Electrical Engineering HUGE Project Report
American University of Kuwait
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
ELEG-CPEG480 – Spring 2018
Solar Car
Prepared by:
Musaed Al-Khaldi – s00031310
Sarah Al-Shammari – s00028017
Farah Darweesh – s00020261
Taibah Al-Mannaei – s00029545
Supervisor: Dr. Seyed Esmaeili
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Abstract
Renewable energy is energy that comes from renewable resources such as sunlight, wind,
water, rain, tides, waves, and heat. Most countries try to invest this kind of energy as one of the
best environmental resources. Renewable energy provides energy that used in many important
areas such as electricity generation, and air, water heating or cooling systems. Renewable energy
usage can save our money. Solar energy, as one of the renewable energy, is radiant light and heat
that comes from the sun. Solar energy helps to slow global warming which threatens the survival
of human society. Solar energy is clearly one of the most important solutions to the global
warming crisis. It is the sunlight convers to electricity through the photovoltaic panels. In fact,
sun power is free and infinite source that produce energy unlike the oil or the fuel. Solar energy
is easier than wind and water turbines. It needs only photovoltaic panels and some few
components. On the other hand, water and wind turbines need huge machines with more cost.
The motivation behind this project is to create a solar car. Basically, our idea is a Solar
Car which purely works by the solar power. The body of the car is covered by photovoltaic solar
panels and the chassis is made from Aluminum. The car is in a large-scale vehicle that can
accommodate one passenger. 8KW brushless DC hub motor is used to move the car. The energy
comes from the photovoltaic is stored in 96V lithium-Ion battery. The car is totally environment-
friendly. Previous features is electrical features, the project contains more features for computer
engineering like having a screen that can show the status of the photovoltaic.
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Acknowledgment
First, all members of the team like to thank our Supervisor Prof. Seyed Ebrahim
Esmaeili, an assistant professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, College of
Arts and Sciences at American University of Kuwait. From the beginning of the journey, Prof.
Esmaeili trusted us with such a huge idea. He supported us with answering any question at any
time to implement the project correctly. His office was always opened to meet us and discuss the
project.
We would also like to thank the companies who funded us to implement this challenging
project starting with Al-Sayer Group Holding, and Ali Al-Ghanim & Sons Automotive. In fact,
Al-Sayer and Al-Ghanim Companies are the Platinum Sponsors according to the trust and large
fund from them. To talk about the Golden Sponsors, we like to thank Commercial Facilities Co.
and Kuwait Investment Co. for the quick response for financial support. Finally, we never forget
to thank the Silver Sponsors The Commercial Real Estate Co. and Easa Husain Al-Yousifi &
Sons Co.
Finally, our team like to send a heart-felt thank you for our families and friends to give us
the moral support. They did their best to build a beautiful and comfortable atmosphere around us
to make this project doable. We will to thank each other to be flexible, patient, and hard worker
to achieve the success of our project.
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Table of Contents
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 7
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. 9
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 11
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT ................................................................................................................ 11
1.2 THE SOLUTION ............................................................................................................................ 11
1.3 IDEA DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................... 12
1.4 GOALS.......................................................................................................................................... 12
1.5 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................. 12
1.6 PROJECT AND TEAM SWOT ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 13
1.7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 14
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 16
2.1 LITERATURE SURVEY ................................................................................................................... 16
2.1.1 MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team [2] .................................................................................... 16
2.1.2 University of Malaya Solar Car MERDEKA [3] ..................................................................... 17
2.1.3 Xof1 Solar Car [4] ................................................................................................................ 18
2.1.4 IlangaI.I Solar Car [6] .......................................................................................................... 19
2.1.5 Solar Powered Vehicle [7] ................................................................................................... 21
2.1.6 Car runs by solar energy [8] ................................................................................................ 22
2.1.7 BRAC University’s solar car [9] ............................................................................................ 23
2.2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 24
2.3 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 25
3. Design and Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 27
3.1 System Architecture: ......................................................................................................................... 27
3.2 Components ...................................................................................................................................... 29
3.2.1 Chassis metal .............................................................................................................................. 29
3.2.1.1 Aluminum 6061 pipes ............................................................................................................. 29
3.2.1.2 Steel [12]: ................................................................................................................................ 29
3.2.1.3 Selected metal ........................................................................................................................ 30
3.2.2 Motor ......................................................................................................................................... 30
3.2.2.1 QS Motor 8000W 273 50H V3 Brushless DC Gearless Electric Car [13] .................................. 30
3.2.2.2 QS Motor 8000W 273 50H V2 E-car Hub Motor [14] ............................................................. 31
3.2.2.3 Selected motor ........................................................................................................................ 32
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3.2.3 Motor Controller ........................................................................................................................ 32
3.2.3.1 APT Programmable Sine Wave FOC AE96600 8kW PM Motor Driver Controller [15] ........... 32
3.2.3.2 KLS7240D, SINUSOIDAL BRUSHLESS MOTOR CONTROLLER [16] ............................................ 33
3.2.3.3 Selected motor controller ....................................................................................................... 34
3.2.4 Speedometer.............................................................................................................................. 35
3.2.4.1 48V-144V Programmable Electric Car Speedometer [17] ...................................................... 35
3.2.4.2 Electric Speedometer for Motorcycle 144v 199km/h [18] ..................................................... 35
3.2.4.3 Selected Speedometer: ........................................................................................................... 36
3.2.5 Throttle ...................................................................................................................................... 36
3.2.5.1 0-5V Electric Car Throttle Pedal [19] ....................................................................................... 36
3.2.5.2 JSQD-124/001 0-5V ELECTRONIC FOOT PEDALS THROTTLE [20] ............................................ 37
3.2.5.3 Selected Throttle ..................................................................................................................... 38
3.2.6 Disc Brake ................................................................................................................................... 38
3.2.6.1 Disc Brake Assembly for Electric Car 1 tow 2 By Foot [21] ..................................................... 38
3.2.6.2 XUANKUN zoomer Electric Car Disc Brakes Assembly with Reel [22]..................................... 39
3.2.6.3 Selected Disc Brake ................................................................................................................. 40
3.2.7 Battery ........................................................................................................................................ 40
3.2.7.1 Electric bike 96v 30ah lithium ion battery [23] ....................................................................... 40
3.2.7.2 72V 60AH lithium battery super power electric bike battery [24] ......................................... 41
3.2.7.3 Selected Battery ...................................................................................................................... 42
3.2.8 Photovoltaic Modules ................................................................................................................ 43
3.2.8.1 Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp [25] ................................................................... 43
3.2.8.2 Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-285Wp [25] ................................................................... 43
3.2.8.3 Selected Module ..................................................................................................................... 44
3.2.9 Solar Charge Controller .............................................................................................................. 45
3.2.9.1 Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A [26] ..................................................................................... 45
3.2.9.2 Solar Charge Controller 96V 100A [27] ................................................................................... 45
3.2.9.3 Selected solar charge controller ............................................................................................. 46
3.2.10 Arduino .................................................................................................................................... 47
3.2.10.1 Arduino Mega 2560 R3 [28] .................................................................................................. 47
3.2.10.2 Arduino Uno - R3 [29] ........................................................................................................... 47
3.2.10.3 Selected Arduino ................................................................................................................... 48
3.2.11 Voltage and Current Sense ...................................................................................................... 48
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3.2.11.1 AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout – 45A [30] .................................................. 48
3.2.11.2 AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 180A [31] .................................................. 49
3.2.11.3 Selected Voltage and Current Sensors .................................................................................. 50
3.2.12 LCD ........................................................................................................................................... 50
3.2.12.1 Basic 16x2 Character LCD [32] .............................................................................................. 50
3.2.12.2 Basic 20x4 Character LCD [33] .............................................................................................. 50
3.2.12.3 Selected LCD ......................................................................................................................... 51
3.3 Budget ............................................................................................................................................... 52
3.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 53
4. Implementation .................................................................................................................................. 55
4.1 Mechanical Design ...................................................................................................................... 55
4.1.1 First Design ................................................................................................................................. 55
4.1.2 Second Design ............................................................................................................................ 55
4.2 Mechanical Implementation ....................................................................................................... 62
4.3 Electrical Design .......................................................................................................................... 67
4.3.1 Motor Power Rating Calculation ................................................................................................ 67
4.3.2 Battery ........................................................................................................................................ 68
4.3.3 Photovoltaic ............................................................................................................................... 68
4.3.3.1 Whole Car System ................................................................................................................... 68
4.3.3.2 Arduino System ....................................................................................................................... 69
4.3.4 Power Rating for components ................................................................................................... 69
4.3.5 Power Consumption................................................................................................................... 69
4.4 Electrical Implementation ........................................................................................................... 70
4.5 Software Design .......................................................................................................................... 73
4.6 Software Implementation ........................................................................................................... 73
4.7 Testing the Car ............................................................................................................................ 75
