Sunseeker (solar vehicle)

Last updated

Sunseeker (front) at a midday stop in Sunrayce 1995. Sunkeeker at midday stop in Sunrayce 1995.jpg
Sunseeker (front) at a midday stop in Sunrayce 1995.

The Sunseeker Solar Car Project, Sunseeker for short, is Western Michigan University's solar car team. Each vehicle is designed, built, maintained, and raced by students. Sunseeker has competed in all of the American Solar Challenge events, going back to 1990. [1]

Contents

The mission of the Sunseeker Solar Car Project is to design, build, and race solar powered vehicles to advance and demonstrate the abilities of the renewable energy technologies. When not racing, the team participates in numerous events, where they show their cars to the public.

History

1990

In 1990, WMU's Sunseeker competed in the General Motors sponsored Sunrayce USA that ran from Orlando, Florida to Warren, Michigan. With over 1600 miles and 38 competitors, Sunseeker 77 finished in 8th place. [2]

1991

In 1991, Sunseeker competed in two Arizona solar challenges. One of them was the Solar and Electric 500 at Phoenix International Speedway where Sunseeker received the honor of 5th place. Sunseeker placed an impressive 2nd place in the Arizona Governor's Cup Solar Challenge, a 2.5 mile Grand Prix course through the streets of Phoenix, Arizona.

1993

In 1993, GM was joined by the DOE, National Renewable Energy Laboratories and EDS to sponsor the solar challenge. The Sunrayce ran from Dallas, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rain and clouds contributed to a disappointing 18th place for Sunseeker 93. [3]

1995

The NREL, EDS, and GM together sponsored the 1995 Sunrayce. The route ran from the Indianapolis Speedway to Denver, Colorado. Sunseeker 95 took advantage of the excellent chassis from the previous race and built a new array, installed a new power train, refined the aerodynamics, and formed a new strategy. These changes allowed Sunseeker to place 8th in a competitive field of 36 cars. [4]

1997

The 1997 Sunrayce ran from Indianapolis to Colorado Springs, Colorado with the DOE, EDS and General Motors as its sponsors. The team built an entirely new vehicle for 1997. Sunseeker 97 finished in 16th-place. [5]

1999

1999 brought about a whole new aerodynamic body design that was different from all previous Sunseeker designs. There was only one problem: rain. Nine of the ten race days from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida were plagued with overcast and rain. The rain damaged one of Sunseeker's two motors, which had to be taken apart and dried. On the last and only sunny day of the race, Sunseeker 454 passed more than 20 competitors and finished 3rd for the day, but still finished in 26th position overall. [6]

2001

Sunseeker 295 at the Air Zoo Air Zoo December 2019 106 (Western Michigan University's Sunseeker 295).jpg
Sunseeker 295 at the Air Zoo

The first American Solar Challenge race in 2001 was sponsored by EDS, the DOE, and NREL. WMU hosted scrutineering where the solar cars are inspected for mechanical, electrical and safety requirements. Sunseeker 95 was modified with a new array panel and more efficient solar cells. The wheels were replaced with the carbon fiber wheels used on the 1999 car. A number of other modifications were made and the car was renamed Sunseeker 295. After a 2400-mile race from Chicago to Los Angeles down Route 66, it finished 5th in Stock Class and 23rd overall. [7]

2003

For WMU's Centennial in 2003, the team reduced the 1999 car's length and width and constructed an all composite body and chassis of carbon fiber and honeycomb, designed a new rear suspension, built a high efficiency solar array, and installed the hub motors from the '99 car. Entered in the Open Class, again following Route 66, Sunseeker 03 captured 5th place in the race, sporting car number 786. It also won the Inspector's Award for best mechanical and electrical design, the Sportsmanship Award, the Most Improved Award, and EDS's Gold Award for Best Solar Car Design. [8]

2005

For 2005, the race became the North American Solar Challenge as the route started in Austin, Texas and ran north to Winnipeg, Manitoba then west to Calgary, Alberta. It was the longest solar car race ever at 2500 miles (4000 km). Sunseeker 03 was given a new canopy, stronger rear suspension, improved aerodynamics and renamed Sunseeker 05. With no mechanical or electrical breakdowns, car number 786 crossed the finish line in 6th place and took home the Aesthetics Award for the prettiest car. [9]

Sunseeker 05 can still be seen in public events, such as the Kalamazoo Holiday Parade, along with other past Sunseeker solar cars.

