{"id":26744,"date":"2023-08-04T09:12:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T07:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=26744"},"modified":"2023-08-04T09:12:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T07:12:20","slug":"durham-university-solar-car-light-years-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/04\/durham-university-solar-car-light-years-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham University Solar Car – light years ahead?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accepting the challenge to race between the Australian cities of Darwin and Adelaide on public roads using solar power this autumn the UK’s Durham University’s Solar Car Challenge Team<\/a> are pitching their engineering genius against the world.<\/p>\n

The 3000km (around 1870 miles) Bridgestone World Solar Challenge<\/a> takes place every two years. Vehicles begin the race with 5kWh of stored energy and recharge their lithium batteries as they drive using a shell mounted 4m\u00b2 (5m\u00b2 for the ‘Cruiser Class’) solar array.<\/p>\n

For over twenty years Durham University’s fifty-strong Department of Engineering team has been designing and building innovation for solar powered vehicles. Their work on aerodynamics, for example, has resulted in a shell so slippery it produces similar drag to the wing mirrors of a conventional car.<\/p>\n

Kevlar and Carbon fibre composite has been used for the protective cell which surrounds the driver – ensuring safety in the event of an incident. The team has produced a cell wall material which is as strong as steel, but as light as polystyrene!<\/p>\n

On the all-important question of propulsion, in-wheel electric motors using ultra-slim magnets and windings improves efficiency by delivering more torque for less weight. And because direct-drive in-wheel motors eliminate the need for a drive train, less energy is lost to friction, and yet more weight is saved.<\/p>\n

The Durham University Solar Car team recently revealed their hand-built and very slick-looking Solar Vehicle in advance of packing it up for the long journey to Australia in a shipping container, which will also act as the vehicle’s mobile race-workshop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The mobile workshop’s power tools allow for some serious vehicle maintenance on the road – even when that road runs through thousands of miles of wilderness.<\/p>\n

Similar mobile workshops closer to home are routinely provided with battery-based power to meet any load – even three-phase loads. Some mobile engineers spend their whole lives helping clients on the road – you can see examples of their rigs here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The solar race team’s workshop energy demands are modest and highly transportable – even to the other side of the world.<\/p>\n

Their container deploys roof mounted solar panels; a SmartSolar MPPT<\/a> 100|15 solar charge controller harvests energy for storage in a 200Ah lead acid battery. \u00a0There’s an 800W inverter<\/a>. Battery state-of-charge, time remaining, usage history – even the battery voltage! – can be read directly from the display of the BMV 712 Smart battery monitor<\/a> which also has Bluetooth on board, further allowing it to be read from a smartphone or other device via the VictronConnect<\/a>\u00a0app.<\/p>\n

Road-legal<\/h4>\n

In addition to engineering innovation, a great deal of testing is conducted in order to prove the vehicle is road-safe with regard to visibility, stability, steering, braking, emergency egress, lighting etc.<\/p>\n

Weight reduction is essential for energy saving but brings its own safety-related problems. During the 2019 event crosswinds caused six vehicles to leave the road.<\/p>\n

Energy is provided principally by the solar panels, though recovered energy from regenerative braking or whilst travelling downhill is also permissible under race rules. This year’s event restricts the LiFePO4 battery storage allowable cell mass to 36 kg.<\/p>\n

\"\"

<\/div><\/a> It puts the vehicle’s epic journey in perspective when you learn that the commercial flight time between Darwin and Adelaide is 3hrs 15m. In the last event only 8 vehicles out of 50 starters completed the course.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bridgestone World Solar Challenge<\/h4>\n

The aim of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is to stimulate research into, and development of, sustainable road transport.<\/p>\n

There are three classes of entry:<\/p>\n