4.7.1 Testing of the electrical part ...................................................................................................... 75
4.7.2 Testing of the software part ...................................................................................................... 78
4.8 Electrical Engineering Courses Reflection ................................................................................... 80
4.9 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 80
5. Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................... 82
5.1 Environmental Impact ....................................................................................................................... 82
5.2 Economic Impact ............................................................................................................................... 82
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5.3 Ethical Impact .................................................................................................................................... 82
5.4 Social Impact ..................................................................................................................................... 83
5.4 Survey ................................................................................................................................................ 83
5.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 88
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 90
6.1 Project idea ....................................................................................................................................... 90
6.2 Project progress ................................................................................................................................ 90
6.2.1 Capstone I Course ...................................................................................................................... 90
6.2.2 Capstone II Course ..................................................................................................................... 90
6.3 Future Work ...................................................................................................................................... 91
6.4 Final Comment .................................................................................................................................. 91
References .................................................................................................................................................. 92
Appendix A .................................................................................................................................................. 96
Appendix B ................................................................................................................................................ 106
Appendix C ................................................................................................................................................ 114
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1- MIT solar electric vehicle [2] ..................................................................................... 17
Figure 2.2 - The second University of Malaya solar car [3]. ........................................................ 18
Figure 2.3 - Xof1 solar car [4]. ..................................................................................................... 19
Figure 2.4 - IlangaI.I solar car [6] ................................................................................................. 20
Figure 2.5 - Basic block Diagram Representation of Solar vehicle [7]. ....................................... 21
Figure 2.6 - Working principle [8]. ............................................................................................... 22
Figure 2.7 - System Architecture of solar car [9] ......................................................................... 23
Figure 2.8 - Aerodynamically shaped car body [9] ...................................................................... 24
Figure 3.1 - Electric System Architecture of solar car.................................................................. 27
Figure 3.2 - Software System Architecture of solar car project ................................................... 28
Figure 3.3 - Aluminum 6061 pipe................................................................................................. 29
Figure 3.4 - Steel pipe ................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 3.5 - QS Motor 8000W Brushless DC Electric Car........................................................... 31
Figure 3.6 - QS Motor 8000W E-car Hub Motor ......................................................................... 31
Figure 3.7 - APT Programmable Sine Wave Motor Driver Controller ........................................ 33
Figure 3.8 - KLS7240D, SINUSOIDAL BRUSHLESS MOTOR CONTROLLER .................... 34
Figure 3.9 - 48V-144V Programmable Electric Car Speedometer ............................................... 35
Figure 3.10 - Electric Speedometer for Motorcycle 144v 199km/h ............................................. 36
Figure 3.11 - Electric Car Throttle Pedal ...................................................................................... 37
Figure 3.12 - 0-5V ELECTRONIC FOOT PEDALS THROTTLE ............................................. 37
Figure 3.13 - Disc Brake Assembly for Electric Car 1 tow 2 By Foot ......................................... 39
Figure 3.14 - XUANKUN zoomer Electric Car Disc Brakes ....................................................... 39
Figure 3.15 - Li-ion 96V 60AH lithium ion Battery ..................................................................... 41
Figure 3.16 - 72V 60AH lithium battery ...................................................................................... 42
Figure 3.17- Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp .......................................................... 43
Figure 3.18 - Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-285Wp ......................................................... 44
Figure 3.19- Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A............................................................................ 45
Figure 3.20 - Solar Charge Controller 96V 100A......................................................................... 46
Figure 3.21 - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 ........................................................................................... 47
Figure 3.22 - Arduino Uno - R3.................................................................................................... 48
Figure 3.23 - AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 45A ............................................ 49
Figure 3.24 - AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 180A .......................................... 49
Figure 3.25 - Basic 16x2 Character LCD ..................................................................................... 50
Figure 3.26 - Basic 20x4 Character LCD ..................................................................................... 51
Figure 4.1 - Design of Chassis – top view .................................................................................... 56
Figure 4.2 - Design of Chassis – front and rear sides ................................................................... 57
Figure 4.3 - Design of Chassis – right and left sides .................................................................... 58
Figure 4.4 - Coefficient of aerodynamic drag of different shape [9] ............................................ 58
Figure 4.5 - The outer body .......................................................................................................... 59
Figure 4.6 - The chassis inside the body ....................................................................................... 60
Figure 4.7 - The wheels of the car ................................................................................................ 61
Figure 4.8 - Chassis implementation ............................................................................................ 62
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Figure 4.9 - The used buggy ......................................................................................................... 63
Figure 4.10 - The chassis with steering and front suspension systems ......................................... 63
Figure 4.11 - Rim of the rear wheel .............................................................................................. 64
Figure 4.12 - Rear wheel with the hub motor installed................................................................. 64
Figure 4.13 - Disc Brake attached to the motor ............................................................................ 65
Figure 4.14 - Brake and Throttle pedals ....................................................................................... 65
Figure 4.15 - Driver seat ............................................................................................................... 66
Figure 4.16 - Four PV panels covering the car ............................................................................. 66
Figure 4.17 - Car covered by Aluminum Sheets........................................................................... 67
Figure 4.18 - motor controller connections................................................................................... 70
Figure 4.19 – Switch ..................................................................................................................... 71
Figure 4.20 – Throttle ................................................................................................................... 71
Figure 4.21 - Speedometer ............................................................................................................ 72
Figure 4.22 - Breadboard with the components ............................................................................ 73
Figure 4.23 - Arduino and Sensors ............................................................................................... 74
Figure 4.24 - Sensor, input and output .......................................................................................... 74
Figure 4.25 - Software System...................................................................................................... 75
Figure 4.26 - The interface of motor controller software ............................................................ 76
Figure 4.27 - Data of backward movement .................................................................................. 77
Figure 4.28 - The motor holder before and after .......................................................................... 77
Figure 4.29 - Data of maximum speed.......................................................................................... 78
Figure 4.30 - LCD testing. ............................................................................................................ 79
Figure 4.31 - Our Solar Car .......................................................................................................... 79
Figure 5.1 – Percentage of people who care about environment .................................................. 83
Figure 5.2 - Percentage of people who like to purchase solar products ....................................... 84
Figure 5.3 - Percentage for payment of filling your car with gas ................................................. 84
Figure 5.4 – Chart shows people selection for benefits of owning a solar car ............................. 85
Figure 5.5 - Percentage of style factor .......................................................................................... 85
Figure 5.6 - Percentage of size factor ........................................................................................... 86
Figure 5.7 - Percentage of performance of the car factor ............................................................. 86
Figure 5.8 - percantage of technological features in the solar car ................................................ 86
Figure 5.9 – Percentage of people who like to purchase expensive products ............................... 87
Figure 5.10 - Percentage for payment of filling your car ............................................................. 87
Figure 5.11 – The needed speed for the solar car ......................................................................... 88
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List of Tables
Table 1.1 - Project SWOT analysis of Solar Car .......................................................................... 13
Table 1.2 - Team SWOT analysis for Solar Car ........................................................................... 14
Table 2.1 - Comparison table ........................................................................................................ 25
Table 3.1- Chassis metal comparative .......................................................................................... 30
Table 3.2 - Motor comparative ..................................................................................................... 32
Table 3.3 - Motor controller comparative ..................................................................................... 34
Table 3.4 - Speedometer comparative .......................................................................................... 36
Table 3.5 - Throttle comparative .................................................................................................. 38
Table 3.6 - Disc brake comparative .............................................................................................. 40
Table 3.7 - Battery comparative.................................................................................................... 42
Table 3.8 - Photovoltaic module comparative .............................................................................. 44
Table 3.9 - Arduino comparative .................................................................................................. 48
Table 3.10 - Budget List ............................................................................................................... 52
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Chapter1 Introduction
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1. INTRODUCTION Although alternative energy resources are not pollution-free, there is a wide range of
options which cause less environmental damage than the traditional energy resources. Today,
people all around the world are focusing on renewable energy as one of the best
environmental resource. Wind, water, and solar are sources of renewable energy. According
to renewable Energy policy network for the 21st century, nearly 115 countries plan to invest
in renewable energies and work to develop the policies to encourage investment in renewable
energies [1]. Solar energy is one of the best technologies that can convert solar radiation to
electricity by using the solar cells. It is an advanced technology and a future resource of
energy; it will have a great impact in saving the traditional energy resources to use it in other
purposes. Solar energy is available, free, and clean and does not have any waste or risk.
