March 2015 FYP training

Over the 6 weeks of March - April semester break, we underwent in-house solar car training to know about the solar car project that has been ongoing since the SunSpec1. We were exposed not only to the electrical aspects of the solar car but also mechanical aspects of it. The in-house solar car training was covered over a span of 5 weeks.

The different aspects of the solar car are:
1. Battery
2. Solar Panel
3. Motor / Drive
4. Telemetry & Route and Strategy
5. Mechanics of solar car

Each week is dedicated for all the different aspects of the solar car - in this case is the SunSpec3 and SunSpec4.

In the first week, we covered on battery. During this week, we learned the battery type, state of charge of battery and the battery connection which is 34 Series and 36 Parallel. Aside from that, we were taught on the steps on using the instrument for charging and discharging of the batteries.

The second week was on solar panel. During this week, we were introduced to the specifications of solar cell, electrical connections and the calculations of the solar cell panel energy, current and voltage measurement. We were then taught on how to plot a graph using the data collected from the ekometer to measure the irradiance of the solar cells.

For the third week we learned about the motor/drive section. We learnt about the different types of motor that the car will be using which is the Mitsuba motor. In addition to that, we learnt about the calculation for the current, voltage, power and efficiency.

In the fourth week, we covered telemetry and route and strategy aspect. We had to infer from the previous year's data to determine the control stops on where to overnight for that specific day. Also, through observing the data, we could determine the areas that will consume the largest amount of power. As such, it will enable us to strategize on energy consumption throughout the race.

We wrapped up the last week with mechanics of solar car. We were taught on how to change the tyres of the car- from deflating it to pumping it. Besides that we learnt the different mechanical system that is crucial for a car such as the chassis, brakes and suspension.

With the background knowledge that we have garnered, we understood the overall important specifications of the car that is crucial for the car to work. Moving forward, we were able to start on our journey focusing on telemetry.