The 2008 Sunseeker solar array with gallium arsenide (GaAs) multijunction cells 2008 sunseeker solar array.jpg
The 2008 Sunseeker solar array with gallium arsenide (GaAs) multijunction cells

2008

A radical change in driver seating for the 2008 solar challenge caused all teams to build totally new cars. Sunseeker 08 used the very efficient array from the previous car and was changed to a front wheel drive quasi three wheel vehicle since the two rear wheels were about a foot apart behind the cockpit bulge. However, the array blew off the car during qualifying and the car could not participate in the event. WMU team members joined other teams to assist during the race. At the award ceremony after the race, they received the Sportsmanship Award to a long round of applause. [10]

The 2010 car racing towards the top of the hill at turn one at Circuit of the Americas during the 2014 Formula Sun Grand Prix Powered by Austin Energy. Sunseeker 2010 Car, Formula Sun Grand Prix 2014, Circuit of the Americas.jpg
The 2010 car racing towards the top of the hill at turn one at Circuit of the Americas during the 2014 Formula Sun Grand Prix Powered by Austin Energy.

2010 - 2014

For 2010, the team introduced a new solar car to compete in the American Solar Challenge. The vehicle was the first, and remains as the only three-wheeled design produced by the team. It has two powered wheels in the front, and a single unpowered wheel in the back. It is considered an experimental motorcycle by the Michigan Secretary of State.

Each of the two CISIRO motors produce 6 horsepower, and enable the 600 pound (without a driver) car to travel at most 80 miles per hour. [11] During races, however, the car's top speed was limited to 45 miles per hour in order to keep it running efficiently.

The 2010 car raced in three American Solar Challenge road races, and five Formula Sun Grand Prix races.

2015 - 2019

During the Fall 2014 semester, the team began working on the next generation Sunseeker solar car.(Code named Farasi) The car incorporates four wheels, with the two rear wheels being powered. The aeroshell is made of light-weight carbon fiber, while the chassis is made of carbon fiber and chromoly steel. This car was meant to be raced in the 2016 American Solar Challenge but didn't get to compete until the 2017 Formula Sun Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. In 2018 Farasi completed 163 laps at Motorsports Park Hastings for the Formula Sun Grand Prix and ran 52 miles of the American Solar Challenge under a conditional qualification.

2020 - Present

The current solar car was started in Fall 2018 when the students began the design process. During Spring 2019, the team began their build cycle, though COVID-19 posed issues for the team in 2020 and into 2021. In the Spring and Summer of 2021, the team completed the new car, dubbed Aethon, and competed in the 2021 Formula Sun Grand Prix, though they did not qualify for the 2021 American Solar Challenge.

Aethon is powered by a custom-built silicon-based solar array and propelled by a single Marand high-efficiency electric motor. It is the team's first asymmetric style car, also known as a catamaran, where the driver sits in-line with the wheels on one side of the car, as opposed to all of the team's previous cars which had the driver seated, or reclined in a number of the cars before 2008, along the centerline of the vehicle.

Aethon entered into the Formula Sun Grand Prix for 2022 and placed 8th, in the single-occupant vehicle class, out of the 13 teams who made it through scrutineering. It performed 85 laps at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas, totaling over 212 miles with a personal fastest lap time of 4 minutes and 2 seconds.

