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Missouri Wins American Solar Challenge

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the sunny-day-fun-time-contest dept.

dagoalieman writes "The University of Missouri - Rolla won this year's 2300 mile American Solar Challenge. The roughly 339lb car (517lb with driver) with 1500 watts of power won by nearly 5 hours - here's the final results. UMR has now won two out of the past three races, finishing second in the last race, to Michigan. Congrats, and good luck to them in the World Solar Challenge!"

46 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. Now... by gerf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd like to see real applications. For example, if someone had a few cells on top of their Prius, and were driving cross country, or in Phoenix, how much would it help? This is the news i'd like to hear, the stuff that matters to me.

    1. Re:Now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Some cars have translucent solar cells embedded in their sunroofs. It first arrived on the now discontinued Mazda 929 and current Audi A6's and A8's have it. To give you an idea of the power generated, it was only used to power the fans to circulate air to cool the car down when it was sitting out in the sun.

    2. Re:Now... by homer_ca · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well the specs in the Slashdot blurb are a little off. According to the Univ of Missouri site, it weighs 822 lbs with driver. Of that 176 lbs is the driver and 320 lbs is batteries.

      A Prius has about the same surface area as one of these solar racers. If you covered the entire car with solar cells, you'd get about the same power, 1500W max in bright sunlight at high noon. That's about 2HP which is less power than a 50cc moped, maybe as much power as a lawnmower, and maybe as much power as 3-4 professional bicycle racers. 2HP might be enough to run the headlights and A/C, but forget about it for moving 3000lbs of car + passengers.

    3. Re:Now... by benjamindees · · Score: 3, Informative

      1500 watts would be absolutely useless to any type of consumer vehicle. That's 2 horsepower. Your (push) lawnmower has more power. Try riding that across country.

      Besides, I'm sure they're using ultra-light ultra-expensive solar cells that you couldn't afford. The things you put on your house would barely generate enough energy to compensate for their own weight.

      --
      "I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
    4. Re:Now... by FatlXception · · Score: 5, Informative

      I don't know where you're getting your specs but the headline is correct. Our batteries weigh 30kg (66 lbs) as per race rules. Maybe you're thinking of an old lead-acid based car. This car uses lithium-ion polymer batteries.

      And as for the question about the solar cells, they're certainly the single most expensive part of the car, but they're really not that bad. They're gallium arsenide cells sold to us at a steep discount by Spectrolab because they were rejected for use on satellites, but even their rejects are much better than standard silicon terrestrial-grade cells (which incidentally is what we won second with in 2001). The full grade cells run in the millions of dollars, but reject cells like ours can be found in the ballpark of tens of thousands. The bare cells themselves are not significantly thinner or lighter than any other type of cell, but I guarantee the packaging and encapsulation is.

    5. Re:Now... by emok · · Score: 2, Informative

      The purpose of the ASC isn't to bring solar cars to consumers--that will never be feasible. The purpose is to inform the public about alternate technologies and to encourage young engineers to think about energy efficieny in their future careers. See this faq: http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/pdfs/faqs.pd f

    6. Re:Now... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 2, Informative

      IIRC, the theory behind solar powered ventilation is to keep the cars from getting oven hot in the sun. That means that they can use a smaller lighter A/C system since they don't need to battle such extreme heat. (I remember reading somewhere that a typical car A/C unit could cool a small apartment.) The weight reduction provides the real energy savings by increasing the car's fuel economy.

    7. Re:Now... by dagoalieman · · Score: 2, Informative

      The UMR Solar Team site appears to be outdated, and you're citing stats from the Solar Miner II- this year's car was Solar Miner IV. I'm looking for an updated set of stats for us to puruse.

      1500W was enough to power the car at 65mph most of the time, from what I've heard. Certainly, that's no 3000lb. But anyone who remembers races from 95, 97, etc. know that's a big improvement over past years. Also, so far as I know UMR only had one "repair" stop during the racing day (on the first day) and the rest of the stops were to refuel the chase vehichles.

      The technology isn't useful yet. But it's heading that way.

      --
      We don't need no Net Explorer We don't need no Thought control
    8. Re:Now... by malia8888 · · Score: 2, Funny
      The roughly 339lb car (517lb with driver) with 1500 watts of power won by nearly 5 hours -

      Heck, if I can find a 105 lb jockey and strap him on a fiberglass board with my 1500 W hair dryer I'd beat the weight class.....Oh yeah, the a-c plug....damn!.

