : Solar Cell Diagram

Cells can be grouped into space grade and terrestrial grade categories:

Space grade cells are up to 29% efficient, and are used mainly in satellite
production due to their high cost. These high efficiency cells cost in excess of
$500 per square inch.
Terrestrial grade cells having a efficiency of 14%, are much cheaper causing them
to be the cells of choice for solar cars. Each cell measures 10cm x 10cm, costs
approximately $6.00, and produces 1.5 watts of power.

A large number of solar cells are wired together to form a solar array. The entire solar
cells together form the solar array. Solar cells should also be divided into several zones.
For example, if you have 750 solar cells, you might want to wire 3 sets of 250 cells, each
zone producing about 125 volts. If one zone fails, two other zones are still producing
power. SUNRUNNER'S array consisted of 14,057 razor blade sized, 16% efficient space
grade cells.

The cells are extremely fragile. So many engineers put them through a process called
encapsulation. Doing so strengthens solar cell durability, but decreases the efficiency.
Encapsulation is the process of coating the cells with a tougher material like resins or
sandwiching it between two sheets of fibre glass, which prevents the cells from being
damaged. For cells 14% efficient, encapsulation would reduce the overall efficiency
to12.5%.

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 CHAPTER 4

4 PRACTICALPROBLEMS WITH USING SOLAR CELLS

4.1 V CURVES AND SERIES MISMATCH

All silicon solar cells put out a voltage of about 0.5V. This is because they're a kind of
diode, and this is analogous to the forward break over voltage of the diode. Now, if you
have several cells in series and they're all the same they'll all give the same current, and
the voltage from all the cells will add up neatly. But they're not all the same. The silicon
is doped very subtly differently from cell to cell, or the purity of the silicon varies, or
different cells are at different temperatures. Ss some cells will give more current than
others. In a series string, they can't because all the cells are constrained to give exactly the
same current. This will cause many of our cells to run sub-optimally. So after the cells are
tabbed, they are measured, and grouped like with like.

4.2 CURVED ARRAYS

The next hazard is curves on the array. Many arrays are not perfectly flat, which means
that not all cells are receiving the same amount of sunlight. They have to be arranged in
such a way that all the cells in the strings receive approximately the same illumination. A
common way to achieve this would be to run each string parallel to the long axis of the
car, so that all the cells in a string are pointing in approximately the same direction.
Several strings are often wired together to form a section or panel that has a voltage close
to the nominal battery voltage.

4.3 SHADOWS AND BROKEN CELLS

Sometimes there will be shadows on the array. This could be caused by the driver bubble,
or by trees or other obstructions near the road, or by passing traffic. When a cell in a
string is shaded, its output goes down. Since the other cells continue to force current
through it, this cell actually dissipates power instead of generating, and it gets dissipated
as heat. Now that this cell is warmer, it's less efficient than the others, and so even when

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the light comes back, it'll want to generate less current, which means it'll wind up
dissipating some power as heat. This is called Thermal runaway. This is prevented in the
following way:

Every cell (or, more often, every small group of cells) has a diode across it. When a cell
in that group is shaded, current flows through the diode. If you have 60 cells in your
string, and they're in groups of 6, then when a single cell is shaded, your output voltage
will drop by 10%, as the bypass diode for that group comes into play, and your current
output will drop not at all. This is better than having your voltage drop 0.6V for the dark
cell, and having your current output drop by some large amount, as current is forced
through the dark cell.

The other time that the bypass diodes come in handy is when a cell gets damaged. This
may be due to a stone being flicked up from the road, a camera falling out of someone's
pocket or a small child running up the array. The damaged cell may go open-circuit,
meaning that without the bypass diode, output from the string would drop to zero. With
the bypass, output drops only proportionately to the percentage of cells bypassed.

4.4 LIMITATIONS

To put the limitations of a solar car in perspective, a simple calculation will suffice. Only
1000 W/m2 of energy reaches the earths surface in an hour of peak sun. This term can
be thought of as the amount of sunlight that reaches a sunny area on cloudless, summer
day around noon. An average solar array configuration span 8m, meaning the total
amount of energy hitting the solar car during peak sun is 8KWh/m2. Of this energy,
average solar cells are only able to convert 12.5% to electricity. As a result, the total
amount of converted energy available to a car consists of 1 KW/h, approximately the
same amount of energy used to run a hairdryer.

With cars running on 700-1500 Watts, efficiency is hypercritical. Therefore, advances in

all aspects of engineering, from mechanical to electrical to materials and computer
science are the key. The three primary areas of energy loss consist of aerodynamic drag,
braking, and rolling resistance. To minimize aerodynamic drag, engineers make solar

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cells as sleek as possible. Rolling resistance is proportional to weight. Hence solar cars
should be engineered to be very light.

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 CHAPTER 5

5 BODY & CHASSIS

The most distinctive part of solar cars is their bodies. The sleek and exotic shapes are eye
catching. The main goals when designing the body are to minimize the aerodynamic drag,
maximize the exposure to solar insolation, minimize weight, and maximize safety.