The following sections contain the problem statement, its solution, the idea development.
It lists the goals of the Solar Car project, the objectives, project SWOT analysis, and team
SWOT analysis (Strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats). In the conclusion part of
this chapter, a short description shows the contents of project report.
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The repeated story in Kuwait, a person wakes up at the morning who hates the routine of
going to his/her work because of the traffic and the hot weather. In addition of that, he/she
must refill his/her car twice a week with non-environmental fuel. Fuel causes air pollution
which is not a simple problem especially here in Kuwait. Kuwait has been exposed to one of
the biggest air pollution after burning oil wells in Iraqi invasion. Since the increase of the
petroleum prices that became a big problem for the user with his/her limited salary and other
responsibilities he/she has to take care of. Moreover, if he is a father, he has to pay for the
fuel of more than one car in his house.
1.2 THE SOLUTION
SOLOR CAR is the future solution. First of all, it doesn't need petroleum to move
because it works only on electricity that comes from the solar cells. Furthermore, the battery
will be refilled by the sun energy because the car is covered with solar panels that have a
unique look. The car will be recharged and will move by the current coming from these
panels. In this case, solar car can save the environment, and fuel. When a person buys a solar
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car, he will pay amount of money once and will enjoy his monthly salary for the other
responsibilities. Now, when he stands in the traffic, he should be happy because he is
recharging his battery.
1.3 IDEA DEVELOPMENT
Solar Car has been chosen as a capstone project for fifth year engineering students
Musaed Al-Khaldi, Sara Al-Shammari, Taibah Al-Mannaei and Farah Darweesh. The idea
started at the first stage of brainstorming and research about the solar energy as one of the
type of renewable energy. After researching we found many ideas using the solar energy
such as using photovoltaic panels on the roof of the houses and street lighting. Our project is
a big scale car that uses the solar energy to move; it also contains a software features that
display important information on a screen like the current and the voltage of the photovoltaic
panels.
1.4 GOALS
At the end of capstone course, the team needs to finalize the listed goals:
i. To promote the usage of solar energy generated by the solar panels that will be used
on our solar car.
ii. To combine the best advanced technologies in our solar car.
iii. To build a transportation vehicle powered by solar energy.
iv. To design, manufacture, and test a solar car at the competitive level.
v. To reduce the usage of gas and save the environment.
1.5 OBJECTIVES
At the end of capstone course, the team has gain the listed objective:
i. To design a chassis and the body of the car in 3D software.
ii. To become familiar with different components.
iii. To combine the mechanical knowledge with the electrical and computer courses.
iv. To use the solar power connections with the mechanical systems.
v. To manufacture a car with mechanical system like: breaking system, steering the car.
vi. To understand how to program and design a screen that displays the performance.
vii. To design a software that shows the status of the photovoltaic panels.
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1.6 PROJECT AND TEAM SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT is an acronym of Strength (S), Weakness (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T).
Internal factor (strength and weakness) and external factors (Opportunities and Threats) the
advantages and disadvantages of the project will be shown in Table1.1. SWOT analysis of
the team is in Table1.2.
Table 1.1 - Project SWOT analysis of Solar Car
Strengths Weaknesses
- Kuwait has a great location for actual sun
brightness ratio; it reaches 7 hours in
winter and 10 hours in summer.
- Recharge itself whenever the sun rise.
- Does not need a station to refill the car
with power.
- Stop creating pollution and save
environment
- Increased the awareness of new vision of
energy.
- Reduces the usage of fuel.
- Cannot use it for long distances, or time.
- Expensive components and materials.
- Needs time and effort.
- Hard to implement it with lightweight.
- Few previous reports about solar car.
Opportunities Threats
- First Kuwaiti Solar Car.
- Can be sold to many car companies.
- Adding more features to the car especially
software part.
- A small damage in any PV cell leads to a
huge risk.
- Because of the lightweight, a small
accident will affect.
- Most of the components are not in
Kuwait.
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Table 1.2 - Team SWOT analysis for Solar Car Strengths Weaknesses
- Two Electrical Engineering students and
two Computer Engineering students.
- The team likes the idea of the solar.
- Three of us worked in a solar energy
project.
- All of us like to start this challenge.
- No previous courses about mechanics.
- Using new software to design the
mechanical part of the project in 3D.
- First time to design and implement a big
scale project.
Opportunities Threats
- Deal with mechanical engineers.
- Learn more in mechanical engineering.
- Rise our knowledge about solar energy.
- The design is not fit.
- Building the car in a wrong way.
- Delay in receiving the components
- The car might not work with the speed we
calculate.
1.7 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the goals and objectives of solar car project has been listed. In addition, the
project and team SWOT analysis for our project has been demonstrated in details. Moreover,
in the coming chapters, our teams will write several topics related to the solar car and how to
implement it. In chapter two, literature review will be discussed in details with showing
previous applications of solar cars, their advantages and disadvantages of each
implementation, the difference between our solar car and the others. In chapter three, design
of the solar car will be shown with details and description. In addition, the components will
be listed and compared with others in the market. In chapter four, the implementation of the
whole project both the software and hardware will be demonstrated. Chapter five will
contains a survey and the impacts of our solar car project. Finally, chapter six covers a brief
summary about our project in general and the ideas that can help to improve the project with
the future plan.
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Chapter2 LITERATURE REVIEW
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW A literature review is an evaluation of information in certain topic. The review contains a
summary, description, evaluation and clarification of the literature. It should contain a
theoretical part of the research. This chapter basically focuses on solar car projects, either
completed projects or ongoing projects. Each project will be summarized with details about
the components and the designed implementation. The chapter is divided to two parts:
literature survey, and the comparison between surveyed projects
.
2.1 LITERATURE SURVEY
This section focus on seven projects based on the implantations and studying of the solar
car. The first topic to the fourth are focused on implemented solar car projects. The fifth one
is basically about the history of solar powered vehicle and the development of the solar
vehicle. Last two are about the calculations needed to build a solar car.