      --
      Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
    9. Re:Now... by timjdot · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I know y'all never researched this any eh? Electric motors are rated on continuous output for 30 minutes or something like that while ICE's are rated on peak output. So you can 3x any electrical motor number or something like that. My father-in-law maintins the beetle and the CRX were some of the best cars ever built as they were so lite one could get $50 MPG. Not to mention all that other parts needed for gas-based cars which are not needed on electric cars.

      Anyways, the whole issue with usefulness is battery weight. Period. Lead's about as heavy as it gets. Gas is per weight about as efficient as it gets ('cept the nuke subs) So, the usefulness is in home/fixed power. I researched a fews years back that I could switch over for about $20K but was not convinced the system would last long enough to pay itself off and could not determine that the local power monopoly allowed credit for power I'd supply back to the system when I was not running at capacity.

      I hope we see some more consumer applications of solar in the near future. TimJowers

      --
      Expect Freedom.
    10. Re:Now... by pj737 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Well, if you covered the entire car including its roof, hood, trunk and rear window (using less efficient transparent solar cells) with cells that automobile manufacturers could actually afford, you could maybe get away with 800 watts max in a practical application. And that's using cells of at least 18% efficiency. But, you have to consider that your car could be parked in the sun all or most of the day. That would yield (or store) anywhere from 3,200 - 4,800 watt-hours of energy. How much is that? Well, it's enough to crank a 75HP electric motor at two-thirds capacity (about 50HP or 37 kilowatts) for about 7.5 minutes. 50HP is enough power to get a well-designed car (decent weight and relatively low coefficient of drag) to maintain 65 mph - easy.

      Cruising at 65 mph on the freeway is relatively as efficient as driving in the city (stop and go vs. constant high speed). This is a HUGE variable so please no rebuttals. I'm trying to be general here.. So if you travel 65 mph on the freeway you'll travel 8.12 miles in 7.5 minutes. If you were in the city in stop and go traffic you would cover about the same distance - 8.12 miles on that same bucket of solar energy. Throw in some hills and a lot of wind and you may have to shave about 20%.

      8 or even 6 miles from pure solar power every day? That's kick ass! Considering I only drive about 4,000 miles per year in my Honda Insight, solar power could supplement over half of the miles I travel every year! Heck, even if you drive 10,000 miles per year, that's still 20% from pure solar.

      Who says solar cars are not viable? I say get those lame ass solar race cars off the road and start integrating some solar technology into hybrids with LARGER storage batteries. Japan, you listening??? (cause I know US car manufacturers sure as hell ain't).

      Autonomous everything!

  2. How long? by ravenousbugblatter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does anyone know if the times the race takes are getting shorter each year? In other words, is the technology actually getting better each year?

    1. Re:How long? by Cyclopedian · · Score: 4, Informative
      Here's the results of the ASC race from 2001:
      Overall Results

      The leader finished with 56:10:46, while this year's leader finished with 51:47:39. However, looking at the overall top 10, it appears that the 2001 field was slightly better than the top 10 of this year's field. I'd say it means that solar technology is advancing but at a somewhat slow pace. Until we hit that breakthrough that gets the solar efficiency past 40%, we won't see much of any daily applications of this tech.

      Then again, it's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

      -Cyc

      --
      /.'s 10 Millionth
    2. Re:How long? by Alien+Being · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "it appears that the 2001 field was slightly better than the top 10 of this year's field. I'd say it means that solar technology is advancing but at a somewhat slow pace."

      Maybe there was more sun that year.

    3. Re:How long? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Most solar cells are 12-17% efficient. 40% would be a huge leap.

    4. Re:How long? by utexaspunk · · Score: 5, Informative

      I used to be on the Solar Race car team at UT, and I can tell you that the rules for this and Sunrayce are extremely restrictive as to what kind of cells and batteries you can use (to keep the rich schools from buying all the super-top-of-the-line stuff and outspending the competition), and you're limited to driving the speed limit. It's more of a competition about making a car that won't break down than about speed.

    5. Re:How long? by emok · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe that UMR was travelling at or near the posted speed limit for the entire race, so it's not really possible to finish much faster. ...yes the teams do have to obey traffic laws.

    6. Re:How long? by Duncan3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      25-30% efficiency cells have been around for a while. I've even seen some report in the 35% range under normal solar spectrum.

      You can't afford them however. Warren Buffet could maybe cover his car roof, but not the hood and trunk. And then he'd be broke. The tech is easy waiting for the patents to expire is the hard part.

      In 15 years, having your house roof be 33% solar shingles will cost next to nothing, but for now, don't hold your breath.

      --
      - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
  3. Missouri? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is dat them Roads Scholars they got'n thar?

