World Solar Challenge Totally Explained

Everything about The World Solar Challenge totally explained

The World Solar Challenge is a solar-powered car race which covers 3021 km (1,877 miles) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide.
The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987.

Objective

The objective of this competition is to promote research on solar-powered cars. Teams from universities and enterprises participate. In 2005, 22 teams from 11 countries entered the primary race category.

Important rules

As the race is over public roads, the cars have to adhere to the normal traffic regulations; however, there's a special note in the official regulations remarking on the tendency of drivers to take advantage of a favourable road camber in order to capture the maximum amount of solar energy. After midday when the sun is in the west, it would be advantageous to drive on the right side of the highway, provided, of course, there's no traffic in opposite direction.
A minimum of 2 and maximum 4 drivers have to be registered. If the weight of a driver (including clothes) is less than, ballast will be added to make up the difference.
Driving time is between 0800 and 1700 hours. In order to select a suitable place for the overnight stop (alongside the highway) it's possible to extend the driving period for a maximum of 10 minutes, which extra driving time will be compensated by a starting time delay the next day.
At various points along the route there are checkpoints where every car has to pause for 30 minutes. Only limited maintenance tasks (no repairs) are allowed during these compulsory stops.
The capacity of the batteries is limited to a mass for each chemistry (such as Lithium Ion) equivalent to approximately 5 kWh maximum. At the start of the race, the batteries may be fully charged. Batteries may not be replaced during the competition, except in the situation of a breakdown. However, in that case a penalty time will apply.
Except for the maximum outer dimensions, there are no further restrictions on the design and construction of the car.
The deceleration of the dual braking system must be at least /s².

The challenge

Efficient balancing of power resources and power consumption is the key to success during the race. At any moment in time the optimal driving speed depends on the weather (forecast) and the remaining capacity of the batteries. The team members in the (normal) escort cars will continuously remotely retrieve data from the solar car about its condition and use these data as input for prior developed computer programs to work out the best driving strategy. Therefore the requirement that the foot well for the 'Official Observer', who is to be hosted by the primary escort vehicle, shouldn't be filled up with computer equipment.
It is equally important to charge the batteries as much as possible in the periods from sunrise till 0800 and from 1700 till sunset. To capture as much solar-energy as possible, the solar panels are generally directed such that these are perpendicular to the incident sun rays. Often the whole car is tilted for this purpose.

Changes for the 2007 race

By 2005, several teams were handicapped by the South Australian speed limit of, as well as the difficulties of support crews keeping up with race vehicles. It was generally agreed that the challenge of building a solar vehicle capable of crossing Australia at vehicular speeds had been met and exceeded. A new challenge was set: to build a new generation of solar car, which, with a little bit of modification, could be the basis for a practical proposition for sustainable transport.
Entrants to the 2007 race chose between racing in the Adventure and Challenge classes. Challenge class cars were restricted to 6 square meters of solar collectors (a 25% reduction), driver access and egress were required to be unaided, seating position upright, steering controlled with a steering wheel, and many new safety requirements were added. Competitors also had to adhere to the new speed limit across the Northern Territorial portion of the Stuart Highway.
The 2007 event again featured a range of supplementary classes, including the Greenfleet class, which features a range of non-solar energy-efficient vehicles exhibiting their fuel efficiency. Panasonic was the primary sponsor of the 2007 World Solar Challenge which ran from October 21 to 28, 2007.

History

The idea for the competition originates from Danish-born adventurer Hans Thostrup. He was the first to circumnavigate the Australian continent in a open boat. At a later stage in his life he became involved in various competitions with fuel saving cars and trucks. Already in the 1980s, he became aware of the necessity to explore sustainable energy as a replacement for the limited available fossil fuel. Sponsored by BP, he designed the world's first solar car, called Quiet Achiever, and traversed the 4052 km (2,518 miles) between Sydney and Perth in 20 days. That was the precursor of the World Solar Challenge.
After the 4th race, he sold the rights to the state of South Australia and leadership of the race was assumed by Chris Selwood.
The race was held every three years until 1999 when it was switched to every two years.

The first race was run in 1987 when the winning entry, GM's Sunraycer won with an average speed of . Ford Australia's "Sunchaser" was second and "Spirit of Biel" was third. The "Solar Resource", which came in 7th overall, was first in the Private Entry category.

In 1990 the race was won by the "Spirit of Biel", built by Biel School of Engineering and Architecture in Switzerland followed by Honda in second place and University of Michigan in third. Video coverage here.

In 1993 the race was won by Honda. Video coverage here.

In 1996 the race was won by Honda for a second time.

Finally in 1999 a "home" team, the Australian "Aurora", took the prize.

In 2001 the Nuna of the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands, participating for the first time, was the fastest.

In 2003 the Nuna 2, the successor to the winner of 2001 won again, with an average speed of .

In 2005 the Nuna team scored a hat-trick with their third victory in a row; their Nuna 3 won with a record average speed of . Aurora finished in second place followed by the University of Michigan in third.

In 2007 the Dutch Nuon Solar team scored their fourth successive victory with Nuna4 in the challenge class averaging under the new rules, while the Ashiya team with their car Tiga won the race in the adventure class under the old rules with an average speed of .Further Information

Get more info on 'World Solar Challenge'.

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