2.1.1 MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team [2]
The MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team (SEVT) is a tem for students who want to show the
ability for using the alternative energy transport. They built the car called flux from the
beginning they used own knowledge and experiences that help them to finish the car as
shown in Figure 2.1. They wanted to have a good view for the future generation by using the
renewable energy. Solar vehicle are designed to be an approach to the normal automotive
system that can be controlled. To reduce the aerodynamic drag, flux use an asymmetric
design that optimizes the shape of the car with computational fluid dynamics. The flux
electrical system designed with one motor on one of the rear wheels, allowing a simpler,
lighter electrical system to be more efficient. In general, electrical system is a high voltage
system that includes the array, battery pack, and motors, while driver controls such as the
steering wheel, throttle, camera, and horn make up the low voltage system. In this project,
they used a Mitsuba hub motor is mounted on each of the rear wheels, with a maximum
power. Also that motor has been equipped with regenerative braking, allowing for further
charging of the battery pack. The battery pack is being charging by the solar panels. The
solar array used is made up of silicon cell and it controlled by two customs designed for
maximum power point.
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Figure 2.1- MIT solar electric vehicle [2]
The aerodynamic body for flux car that used in the project designed to be in asymmetric
shape which allows the car to sail in cross-winds; it helps to reduce drag even further. The
chassis is the main part for any car. The flux’s chassis is designed to be suitable to save
weight and allow better integration between chassis and body. Wheels were made from
carbon fiber to lower rolling resistance tires, and the wheels are manufactured specifically for
solar vehicle. For the battery pack, they use lithium ion cells, which have microprocessors to
monitor the temperature and voltage of the pack in real time, and alert the driver if any
problem arises. One of the design goals for the Flux is to reduce the car’s weight because it
increases overall efficiency. In the end, MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team have a successful
solar car.
2.1.2 University of Malaya Solar Car MERDEKA [3]
The University of Malaya built an economic solar car that didn’t cost much to participate
in the World Solar Challenge (WSC) using, as they call it, off-the-shelf components which
are easy to purchase. They participated in the WSC October, 2007 with their car “Merdeka”
which was made from off-the-shelf components such as PV panels for rooftops, batteries for
stand-alone PV, electric motor used for mountain bicycle, and the mechanical components
too. After that they decided to participate again at 2009, and they have re-used the same
electric and mechanic parts but they decided to change the chassis and the main body using
aluminum because it has lightweight as shown in Figure 2.2.
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Figure 2.2 - The second University of Malaya solar car [3].
For the electric part, they used two 180-watts mono-crystalline silicon PV panels used for
rooftops of houses. For the solar charge controller, they used OutBack MX60 because of the
good safety factor. The lead acid battery they chose is used for many applications such as a
gulf boggy, electric vehicles and boats, and the reason behind selecting this battery is needed
for the project and it is also can be used for other applications. Two units of brushless DC
motor with operating voltage of 48V and maximum current of 35 Amps are used to move the
180 Kg car. Finally, for the mechanical part they used some of the parts from motorcycles
and the rest from cars [3].
2.1.3 Xof1 Solar Car [4]
Xof1 is one of the most famous teams who built a solar car that can defeat any challenge.
In spring 1999, they built a car that can travel for long distances, bear different weather.
Furthermore, the car has many achievements, such as, “World distance record for a solar
powered car only by the sun [4],” “First solar car that operates below freezing temperatures
[4],” and “world distance record for a vehicle pulled by hand – Xof1 inspiration Walk 2011
[4].” The picture of the car is in Figure 2.3.
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Figure 2.3 - Xof1 solar car [4].
The specifications of the car are so simple that can make anyone implement it. It is a 300
Kg with 3-wheels configurations 2 in the front and 1 in the rear. It is made of aluminum and
it is covered by fiberglass and reinforced by carbon fiber. The whole safety system of the car
such as brakes, steering wheels, suspensions are easy to find in the market. The battery pack
they used is 96 volts, and 893 mono-crystalline solar cells are covering the car with
efficiency of 15%. The motor that has been used is brushless dc with 84-108V [5].
2.1.4 IlangaI.I Solar Car [6]
The UJ Solar Vehicle project was designed and implemented to take place in 2012 South
African Solar Challenge. This project discusses the methodology is used in the development
of the high power systems for a solar car. There are constraints that influence the design of
any solar car as shown in Figure 2.4. These rules and regulations are contained in the
Technical Regulations for Alternative Energy Vehicles. It is effected by the size of the
vehicle, the area of the photovoltaic array, the number of wheels on the vehicle, the size, type
and capacity of the batteries and even the seating position of the driver. The maximum area
of the solar array is 6m2 for an array built from silicon photovoltaic cells. This will limit to
approximately 1kW of energy generation. The car must not be more than 4m long and 1.8m
20
wide. In this project, the main parameters used in the selection and design of components for
solar cars are electrical efficiency, mass, and power consumption. The first component they
selected for this project was the motor and controller system. They used two motor to control
four wheels and the best motor which suited with their requirements was the 165 V Marand
motor with the Tritium which had a combined efficiency of up to 98%. They customize their
battery pack and it was designed with the wiring and connections within the box, each block
of parallel cells’ requires a connection [6].
Figure 2.4 - IlangaI.I solar car [6]
They faced many issues in designing IlangaI.I, which are the solar cell. The battery pack
was difficult to assemble because of the confined space and mechanical constraints within
the car that the battery box had to fit within. The outcome of this project was the IlangaI.I
which participated in the South African Solar Challenge.
21
2.1.5 Solar Powered Vehicle [7]
This research mainly focuses on the history and future of solar car with overview of it. In
1970’s the photovoltaic devices and electric vehicles were combined for a first time to
generate a solar transportations. In 1987, the World Solar Challenge (WSC) was organized
1,865 mi (3,000 km) race beyond the Australian by Hans Tholstrup. General Motors (GM)
won because of achieving speeds over 40 mph. In 2005, the race set a new record for the
longest solar vehicle race, covering 3960 km from Austin to Calgary. Basically, the main
purpose to have a solar car is covering short distances without consuming energy. They
review a project that was built with 3 wheels and a battery with 24 V DC high torque series
motor. The battery is fully charged by the panels. The motor is connected to the rear wheel.
Figure 2.5 - Basic block Diagram Representation of Solar vehicle [7].
After the review, they started to develop their work. The components of the developed
car were solar panel, charge controller, battery, power converter and brushless DC motor.
Energy from sun is taken by the solar panels used to charge the batteries to move the motor
which drives the wheel of the vehicle. Moreover, they used a belt pulley mechanism and
power supply which gives the lead acid batteries output of 400W. In addition, the motor’s
rating is of 48V which gets charged through the four 12V batteries. By charge controllers,
power devolved from the solar panel to the batteries keeping with the state of the battery to
prevent overcharging and discharge. They used enhancement power converter to enhance
22
voltage and Brushless DC motor as the drive motor which is considered the ideal choice for
applications that require high reliability and efficiency.
2.1.6 Car runs by solar energy [8]
This research paper shows the combination between technology of alternative energy and
automotive industries. The paper clarifies several things to consider while building a solar
system such as knowing the amount of energy stored in the battery, calculating the annual
solar energy output of a PV system, calculating the energy used over time and the solar
panels needed and how to select the charge controller. This car was built with 20 feet long
and 6 feet wide for body in order to catch a lot of sun. The components are solar array, power
trackers, batteries, motor controller and solar car brakes. The flow chart of the design is
shown in figure 2.1.6.
Figure 2.6 - Working principle [8].
The car works when the solar array changes sunlight to usable energy using black panels
because black objects absorb most of the light that falls down. After that, the power tracker
changes the energy received from the solar array to energy that can be used by the car and
23
sends it to the battery to make them available for the motor’s to drive the wheels. The motor
controller adjusts the amount of energy that flows to the motor. This design uses several
kinds of break such as friction brake, which is a type of automotive, that restores heat in the
drum brake during the application and then releases it in the air. Also, Drum brake which is
connected to the wheel that is spinning, Hand Brake (emergency brake) and disc brake which
make the car slow down or stop at that moment.