    1. Re:Missouri? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Let me guess, you live on either the east or west coast?

      The University of Missouri Rolla is one of the top Engineering colleges in the country. It ranks right behind MIT and California Institute of Technology. Let's not forget Washington University based in Saint Louis, one of the leaders in the engineering and medical communities.

      Nice job being ignorant.

    2. Re:Missouri? by King_TJ · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, don't be *too* hard on the original poster. I'm from St. Louis, Missouri myself and I laughed at it.

      Many folks who live near the coasts really don't have a clue what midwestern cities are like though. I've talked to a good number of native Californians on IRC chat in the past - and it's surprising how often the *only* thing they know of St. Louis is "Oh yeah, you're the city with that big arch, right?" They also often seem to think there is nothing else in Missouri except for farmland and camp sites. (We've got a LOT of that - but that sure wouldn't describe Kansas City, MO or even Springfield, MO.)

      Speaking of colleges in particular though, you might also point out that another part of the "triangle" of "University of Missouri" schools, "Mizzou" (in Columbia, MO), is nationally recognized for turning out top quality writers and English literature majors.

      Of lesser note, perhaps, but still worth mentioning - St. Louis, MO is also home of Logan School of Chiropractic -- probably one of the largest Chiropractic colleges in the United States.

    3. Re:Missouri? by domovoi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Another St. Louisan here. Don't forget the many unique places that make StL um...stand out.

      Then again, there are bunches of genuinely cool places and events that make the town with the easy-carry handle worth living in.

      UM-St. Louis also produces a seriously good literary magazine and has a strong creative writing program.

  4. Huh? by heli0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "The roughly 339lb car (517lb with driver)"

    http://solar42.umr.edu/faq/techfaq.htm
    "Q: What does the car weigh?
    A: Solar Miner II weighs 822 pounds with the driver. The batteries alone weigh 320 pounds and our driver weighs 176 pounds. If the driver weighs in less than 176 pounds, he/she must carry lead shot with them to bring their weight to 176 pounds. "

    Is that 339lb figure from the article only the batteries?

    --
    Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
  5. In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    CEO's of the Big Three yawned in unison when told about Missouri's victory.

    One of them asked "Was the winner an SUV that runs on gasoline?" When told the answer, he replied "whatever."

    1. Re:In other news by (startx) · · Score: 2, Informative

      Heh, I find that midly amusing, only because on our longest one-day run in the race, 435 miles, we had to stop to refuel the f'ing chase car. The solar car was just fine running on batteries alone.

  6. From a displaced Missourian: by NOLAChief · · Score: 2, Funny

    Congratulations Miners! Glad to hear you found something productive to do in Rolla. :) (Note to everyone else: this is my dad's alma mater...It's a great engineering school, but there's not much to do in Rolla, MO...I've heard the, er, stories.)

  7. The reason they beat the U of Minnesota by teamhasnoi · · Score: 3, Funny
    they closed the Subway(TM) in Stadium Village. Our driver was 330 pounds!

    Hardly fair.

  8. Bad For The Environment by tds67 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't think these Universities should be promoting solar power. The sun is a finite resource. In about 4 billion years it'll be done for. Wasting its energy like this is not helpful.

    1. Re:Bad For The Environment by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 3, Funny
      OK, enough waste. Bout time we get Congress to OK funding for building a Dyson's Sphere.

      Let the contract bidding begin!

      --

      They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  9. For Non-USians ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The University of Missouri - Rolla won this year's 3700 km American Solar Challenge. The roughly 154 kg car (235 kg with driver) with 1500 watts of power won by nearly 5 hours - here's the final results. UMR has now won two out of the past three races, finishing second in the last race, to Michigan. Congrats, and good luck to them in the World Solar Challenge!"

  10. Funny how... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Funny how the schools that won came from states with little or no sun, and the sunny states didn't place that well.

    Guess people who go to schools with no sun have nothing to do but work all day.

    1. Re:Funny how... by Keeper · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, the biggest challenge the solar racers experience is how to plan/cope with NOT having sun.

      Ie: How hard do you push the car to have enough juice in the batteries to start off at full power the next day?

      A more efficient car helps out somewhat, but good judgement (and luck) plays a much greater role than you'd think. And that good judgement comes from experience/practice.

  11. 2003 Dell-Winston Solar Challenge - another race by wherley · · Score: 2, Informative

    here is the info on another solar race from Dell headquarters in Round Rock Texas to the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa FL which just ended (after 9 days of racing) today.

    Good job teams!

  12. Car building guidelines? by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is it allowed to use the actual *heat* of the sun to produce energy, such as in a Stirling engine, or is that now considered 'Reverse Engineering of Sunlight' and outlawed under the DMCA?

