SOLAR CAR

SEMINAR ON:

PRESENTED BY:SOUMYASANKAR

PRADHANREGD. NO:1201109163

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERINGPARALA MAHARAJA ENGINEERING COLLEGE,BERHAMPUR

CONTENTS What is Solar Car? History of Solar Car Components of a Solar Car Mechanism Advantages Disadvantages Application Conclusion Reference

What is a Solar Car? A solar vehicle is an electric vehicle powered

by a type of renewable energy, by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the vehicle.

History of Solar Car First Solar Car was invented in 1955 by Willam G. Cobb. That was called “SUN MOBILE”. It had 12 PV cells and the size was about 12 inch.

Sun Mobile(first solar car)

Components of a Solar Car

SOLAR ARRAY POWER TRACKERS ELECTRIC MOTOR SPEED CONTROLLER CHASSIS BATTERY WHEEL

Solar Cell A solar cell converts solar energy to electrical energy. Photons in sunlight provide the energy that moves electrons from one

layer of a semi-conducting metallic wafer to another. The movement of the electrons creates a current. The most common solar cells function by the photovoltaic effect. “Photo” means light and “Voltaic” means electrical current or

electricity. 

Working Principle of Solar Cell When sunlight falls on the PV Cell, it absorbs the energy from

photons and free the electrons from the Semi-conductor. A flow of electrons takes place which produces an electricity.

Solar Array The array is made up of many (often several hundred) photovoltaic

solar cells. It collects the direct sun radiation and converts to electricity.It is the

main source of power to the Solar Car. The power produced by the solar array varies depending on the

weather, the sun's position in the sky, and the solar array itself.

Power Trackers 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 power trackers help to protect the batteries from being damaged by overcharging.

Electric Motor An electric motor is a device using electrical energy to produce

mechanical energy. An electric motor is the basic and the most important part of a solar

car. It should work with optimal power and the efficiency should be high. It is used to drives the wheels.

Battery After the power tracker convert the energy to the energy that is

usable for the car, it send to the battery then the battery store the energy.

This energy is send to the motor and controller to make the car run.

Speed Controller The purpose of a motor speed controller is to take a signal

representing the demanded speed, and to drive a motor at that speed.

The controller may or may not actually measure the speed of the motor.

Speed Controller

Chassis and Wheels The primary challenge in developing an effective solar car chassis is

to maximize the strength and safety, but minimize the weight. However, safety is a primary concern and the chassis must meet

stringent strength and safety requirements. The wheel should be Light weight and should posses good road grip.

Mechanism

AdvantagesReduced Polution

Reduced Energy Cost Produce less

noiseUnlimited Source

Disadvantages High initial Cost

Lesser speed than regular car

Less efficient in cloudy weather

Limited to Solar regions only

What Will Happen if There is No Sunlight? If there is no

sunlight, the emergency batteries will be used. Example in the situation that there was a large cloud cover the sky, this emergency batteries will be used.

Applications This concept can be utilized to build a single sitter four wheel

vehicles in practice.

It can be extended to more commercial form of four wheeler vehicle.

In industry where small vehicles are used to perform light weight conveys work from one place to other place.

It can be used places where, fuel based vehicles are banned due to production of pollution and noise

Conclusion Solar Car would be an amazing advancement in future car technology. They would allow free and pollution less travel with unlimited accessibility. If some minor drawbacks associated with Solar Car can be rectified, then

for sure Solar Car will play a vital role in future transportation.

Reference www.wikipedia.com www.solarcar.Stanford.edu www.technologystudent.com www.auto.howstuffsworks.com www.solarcar.engine.umich.edu

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