2.1.7 BRAC University’s solar car [9]
A prototype of a solar car was done by four students: Tarik Abdullah Khan, Srea
Rahman, Monzurul Karim Afgani, and Khairul Eahsun Fahim from BRAC University,
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Students were motivated to focus on the solar car project because they
believe that the car is the main transportation vehicle in Dhaka. The project is designed and
structured to have a car that can run for 35 km from Uttara to Motijheel. Figure 2.7 shows the
system of the solar car. They designed the car to be lightweight to reduce the energy needed
to move it.
Figure 2.7 - System Architecture of solar car [9]
First, they started to work on the motor power rating. They calculated rolling resistance
force which is the force that is resisting the rolling motion of the tires on the road. They
calculated the aerodynamic drag and force of acceleration as Newton’s second law of motion.
After adding all forces and multiplying the total force by the maximum speed 60km/h, they
got the motor power rating which is 4kWh. Second step is to measure the capacity of the
24
battery. As said, the speed is 60km/h, total power is 4kW and the distance is 35km. They
divided the travelling journey to 3 stages: when the car is in the maximum speed, half of the
maximum speed and cruising speed they did the calculation and got that they need 70Ah. The
minimum wattage of the panels is 201W. For the mechanical part, they started with the body
of the car which was made from the mild steel. The car has 4 wheels, and carry 2 passengers.
They carefully designed and built suspension system, steering system, and braking system.
Finally, they designed the car to be aerodynamically shaped as shown in Figure 2.8.
Figure 2.8 - Aerodynamically shaped car body [9]
2.2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
All projects surveyed in section 2.1 are listed in table 2.1. The table is focused on
comparing all projects in mechanical and electrical parts. In mechanical part, four parameters
are highlighted: max speed, weight, dimensions, and numbers of wheels. In electrical part,
photovoltaic, battery, and motor are the main factors that have been considered.
25
Table 2.1 - Comparison table
Project
Name
Mechanic Aspects Electric Aspects Budget
Parameters
Max Speed Weight Dimensions
(L x W x
H)
# of
wheels
PV Battery Motor $
MIT [2]
113km/h
204 kg
4.45m x
1.72m
4
1.2KW
434 Li-
Ion
cells
43Ah
2x BLDC
2.25KW
$327,000
MERDEKA
[3]
45km/h
180 kg
3m x 1.5m
x 1.6m
3
2x180W
Lead
Acid
12V
30Ah
2x BLDC
1050W
Not
Mentioned
Xof1 [4]
120km/h
300 kg
5m x 1.8m
x 0.9m
3
900W
Li-Ion
27x
3.7V
- 40Ah
BLDC
84V-108V
Not
Mentioned
IlangaI.I [6] 110km/h Not
Mentioned
4m x 1.8m 4 1KW Li-Ion
5kWh
2x HUB
165V
Not
Mentioned
Solar
Powered
Vehicle[7]
65km/h Not
Mentioned
Not
Mentioned
4
400W
Lead
Acid
48V
BLDC
48V
Not
Mentioned
Car runs by
solar
energy[8]
Not
Mentioned
Not
Mentioned
6.02m x
1.82m
Not
Mentioned
600Wh-
900Wh
2x 12V
17Ah
Not
Mentioned
Not
Mentioned
BRAC solar
car[9]
60km/h 500 kg Not
Mentioned
4 201W Lead
Acid
12V
DC series
(Brushed)
1KW
Not
Mentioned
Proposed
Solar
Car018
137.97km/h 500kg 4.6m x
1.825m
3 4x
300W
Li-ion
96V
60A
BLDC
8KW
$12,416.02
2.3 CONCLUSION
Finally, in this chapter we have surveyed with seven different projects. Each one of these
projects has strengths and weaknesses. Some of these surveys were implemented and the other
will help us implement our project. Few projects do not show the specific parameters they used
but instead of that, they provide the right method of the calculation and the implementation.
26
Chapter3 Design and Analysis
27
3. Design and Analysis This chapter will discuss the system architecture of the project and design alternatives. In
addition, the comparison of different components and technologies are included with their
specification. Also, the reasons for choosing those components is discussed.
3.1 System Architecture:
The electric system architecture represents our system of the project as shown in Figure
3.1. This architecture shows all the components which are used to build the car and the
relationship between the components. The system starts from the sunrise and transfers the
radiation through the panels until it reaches the wheels.
Figure 3.1 - Electric System Architecture of solar car
28
First, when the sun radiation touch the photovoltaic, the photovoltaic converts the sun
light or the sun radiation to electricity. The electricity is stored in the battery and it transfers from
the photovoltaic to the battery by the solar charge controller. The power goes from the battery to
the motor controller where the foot throttle and speedometer are connected. From the motor
controller, it takes the action from the foot throttle and starts moving the motor, at the same time
many parameters are shown in the speedometer. By using the disc brake, the motor can be
stopped.
In Figure 3.2, it shows the software system architecture. The small photovoltaic charges a
12V battery and it transfers through the solar charge controller. The battery will turn on the
Arduino, which is connected with four sensors and a LCD screen. Sensors read the voltage and
current of the PV and send the reading to the Arduino. From the Arduino, it will send signals of
the data to display on the LCD.
Figure 3.2 - Software System Architecture of solar car project
29
3.2 Components
3.2.1 Chassis metal
3.2.1.1 Aluminum 6061 pipes
Aluminum is a lightweight metal. It can be used as an alloy because aluminum alone is
not strong enough. It can be alloyed with copper, manganese, magnesium and silicon to be
stronger with a lightweight. It can be used in airplanes and other transportation vehicles [10].
Aluminum 6061 is one of aluminum alloys alloyed with magnesium and silicon. It has a medium
strength with a good corrosion resistance [11]. A pipe (6 meters) of aluminum costs $33.5 and
the pipe is shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3 - Aluminum 6061 pipe
3.2.1.2 Steel [12]:
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon containing small amounts of silicon, phosphorus,
sulphur and oxygen [12]. It is used in cars as a chassis, construction products, home machines,
and cargo ships. It is strong and lightweight, and it has a high level of great formability,
durability, elasticity, and corrosion resistance. A pipe (6 meters) of steel costs $28.5 and the pipe
is shown in Figure 3.4.
30
Figure 3.4 - Steel pipe
3.2.1.3 Selected metal
Table 3.1- Chassis metal comparative
Chassis Metal Features Price Selected
Aluminum Lightweight, Strength, corrosion resistance $33.5/6m Yes
Steel Strong, lightweight, great formability,
durability, elasticity, and corrosion resistance $28.5/6m No
The selected metal of the chassis for this project is aluminum because it’s much lighter
and stronger than steel and our goal is to have a lightweight chassis.
3.2.2 Motor
3.2.2.1 QS Motor 8000W 273 50H V3 Brushless DC Gearless Electric Car [13]
QS Motor is a Chinese company that produce good quality electric motors for such
electric scooter, electric bike and electric cars. There are three types of QS motors: V1 (Normal –
Low cost), V2 (Export – Cost-effective), and V3 (Extra – Best performance). QS Motor with
8000W is a Brushless DC permanent magnet outer rotor In-Wheel hub motor for electric cars. It
costs $650. There are many advantages of this motor. First of all, it is hub motor which means
the relatively compact size that can reduce and save place for the other components. The motor is
shown in Figure 3.5.
31
Figure 3.5 - QS Motor 8000W Brushless DC Electric Car
It matches with any car wheels greater than or equal to 14 inch. The maximum torque is
approximately 360N.m, the efficiency is between 86-91% and it’s from type V3. The rated
output power is 8000W and the peak output power is 20kW [13].
3.2.2.2 QS Motor 8000W 273 50H V2 E-car Hub Motor [14]
QS Motor with 8000W is a Brushless permanent magnet synchronous outer rotor electric
car Hub motor. This motor is V2 motor which means export and cost effective. It is shown in
Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.6 - QS Motor 8000W E-car Hub Motor
32
The maximum torque is approximately 203.5N.m, and the rated torque is 62N.m. Its
efficiency is between 86-88%. It costs $627.50. The rated output power is 8000W and the peak
output power is 10,072W [14].
