Solar Vehicle Challenge

1
Solar Vehicle Challenge

• Trains and Boats and Planes
• A Planet Friendly Power Generation Project.
• Can you generate green energy?

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
2
Power from the Sun

• To promote and develop an interest in
• Engineering and Technology
• the use of renewable power sources
• and a more environmentally friendly approach to
  energy usage

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
3
The challenge

• The challenge is to design and construct
• a solar powered vehicle
• Use solar cells to generate green energy
• run the vehicle in an endurance race
• It is open to
• Individuals
• Family groups
• Team size up to 4

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
4
The Kit

• Free Starter Pack
• solar panel
• a boat propeller
• an aeroplane propeller
• four plastic train wheels
• a super capacitor
• a solar motor.

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
5
Generating energy
Solar Power

• Energy produced by the sun requires
• A Solar Cell
• Output is directly proportional to the amount of
  light
• To get maximum output it needs to be
  perpendicular to the light source
• In this country an angle of 15o to the horizontal
  at midsummer
• So especially on a cloudy day it must face south.

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
6
Why Super Capacitors?

• Super Capacitors are GREEN.
• They dont use chemicals
• They can be disposed of safely
• Long cycle life of more than 500,000 cycles
• Small physical size
• Batteries are NOT GREEN.
• They contain chemicals such as cadmium
• 15 billion are thrown away every year!
• 50 times more energy to produce than they deliver!

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
7
Circuitry

• The circuit is very simple
• and consists of
• A Solar Cell('s)
• A motor
• A super capacitor
• A switch
• The polarity will depend on the motor
• Some method of turning it on and off
• The Solar cells continuously charge the
  capacitor

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
8
The boat circuit and the train circuit

• The boat circuit Solar cells
• need to be mounted on the boat
• The train circuit Solar cells
• Can be mounted on the train
• Can be mounted by the side of the track

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
9
Energy from the Sun

• How to achieve maximum power
• Working out where you are and whats the best
  angle

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
10
The Earth and the Sun

• The Earth is 149.6 million km from the Sun
• The lower the Sun is to the horizon the less
  energy

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
11
Solar Panels

• Experimentation
• Devise an experiment to find the most efficient
  angle for sunlight to fall onto a solar panel.
• Find the latitude for your school and for where
  the competition is going to be held
• Will the change in latitude make a difference?
• From the results of the first two experiments
  what should be the angle you set your solar panel
  to?
• What else have you found out from your
  experiments?

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
12
Solar PanelsAngle to the sun
What would the angle be in Mid-summer?
Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
13
Solar Vehicle Challenge

• This year there are four categories
• Boat
• Aircraft
• Train
• Monorail

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
14
Boats Design a solar powered boat and to prove
that your ideas work build a model of it. The
boat must be powered by solar panels. A maximum
of 3 solar panels can be used to power the
boat. The model must be made by the team who
enter it and not use any commercially available
boat hulls.
Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
15
Aircraft Design a solar powered aircraft and to
prove that your ideas work build a model and fly
it. The plane must be powered by solar panels
that can be mounted separately to it and the
power stored on a super capacitor. A maximum of 4
solar panels can be used to power the plane.
Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
16
Trains Design a solar powered train engine to run
on a standard G gauge railway track. The engine
must be powered by the solar panels and can be
mounted on the engine or separately to it. A
maximum of 4 solar panels can be used to power
the train.
Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
17
Monorail Design a solar powered vehicle to run on
an air track made from a 67mm square plastic
drain pipe. The track will be 6 meters long and
the fastest down the track will be the winner.
Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate
18
Solar Vehicle Challenge

• The specifications and rules for each of the
  categories can be found in the handouts supplied
  with the kits.
• And thats all there is to it!

Kieron McGeever NYBEP Associate