  13. Solar? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Funny

    So I guess that means no 'VTEC' sticker. Too bad.

  14. As a former UMR student, I can say.... by anonymousman77 · · Score: 5, Funny

    We had no women, but we sure had a sweet-assed solar car. =)

    1. Re:As a former UMR student, I can say.... by Kevinv · · Score: 4, Funny

      See what you can accomplish when there are no women clouding your thoughts? 8-)

      Another UMR grad ('91)

    2. Re:As a former UMR student, I can say.... by eoyount · · Score: 2, Funny

      Amen to that.

      Eric Yount
      UMR '98

      --
      To understand recursion,
      you must first understand recursion.
  15. Solar Cell Efficiency? by heli0 · · Score: 4, Informative

    What is the current progress on this?

    This is what I found:
    http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/0304 21.html

    "17.4% Module Conversion Efficiency Industry's Most Efficient --- April 21, 2003"
    "17.3 m2 of area yielding 3.01 kW (4hp)"

    The surface area (hood, roof) of a 2004 Prius is ~10m^2. So that would generate around 2kW with these panels.

    What are the projection for panel efficiency over the next 5-20 years?

    At 50% efficiency you could get 5kW output for a 10m^2 panel. If you drove 1 hour/day and parked in the sun 6 hours/day you could generate an extra 40hp for that hour on the road. As someone mentioned earlier, slap this on a Prius and you should reach 100mpg+ easily.

    Feel free to fix any calculation errors.

    --
    Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
  16. PROBLEM: BIG DRIVER by cygnus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    178 lbs. of driver? somebody get a horse jockey in that cockpit!

    --
    Just raise the taxes on crack.
  17. re: affordability by v1 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, the rules for solar races almost always place a limit on the $/watt for the cells, so that competitors can't "buy" the win. (there are some much more efficient solar cells out there, but their cost is insanely high) This forces entrants to work on "the big picture", including vehicle weight, aerodynamics, electronics efficiency, and even their strategy. Many solar competitions allow one battery swap-out during the course of the run, and teams have to decide when the best time for this is, in addition to how hard to push the pedal when power's running low.

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  18. GO MINERS! by Dr.+Bent · · Score: 3, Funny
    I am a UMR grad, and let me tell you, the solar car is the only "sport" my school has.

    Let me give you an idea of what the campus is like. We have the
    • Chemical Engineering Building
    • Mechanical Engineering Building
    • Electrical Engineering Building
    • Civil Engineering Building
    • Nuclear Engineering Building
    • Geology and Geophysics Building
    • Computer Science Building
    • Physics Building
    • Mathematics Building
    • Engineering Management Building

    and one Arts and Sciences building with all those pansy ass "liberal arts" classes in them. (I probably left one out...it's been a while since I was back)

    So needless to say it's a geekfest. I think our football team has won once....like in it's history. The Solar Car challenge is something we dominate in because, well, we can.

    One more time....GO MINERS!
  19. 176 pound driver? by Daniel+Quinlan · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Maybe I'm too competitive, but I would have made sure a few really skinny/short people were available and eligible to be drivers on my team. I weigh 152 pounds and I'm 6 feet tall and I weigh more than a fair number of the skinny geek set. How hard can it be to find a few 115 pound women (they may need to be part of the engineering team, but that too should be no problem, especially in mechanical/electrical engineering which has less of a male-female imbalance than computer engineering) to do the race-time driving? 176 pounds is a fairly mid-sized guy.

    I tried downloading the rules to check, but the PDF was a blank document. Does anyone know if 176 pounds is just that team's average or are teams with lighter drivers required to use weights to bring them up to 176 pounds (like some horse races)?

    Daniel

    1. Re:176 pound driver? by RocketScientist · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude. You've obviously never been to Rolla. Standing joke: "There's a tone of women students in Rolla. Both of them."

      There's no business school. There's no school for teachers. There's one building that houses psychology, english, speech, and foreign languages. There are like 10 buildings on campus for different engineering and pure-science disciplines. There just aren't a lot of women going into those fields, which is really unfortunate.

    2. Re:176 pound driver? by (startx) · · Score: 2, Informative

      you guessed it. 176lbs is the minimum for the rayce. If the driver isn't that heavy, they do have to use wights to bring the wieght up.

  20. Proud to be from UMR by RTMFD · · Score: 2, Interesting

    We've got a good little school here... You can tell it's an engineering school when the solar car team is more popular and well-known than the football team :)

    Anyways, check the domain on my email address. Good job guys!