Aethon raced for the final time in the 2023 Formula Sun Grand Prix at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. It placed 5th overall in the single-occupant vehicle class, with 127 laps completed over the course of the event. Following the event, Aethon was retired in favor of Sunseeker's newest car - Sunseeker 23, which was unveiled to the public in October 2023.

Sunseeker 23 will be competing for the first time in July 2024 in the Formula Sun Grand Prix and the American Solar Challenge. The 2024 Formula Sun Grand Prix will take place at the National Corvette Musuem Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The American Solar Challenge will begin in Nashville, TN and conclude in Casper, Wyoming.

Related Research Articles

Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.

The 1951 Formula One season was the fifth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1951 World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on 27 May 1951 and ended on 28 October after eight races. The season also included 14 races open to Formula One cars but did not count towards the championship standings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Solar Challenge</span> Solar car race

The American Solar Challenge (ASC), previously known as the North American Solar Challenge and Sunrayce, is a solar car race across the United States. In the race, teams from colleges and universities throughout North America design, build, test, and race solar-powered vehicles in a long distance road rally-style event. ASC is a test of teamwork, engineering skill, and endurance that stretches across thousands of miles of public roads.

ATS is a German company that manufactures alloy wheels for road and racing cars. It is based in Bad Dürkheim near the Hockenheimring race circuit. ATS had a Formula One racing team that was active from 1977 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Calgary Solar Car Team</span> Solar car racing team at the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary Solar Car Team is a multi-disciplinary student-run solar car racing ("raycing") team at the University of Calgary, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was established to design and build a solar car to compete internationally in the American Solar Challenge (ASC) and the World Solar Challenge (WSC). The team is primarily composed of undergraduate students studying Engineering, Business, Science, Arts and Kinesiology. The mission of the University of Calgary Solar Car Team is to educate the community about sustainable energy and to serve as an interdisciplinary project through which students and faculty from various departments can collaborate in supporting sustainable energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Solar Car Project</span>

The Stanford Solar Car Project (SSCP) is a student group at Stanford University that designs, builds, tests, and races solar-powered vehicles. The SSCP, a student-run, donation-funded organization, has been building and racing solar-powered vehicles since 1986. It has competed and placed at The World Solar Challenge, the Global Green Challenge, and American Solar Challenge.

Sunswift Racing is the solar car racing team of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The team currently holds a number of world records and is best known for its participation in the World Solar Challenge (WSC). Since its founding in 1996 by Byron Kennedy, the Sunswift team has built a total of 7 cars, the most recent of which is Sunswift 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project</span> University solar vehicle team

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project, or UMNSVP, is a team of undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota that designs and constructs solar-powered cars. In its 31 years, it has established itself as one of the world's top solar racing teams, and the top Cruiser/Multi-Occupant Vehicle team in the Western Hemisphere, with top-two finishes in eighteen of thirty-four events entered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGill University Solarcar Team</span>

McGill University's Solar Car Team was composed of students from the faculties of Engineering and Computer Science. From 1990 - 2010, the team designed, built, tested and raced 3 generations of solar vehicles in international competitions. Under the brand Team iSun, the team placed 9th in the 2003 American Solar Challenge from Chicago to Los Angeles, and notably produced the lightest solar vehicle in the competition at 318 lbs. Through the production and racing of solar vehicles, the students on the team learn and exercise teamwork, personal initiative, and responsibility - not only in the engineering disciplines of design and analysis, but also in construction, marketing, project management, and promotion. Team members make an effort to promote engineering and computer science careers in their frequent meetings with elementary school, high school, and CEGEP students.

PrISUm Solar Car is the multidisciplinary student-run solar car racing team from Iowa State University that designs and builds solar powered vehicles to compete in the American Solar Challenge (ASC). The club was founded in 1989 by a group of engineering honor students from Tau Beta Pi and was simply known as the ISU Solar Car Project. In 1990, the team adopted the name of its first car, PrISUm.