3.2.2.3 Selected motor
Table 3.2 - Motor comparative
Motor Max.
Torque
Efficiency Price Other features Selected
QS motor
8000W V3
360N.m 86-91% $650 -V3 has a best performance.
-matched ≥14 inch wheels
Yes
QS motor
8000W V2
203.5N.m 86-88% $627.50 -V2 has less performance
than V3.
No
The selected motor for this project is QS Motor 8000W Brushless DC Gearless Electric
Car in Wheel Hub Motor because it has best performance, highest efficiency, and maximum
torque.
3.2.3 Motor Controller
3.2.3.1 APT Programmable Sine Wave FOC AE96600 8kW PM Motor Driver
Controller [15]
APT programmable sine wave controller is specially designed for electric vehicles or
electric scooters and it is used as main drive power for permanent magnet motors. The controller
extremely suits for electric car with different sizes. It costs $388 and the controller is shown in
Figure 3.7.
33
Figure 3.7 - APT Programmable Sine Wave Motor Driver Controller
It is programmable and support regenerative braking. The operating range of the
controller is between 42V to 120V. The peak phase current is 600A. The pc software can set
most of the drive parameter. It takes the intelligent & individuation scheme to the rider [15].
3.2.3.2 KLS7240D, SINUSOIDAL BRUSHLESS MOTOR CONTROLLER [16]
KLS240D is a sinusoidal controller for brushless motor. It's special design for QS
brushless motor controller for Conversion Kits, which matches with QS HUB MOTOR Rated
Power 4000W. It costs $319. It has many advantages like it can be matched with many brushless
DC motor. The controller is programmable by Bluetooth, and it is very easy to connect. Battery
voltage of the controller is 24-72V rated, and the maximum voltage is 90V [16]. The controller is
shown in Figure 3.8.
34
Figure 3.8 - KLS7240D, SINUSOIDAL BRUSHLESS MOTOR CONTROLLER
3.2.3.3 Selected motor controller
Table 3.3 - Motor controller comparative
Motor
controller
Rated
voltage
Programmable Price Other features Selected
AE96600
Motor
Controller
42V
-
120V
Yes
$388 -suitable motor for this
controller is the selected motor
Yes
KLS7240D
Motor
Controller
24-72V
Yes
$319 - match with QS HUB MOTOR
Rated Power 4000W.
No
APT Programmable Sine Wave FOC AE96600 72V 96V 8kW PM Motor Driver Controller is
selected because it matched QS brushless DC Hub Motor, 273 50H 8000W Motor which is the
best motor for the project.
35
3.2.4 Speedometer
3.2.4.1 48V-144V Programmable Electric Car Speedometer [17]
Electric car speedometer is a device that indicates the speed of a vehicle. This
speedometer is from QS motor Co. and it is a programmable speedometer. It has a rated voltage
between 48V-144V. The peak is 144V and it shows the time, diving distance, speed, voltage,
and electric quantity [17]. It costs $68 and it is shown in Figure 3.9.
Figure 3.9 - 48V-144V Programmable Electric Car Speedometer
3.2.4.2 Electric Speedometer for Motorcycle 144v 199km/h [18]
Electric Speedometer for Motorcycle 144v 199km/h is a speedometer from QS motor Co.
The rated voltage is between 48V-144V. It shows the temperature, speed from 0km/h to
199km/h, and time. It costs $56. The speedometer is shown in Figure 3.10.
36
Figure 3.10 - Electric Speedometer for Motorcycle 144v 199km/h
3.2.4.3 Selected Speedometer:
Table 3.4 - Speedometer comparative
Speedometer Rated
voltage
Programmable Price Other features Selected
Electric Car
Speedometer
48V-
144V
Yes
$86
- shows the time, diving
distance, speed, voltage, and
electric quantity
Yes
Electric
Speedometer for
Motorcycle
48V-
144V
No
$56
- shows the temperature, speed
from 0km/h to 199km/h, and
time.
No
48V-144V Programmable Electric Car Speedometer is selected because it has useful features and
it is programmable so it can be easy to design it for the project. Although the other speedometer
is cheaper than the selected one, it is not programmable speedometer.
3.2.5 Throttle
3.2.5.1 0-5V Electric Car Throttle Pedal [19]
Foot pedal is used in cars by the driver to control the car’s operation. 0-5V Electric Car
Throttle Pedal is a throttle from QS motors Co. which is matched with the selected motor and
controller. It has different input voltages which are 5V 12V 15V 24V 36V 48V 60V 72V 84V
37
96V 120V and different output ranges 0-5V, 5-0V, 1-4.2V, 4.2-1V, 0-10V, 10-0V. The main
body of throttle is made from aluminum and screw material is stainless steel [19]. It costs $48
and it is shown in Figure 3.11.
Figure 3.11 - Electric Car Throttle Pedal
3.2.5.2 JSQD-124/001 0-5V ELECTRONIC FOOT PEDALS THROTTLE [20]
This throttle is from a brand called JWDAWN made in China. It is designed to be placed
in front of the vehicle. Throttle works on 12V and its output 0-5V. Its rated current is 300mA.
The operating temperature is between -20˚c to 60˚c. It has 48V for forward/reversing signal input
and output [20]. It costs $75 and it shown in Figure 3.12.
Figure 3.12 - 0-5V ELECTRONIC FOOT PEDALS THROTTLE
38
3.2.5.3 Selected Throttle
Table 3.5 - Throttle comparative
Throttle Input Output Price Other features Selected
Electric Car
Throttle Pedal
5V 12V
15V 24V
36V 48V
60V 72V
84V 96V
120V
0-5V
5-0V
1-4.2V
4.2-1V
0-10V
10-0V
$48
- main body is made from
aluminum and screw material is
stainless steel
Yes
0-5V
ELECTRONIC
FOOT
PEDALS
12V 48V
0-5V
$75
- 48V for forward/reversing
signal input and output.
No
0-5V Electric Car Throttle Pedal is selected because it cheaper and it is from a good company
that provides electric vehicle parts.
3.2.6 Disc Brake
3.2.6.1 Disc Brake Assembly for Electric Car 1 tow 2 By Foot [21]
It is a foot disc brake assembly with mechanical parking brake from QS motor Co as
shown Figure 3.13. It has a left caliper and a right caliper with T-shape hose connector. The
brake pads work to squeeze the rotor and force it to slow down by the friction between pads and
disc. It costs $82.50.
39
Figure 3.13 - Disc Brake Assembly for Electric Car 1 tow 2 By Foot
3.2.6.2 XUANKUN zoomer Electric Car Disc Brakes Assembly with Reel [22]
This disc brake is from a brand called XUANKUN which is unknown company
comparing by QS motors. In addition, XUANKUN has not providing any description about the
quality or the performance; the only thing they mentioned that it costs $95.00-$109.25 per piece
which is still more expensive that the selected disc brake. The Disc brake is shown in Figure
3.14.
Figure 3.14 - XUANKUN zoomer Electric Car Disc Brakes
40
3.2.6.3 Selected Disc Brake
Table 3.6 - Disc brake comparative
Disc Brake Price Comments Selected
Disc Brake Assembly
for Electric Car 1 tow
2 By Foot
$82
-Has a left caliper and a right caliper with T-shape
hose connector.
-Good company and good price
Yes
XUANKUN zoomer
Electric Car Disc
Brakes
$95 -
$109.25
-Non-provided description about the quality or the
performance
No
Disc Brake Assembly for Electric Car 1 tow 2 By Foot is selected because it is cheaper and from
a good company comparing with the second disc.
3.2.7 Battery
3.2.7.1 Electric bike 96v 30ah lithium ion battery [23]
The battery is made from Lithium Ion cells. The battery is from CODDWATTSAMP Co.
which is a professional lithium ion battery manufacture in China. By using two pieces from 96V
30AH battery and connecting it in parallel, a new 96V 60AH battery is ready to be used in the
project. It has 96V and a capacity of 60Ah. The charge voltage is 109.2V and the discharge cut-
off voltage is 72.8V. The weight of battery has a 23Kg. It has a good storage battery for
photovoltaic power. The customized battery costs $2013.64 and it shown in Figure 3.15.
