EEVblog #923 - World's Fastest Solar Electric Car

[EEVblog]

A brief look at the UNSW EVE solar electric car at Electronex 2016, the world's fastest solar electric car.

[richnormand]

Loved it. Thanks Dave.
Would like more info on drive electronics strategy and stuff. I'm off to Google to find more info about them.

[max_torque]

So they have an ultra low inductance motor architecture, and then have to add extra external inductance into the phases to prevent excessive current ripple     (where's the massive face palm smiley??  )



 

[Jeff_Birt]

<nit_picking>I think stating 'worlds fastest' is a bit of a misnomer. Fastest; meaning highest maximum speed fastest time on so many laps of a race course, best time on a multi-day 1,000kM trek? These competitions typically also include penalty point, etc. so having the most point/winning is not even about a fastest completion time. OK, so maybe I'm being nit_picky because I think our solar car team is the greatest. </nit_picking>

All <nit_picking> aside I love student competitions or anything that gets students with tools in their hands building stuff. This types of events are multi-faceted in that they involve not only the technology in the car but also the logistics of getting a load of students and gear where they need to be, and the strategy devised based on the strengths of the car, weather, course, etc.

What I most often see overlooked by students (and faculty) alike is the reliability of what they build. It does no good to build the latest gee-whiz motor/controller/etc. only to have it break down several times in the race. Even more mundane things like gusseting tube chassis joins can be over looked resulting in a break. It can be a great learning experience.

Last semester I was making some parts for a student who was working on a sort of mobile information display device (picture a LCD TV with a Raspberry Pi on the back attached to a two wheel dolly). He was working on designing the 'two wheel dolly' apparatus as the IT department was not happy with commercial offerings. I had made some parts for him the previous semester and when he came in to the shop he said something like, "My design worked but it broke! But I took MickeyMat (Mechanics of Materials) last semester and I now understand why it broke and that it broke right where it should have." The wonders of practical hands on learning...

[digsys]

Agree with Jeff. (as a member of Aurora for 15 yrs). We also hold many records, but as Jeff says, race rules always have a penalty system to "level" a class.
Our last WSC race, we were held back a day as a handicap. It means nothing. We do it for the advancement of Solar electric ! which will HAVE to be the future.