UA Solar Car Competing Nationally

Posted by admin on April 1, 2009 under Auto News, Car Events | Be the First to Comment

The University of Arizona solar car will compete in the Shell Eco-Marathon in California. The car has three teams of senior designers tasked to make the most efficient and fastest solar powered car possible.This is not your average senior project. “We’d like to be able to show that solar energy is in fact a viable way of powering a car”, says U of A student Collin Mechler.

By the time the last of the 2000 solar panels are in place, they will take the green flag in Fontana, California for the Shell Eco-Marathon.

“We have three senior design teams working for the solar car racing team. They each build a separate sub-system of the car so we can all throw it together and have a working, effective car,” says Mechler.

Part of having a fast car is learning from past mistakes. The big problem they ran into last year was maximizing the efficiency of the solar panels. So this year, they’re back to the drawing board, with hopes of maximized efficiency. Their goal is a vehicle that gets over 400 mpg and can reach at least 60 mph.

“One way to optimize the efficiency of our car is we’re going to have a solar array that actually tracks the sun based on where the car is oriented”, says Mechler.

This year’s car is also a little leaner compared to last. “We’re going to have the car around 350 pounds, where as last year’s car was on the order of 450 to 500 pounds,” says Mechler.

While the ultimate goal is to be the first taking that checkered flag, Collin & his crew have another. “By the time we graduate, we’d like to look back and say we did everything we could to make this the best car possible,” says Mechler.

A victory both the U of A and the Planet can savor.

Who will the University of Arizona be competing against come April 15th in Fontana, CA? Visit: http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/responsible_energy/ecomarathon_americas/students/team/2009_teams.html

(Source: www.kvoa.com)