41
Figure 3.15 - Li-ion 96V 60AH lithium ion Battery
3.2.7.2 72V 60AH lithium battery super power electric bike battery [24]
The Battery is a lithium ion battery and has a 40Ah capacity and a voltage of 72V. It has
a weight of 23kg. It is a suitable battery for 50W to 4000W motors. The discharge cutoff voltage
is 60V, the charge cutoff voltage is 84V, and the rated discharge current is 80A. It costs
$1,288.56 and it is shown in Figure 3.16.
42
Figure 3.16 - 72V 60AH lithium battery
3.2.7.3 Selected Battery
Table 3.7 - Battery comparative
Battery Capacity Charge
Voltage
Discharge
Voltage
Weight Price Selected
Li-Ion 96V
60A
60Ah 109.2V 72.8V 23Kg $2013.64 Yes
Li-Ion 72V
60A
60Ah 84V 60V 23Kg $1,288.56 No
The selected battery is 96V 60AH lithium ion Battery because it has better discharge voltage
which is needed. In fact, the reason of choosing a Lithium Ion battery is the light weight and
good performance comparing with any other type of batteries for example lead acid.
43
3.2.8 Photovoltaic Modules
3.2.8.1 Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp [25]
The 300Wp solar modules has monocrystalline cells type which is one of the best types
of photovoltaic. Lifetime of the product can reach 25 years and it has an excellent performance.
It has a maximum power of 300Wp. The voltage of the modules at the maximum power is 37.6V
and the current is 7.98A. The open circuit voltage is 47V, and the short circuit current is 8.28A
[25]. It costs $249.22. It is shown in Figure 3.17.
Figure 3.17- Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp
3.2.8.2 Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-285Wp [25]
The 285Wp solar modules has monocrystalline cells type. It has a maximum power of
285Wp. The voltage of the modules at the maximum power is 36V and the current is 7.91A. The
open circuit voltage is 45V, and the short circuit current is 8.21A [25]. It costs $0.379/Wp which
approximately $108 and it is shown Figure 3.18.
44
Figure 3.18 - Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-285Wp
3.2.8.3 Selected Module
Table 3.8 - Photovoltaic module comparative
Module Vmpp Impp Voc Isc Price Selected
DSP-300 37.6V 7.98A 47V 8.28A $249.22 Yes
DSP-285 36V 7.91A 45V 8.21A $108 No
Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp is the selected photovoltaic module. It provides and
produces a higher power than the other panel.
45
3.2.9 Solar Charge Controller
3.2.9.1 Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A [26]
IHUAX Wind&Solar Expert Store provides a good quality of solar charge controllers.
96V 50AH solar charge controller is one of the products that can be used off-grid solar system.
The controller allows users to check the working status of the battery [26]. It has a 60A as a
maximum current. It weighted around 1.2Kg. It costs $254.8. The controller is shown in Figure
3.19.
Figure 3.19- Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A
3.2.9.2 Solar Charge Controller 96V 100A [27]
96V 1000AH solar charge controller is one of the products that can be used off-grid solar
system. The controller is with the protections of over-charge, over-discharge, over-load,
electronic protection and battery reverse [27]. It has a 120A as a maximum current. It weighted
around 3.4Kg. It costs $326.5. The controller is shown in Figure 3.20.
46
Figure 3.20 - Solar Charge Controller 96V 100A
3.2.9.3 Selected solar charge controller
Table 3.9 – Solar charge controller comparative
Solar Controller Max Current Voltage Weight Price Selected
Solar Charge
Controller 96V 50A
60A 96V 1.2Kg $254.8 Yes
Solar Charge
Controller 96V 100A
120A 96V 3.4Kg $326.5 No
Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A is selected because both has the same performance and
features. The selected solar charge controller satisfies the needed current and it also cheaper.
47
3.2.10 Arduino
3.2.10.1 Arduino Mega 2560 R3 [28]
The Arduino Mega is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560. [28] It contains
54 digital input/output pins where 14 output pins used as PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
outputs and 16 analog inputs as shown in Figure 3.21. It has 16 MHz crystal oscillator, 4 UARTs
hardware serial ports, ICSP header (in-circuit serial programming). In addition, it has a USB
connection, power jack, and a reset button. To start the Arduino Mega, basically it needs to be
connected to a computer with a USB or power it with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. [28] It is
suitable with most complex designed. It costs $61.10.
Figure 3.21 - Arduino Mega 2560 R3
3.2.10.2 Arduino Uno - R3 [29]
Uno means number one in Italian and the Uno board is the first in a series of USB
Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform. [29] It is a microcontroller
board based on the ATmega328P. It contains 14 digital input/output pins where they are 6 PWM
outputs, 6 analog inputs, USB connection and power jack. It has a 16 MHz quartz crystal, ICSP
header and a reset button. [29] It is shown in Figure 2.22 and it costs $22.
48
Figure 3.22 - Arduino Uno - R3
3.2.10.3 Selected Arduino
Table 3.9 - Arduino comparative
Arduino Features Price Selected
Arduino Mega ATmega2560 microcontroller, 54 Digital I/O
Pins (14 PWM outputs) 256k Flash Memory
$58 Yes
Arduino Uno ATmega328P microcontroller, 14 Digital I/O
Pins (6 PWM outputs) Analog Inputs, 32 K
Flash Memory
$22 No
Arduino Mega is the selected Arduino because it has more pins. Arduino Uno has less pins than
the needed pins.
3.2.11 Voltage and Current Sense
3.2.11.1 AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout – 45A [30]
AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 45A is a small voltage and current sense
PCB (printed circuit board) shown in Figure 3.23. Basically, DC current is figured by calculating
a voltage drop across a pair of parallel shunt resistors, then converted to a final analog voltage
output by the TI INA-169. [30] Voltage sense is completed by scaling to 3.3V ADC (analog-to-
49
digital converter) range. It can sense 51.8V as a maximum voltage and 44.7A as a maximum
current. It costs $19.95.
Figure 3.23 - AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 45A
3.2.11.2 AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 180A [31]
AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 108A is a small voltage and current
sense PCB. Basically, DC current is figured by calculating a voltage drop across a pair of parallel
shunt resistors, then converted to a final analog voltage output by the TI INA-169. [31] Voltage
sense is completed by scaling to 3.3V ADC (analog-to-digital converter) range. . It can sense
51.8V as a maximum voltage and 178.8A as a maximum current. It costs $19.95 and it shown in
Figure 3.24.
Figure 3.24 - AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 180A
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3.2.11.3 Selected Voltage and Current Sensors
Voltage and Current Sense
Breakout
Features Price Selected
AttoPilot Voltage and Current
Sense Breakout - 45A
It can read up to 51.8V and 44.7A. $19.95 Yes
AttoPilot Voltage and Current
Sense Breakout - 180A
It can read up to 51.8V and 178.8A. $19.95 No
AttoPilot Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 45A is the selected Voltage and current sensors.
In fact, the usage of this sensor to read around 40V and 10A. Useless to have AttoPilot Voltage
and Current Sense Breakout - 180A.
3.2.12 LCD
3.2.12.1 Basic 16x2 Character LCD [32]
A liquid crystal display is a basic 16 character by 2 line display with a green
background and black characters as shown in Figure 2.25. It needs 11 general I/O pins to
interface LCD screen. It used HD44780 parallel interface chipset. [32] The dimensions are 3.15”
x 1.425”. It costs $13.95.
Figure 3.25 - Basic 16x2 Character LCD
3.2.12.2 Basic 20x4 Character LCD [33]
A liquid crystal display is a basic 20 character by 4 line display with a green background
and black characters as shown in Figure 3.26. It needs 11 general I/O pins to interface LCD
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screen. It used HD44780 parallel interface chipset. [33] The dimensions are 3.86” x 2.36” x
0.55”. It costs $17.95.