Durham University Solar Car, formerly Durham University Electric Motorsport, is a student-run team in the United Kingdom that designs and constructs solar powered cars to compete in international competitions. It is the longest running solar car team in the UK and is financed entirely by third party donations and sponsorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Performance</span> Motorsports division of Ford Motor Company

Ford Performance is the high-performance division of the Ford Motor Company and the multinational name used for its motorsport and racing activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar car</span> Type of vehicle powered by solar energy

A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to provide full or partial power to the vehicle via sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable battery to help regulate and store the energy from the solar cells and from regenerative braking. Some solar cars can be plugged into external power sources to supplement the power of sunlight used to charge their battery.

Solar car racing refers to competitive races of electric vehicles which are powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car. The first solar car race was the Tour de Sol in 1985 which led to several similar races in Europe, US and Australia. Such challenges are often entered by universities to develop their students' engineering and technological skills, but many business corporations have entered competitions in the past. A small number of high school teams participate in solar car races designed exclusively for high school students.

The Cal State LA Solar Car Team was a group of engineering students at California State University, Los Angeles that developed the Solar Eagle series of solar cars that competed in solar car races in the United States and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midnight Sun Solar Race Team</span>

The Midnight Sun Solar Rayce Car Team is a Canadian solar car race team affiliated with the University of Waterloo of Waterloo, Ontario. Founded in 1988, the Midnight Sun team is a student-run organization which designs and builds a solar vehicle every two to three years to compete in two solar challenges; the World Solar Challenge, held in Australia, and the American Solar Challenge, held in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Kentucky Solar Car Team</span>

The University of Kentucky Solar Car Team is an independent, student-led project that operates as part of the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. The team's primary goal is to compete in the American Solar Challenge and the Formula Sun Grand Prix over the summer, but they also perform outreach events in which they display and discuss their car with nonmembers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabham BT3</span> Formula One racing car

The Brabham BT3 is a Formula One racing car. It was the first Formula One design to be produced by Motor Racing Developments for the Brabham Racing Organisation, and debuted at the 1962 German Grand Prix. The Brabham BT3 was the vehicle with which team owner – then two-time World Champion – Jack Brabham, became the first driver ever to score World Championship points in a car bearing his own name, at the 1962 United States Grand Prix. The following year Brabham also became the first driver ever to win a Formula One race at the wheel of an eponymous car, again driving the BT3, at the 1963 Solitude Grand Prix. The BT3 design was modified only slightly to form the Tasman Series-specification Brabham BT4 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Texas Solar Vehicles Team</span> Solar car team

The University of Texas Solar Vehicles Team (UTSVT) is a student-driven effort to design, build, test, and race solar vehicles for the purpose of reinforcing skills learned in the classroom, raising awareness of solar power, and bringing solar power closer to practicality. To accomplish this task, a multidisciplinary group of students from various disciplines in the Cockrell School of Engineering, and from other schools across the University of Texas, such as the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Natural Sciences come together to design and construct the most efficient vehicle as possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula Sun Grand Prix</span> 2000 establishments in Kansas

The Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) is an annual solar-car race that takes place on closed-loop race tracks. In the race, teams from colleges and universities throughout North America design, build, test, and race solar-powered vehicles.

References

  1. "About the Team | Sunseeker Solar Car Project". Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. "Sunrayce 1990". Western Michigan University . July 1990. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. "Sunrayce 1993". Western Michigan University . June 20–26, 1993. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  4. "Sunrayce 1995". June 20–29, 1995. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Sunrayce 1999". Western Michigan University . 1999. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Sunseeker Solar Car @ WMU". Archived from the original on April 24, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
  9. "North American Solar Challenge". Western Michigan University . 2005. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  10. "North American Solar Challenge". Western Michigan University . July 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  11. "Sunseeker 2010 | Sunseeker Solar Car Project". www.wmich.edu. Retrieved July 17, 2015.