Figure 5.1 : Body and Chassis of a Solar Car

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5.1 BODY SHAPES

Although cars differ in design, their shapes can be grouped into four categories. A unified
aero body and panel allows for a small frontal area, low weight, and a wide range of
visibility around the canopy. Fixed or tilting, flat panels with a separate driver cab are
simple, lightweight, and inexpensive to construct; however, aerodynamic efficiency is
compromised due to exposed suspension components and vulnerability to cross winds.
Catamaran shapes offer reduced frontal area and low aerodynamic drag. For north/south
race routes, the curved array becomes very powerful in the early morning and late
afternoon as the sun travels across the horizon. Finally, are uniquely designed vehicles
whose aerodynamic efficiency and power collection capabilities differ from design to
design. MAIZE & BLUE and SUNRUNNER were catamaran shaped.

Figure 5.2 : Body shapes of common solar cars

5.2 CHASSIS

Generally, there are three types of chassis used in solar cars:

space frame

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 semi-monocoque or carbon beam
monocoque

A space frame uses a welded tube structure to support the loads and the body. The body
is a lightweight, non-load bearing, composite shell that is attached to the chassis
separately. The semi-monocoque or carbon beam chassis uses composite beams and
bulkheads to support the loads and is integrated into a non-load bearing composite belly
pan. The top sections of the car are often separate body pieces that are attached to the
belly pan. A monocoque chassis uses the body structure to support the loads. Many solar
cars use a combination of the chassis categories mentioned above. The image above is an
example of a semi-monocoque chassis with an integrated space frame used to protect the
driver.

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 CHAPTER 6

6 MATERIALS USED

A composite material is the combination of a filler material sandwiched between layers of

a structural material. Carbon fibre, Kevlar and fibreglass are common composite
structural materials. Honeycomb and foam are common composite filler materials. These
materials are bonded together using epoxy resins and in the cases of Kevlar and carbon
fibre, can obtain impressive strengths (equal to steel) but remain very lightweight.
SUNRUNNER used Kevlar as the fabric with a Nomex honeycomb spacer while
MAIZE& BLUE used carbon fibre fabric.

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 CHAPTER 7
7 FALLING SHORT

There are several characteristics that a commercially viable car must have. Commercial
cars typical can hold at least 4 passengers. It must be extremely reliable, comfortable, and
be able to function on its own. It must also be able to maintain the required speed. In
addition, commercial cars typically have amenities such as air conditioning, radio, and
power locks and windows. Solar vehicles when driven on highways, experienced many
flat tires and often were incapable of maintaining highway speeds of fifty-five miles per
hour. With the energy available to solar cars, the type of amenities described above is
impossible. The car is also a very cramped one. Hence it failed to break into the
commercial car market as of now

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 CHAPTER 8

8 THE FUTURE

8.1 IN THE SHORT TERM

One plausible market for solar vehicles is a terrestrial application of the rovers that
NASA uses in space for data collection in a hot, sun rich area where manual labor is
difficult. The vehicles would recharge autonomously, and the drivers discomfort would
not be an issue because there would not be a driver. In addition, these vehicles could be
kept lightweight and simple without a need for too many amenities.

8.2 CARRY-OVER OF EXPERTISE

The solar car rush brought substantial advances to the design of electric vehicles, starting
with the use of solar power. It led to better motors, better use of batteries, and better
motor controller design which have been adopted by some electrical vehicle
manufacturers.

8.3 COMPOSITE HULL CAR

Another key area that has been charging ahead is the composite hull car. Composites
were not only lighter, but they also made cars safer than their steel counterparts.

8.4 HARNESSING SOLAR POWER

Solar cars also helped spread the word about the use of harnessing solar power. By
spreading the word about solar energy in this exciting way, the cars contributed to the rise
in the use of solar cells for other, more practical uses. Lastly, it created a sport that has an
educational as well as a social benefit.

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8.5 IN THE LONG RUN

Whatever be its limitations, the future is definitely full of promise for the solar cars. It
took us about a hundred years after electricity was invented, to develop a commercially
viable electric vehicle. Similarly solar cars too need a suitable incubation period, to
successfully foray into the commercial vehicle segment.

With the crude prices hitting upwards of $50 a barrel and still looking bullish, it is certain
that the current preference for petroleum based automobiles will change in the not too
distant future. The solar car with no fuel expenses will certainly be preferred for short
distance commutation in the future. Though it may offer only a significantly reduced
performance compared to the conventional vehicle it will then be looked upon as a cost
effective option.

Also, there are many areas of the solar car, which can be improved upon, starting with the
solar array. At present the solar array is only 12.5% efficient. What would be the case if it
were made atleast 50% efficient? Im sure that much of the current problems in solar cars
can be overcome.

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 CHAPTER 9

9 CONCLUSION

The solar cars are used exclusively for racing in tournaments, at present. Though they
have been around for about twenty five years now, the technology is still in the
developmental stages. Hence they can not be used as a practical means of transport. The
challenge lies in making it a viable means of transport. Further research is needed in this
regard to improve solar panels, reduce weight, to improve reliability and to reduce the
cost. Research is being carried out on many semi-conductors and their alloys to develop
more efficient solar cells. It can be safely assumed that with the advent of mass
production there would be greatly reduced. Thus this technology will definitely live up to
its potential some time in the future.

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