Figure 3.26 - Basic 20x4 Character LCD
3.2.12.3 Selected LCD
LCD Features Price Selected
Basic 16x2 Character LCD Number of characters: 16x2,
dimensions: 3.15" x 1.425"
$13.95 Yes
Basic 20x4 Character LCD Number of characters: 20x4,
dimensions: 3.86 x 2.36 x 0.55"
$17.98 No
Because the basic 20x4 Character LCD was sold out, Basic 16x2 Character LCD is the selected
LCD.
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3.3 Budget
In this section, the components that were purchased for solar car is listed in Table 3.9
with the quantity and the price.
Table 3.10 - Budget List
item Quantity $ Total $
Aluminum 6061 pipes of 6m 9 33.5 301.5
QS Motor 8000W 2 650 1300
Motor Driver Controller 2 394 788
Bluetooth Adaptor for the controller 1 30 30
Throttle Pedal 1 48 48
Speedometer 1 68 68
Disc Brake 1 88 88
Li-Ion battery 96V 30AH 2 1006.82 2013.64
Monocrystalline Solar modules DSP-300Wp 4 117.49 469.96
Solar Charge Controller 96V 50A 1 254.8 254.8
Arduino Mega 1 58 58
Voltage and Current Sense Breakout - 45A 4 19.95 79.80
Basic 16x2 character LCD 1 13.95 13.95
Used buggy 1 210 210
Rim 1 83 83
Rear suspension 1 200 200
Driver seat 1 597 597
battery 12V 1.2AH 1 12.46 12.46
Solar Charge Controller 12V 1 28.24 28.24
solar cell 3V 0.25A 4 5.82 23.24
Aluminum sheets for the body 1 232.71 232.71
MC4 connecter 4 6 24
Welding Aluminum and renting a place for work 1 4976.78 4976.78
Front and rear lights 2 8.63 17.26
Total Shipments 1 497.68 497.68
Total 12416.02
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3.4 Conclusion
This chapter represents the electrical system architecture. It shows the comparison
between selected components for the project and other components. Moreover, it provides the
table of costs and quantities for all items used in the project. The total cost for project is
provided.
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Chapter4 Implementation
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4. Implementation
This chapter provides the design and implementation of the chassis with the mechanical
and electrical components. It shows the calculation of the motor power rating in details. It
discusses the reason behind choosing the selected battery and the quantity of the photovoltaic
panels. Furthermore, it explains the connections of motor components. In addition, it provides
the software design and the reason behind choosing it.
4.1 Mechanical Design
4.1.1 First Design
The design of the car is all about aerodynamics and how to make it strong to carry the
heavy weight and to be lightweight as well. The design has been created in SolidWorks, which is
one of the easiest software for designing. SolidWorks has many features to help in making the
design solid and functional. This task took many weeks to master the software because we have
no experience with the mechanical software. In the beginning, the material that have been used
was Aluminum (A6000) and the diameter of the pipe was 50mm, but these features is not
available in Kuwait’s market. The design of the chassis and the stress analysis is attached in
Appendix A.
4.1.2 Second Design
After searching, Aluminum (A6061) is found in Kuwait with the diameter of 38.1mm, so
the design have been recreated to fit these features. By finishing with the design, we tested it
using stress analysis as shown in Appendix B and it shows that it can carry up to 300 kg. In fact,
repeating the task took less time in working but it delayed our time line. The weight of the
chassis is 198kg. The design of the top view of the chassis is shown in Figure 4.1. The front and
rear view is in Figure 4.2. The right and left side of the chassis is shown in Figure 4.3.
In addition, the body of the car designed to have a small aerodynamic ratio (the values of
aerodynamic ratio is shown in Figure 4.4). The design for the outer body of the car is shown in
Figure 4.5 and the look of the chassis inside the body is shown in Figure 4.6. In the end, some of
the mechanical parts have been installed such as steering wheel, and break system, etc are shown
in Figure 4.7.
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Figure 4.1 - Design of Chassis – top view
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Figure 4.2 - Design of Chassis – front and rear sides
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Figure 4.3 - Design of Chassis – right and left sides
Figure 4.4 - Coefficient of aerodynamic drag of different shape [9]
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Figure 4.5 - The outer body
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Figure 4.6 - The chassis inside the body
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Figure 4.7 - The wheels of the car
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4.2 Mechanical Implementation
After designing the chassis and buying the Aluminum, the implementation of the car
started at the garage. First of all, the 56 meter Aluminum pipes were cut into small pieces
according to the design of the chassis. Welding is the next step; all parts welded to have the
chassis that matches the design. This step took around 3 weeks. The design of the chassis helped
speeding the process of welding because there was no curves on the design. The chassis is shown
in figure 4.8.
Figure 4.8 - Chassis implementation
After building the chassis, steering system and suspension system must be installed. Due
to the lack of mechanical knowledge, the first idea that came up had been implemented. The idea
was buying a used buggy without an engine which is in figure 4.9; taking its steering system with
the front suspension system to set it up in our chassis with the base of the seat as presented in
figure 4.10. The process took around 4 weeks.
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Figure 4.9 - The used buggy
Figure 4.10 - The chassis with steering and front suspension systems
Front suspension system installation is done; for the rear wheel, it took a lot of time to
find a suitable rim for the hub motor as shown in figure 4.11. Moreover, the problem did not stop
here; the hub motor needs to install on the chassis. Many solutions were there but no one fit in
the chassis. The only solution was to treat the car as a huge scooter. The hub motor was installed
with the rim in the back of the car with its suspension system as shown in figure 4.12.
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Figure 4.11 - Rim of the rear wheel
Figure 4.12 - Rear wheel with the hub motor installed
After installing the rear wheel, disc brake is added to the motor, as it is most important
part for any car. Disc brake is shown in Figure 4.13. From the disc brake to the driver seat, brake
pedal and the throttle pedal have been connected to make them useable. Brake and throttle pedals
are in figure 4.14. In addition, driver seat is made from fiber as a strong and light material and
coved by black leather as attached in Figure 4.15.
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Figure 4.13 - Disc Brake attached to the motor
Figure 4.14 - Brake and Throttle pedals
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Figure 4.15 - Driver seat
As the PV panels are the most significant and essential component on solar car, four PV
panels are attached to the car. Two PVs on the middle, one on the back and one on the front of
the car as Figure 4.16. Final mechanical part was covering the sides and bottom of the car by
Aluminum sheets as Figure 4.17.
Figure 4.16 - Four PV panels covering the car
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Figure 4.17 - Car covered by Aluminum Sheets
4.3 Electrical Design
4.3.1 Motor Power Rating Calculation
To choose the best motor for the car, the motor power rating must be calculated. Adding
the rolling resistance force, aerodynamic drag force, and force of acceleration and multiplying it
by the speed will give the right motor power rating.
The rolling resistance force is the force resisting the rolling of the tire as they roll on a
surface. This force is the multiplication of the coefficient of rolling resistance and the weight of
the car where the mass is 500Kg. The chosen coefficient of rolling resistance 𝜇r is an ordinary
car tires on concrete, which equals to 0.01.
FRolling = 𝝁r *W = 0.01*500*9.8 = 49N.
Aerodynamic drag force is the force of the air that prevents the car from moving through
it. It is the multiplication of the half of the coefficient of drag CD of the vehicle(0.1) that must be
chosen according to the shape of the car [9] and as shown in Figure 4.4, frontal area A (1m2), air
mass density ρ (1.2kg/m3), vehicle’s velocity squared when the Velocity V is (27.78m/s) which
is (100km/h).
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FDrag = 0.5*CD*A*ρ*V 2
= 0.5*0.1*1*1.2*(27.78)2 = 46.3N The force of acceleration is Newton’s second law of motion, which is the multiplication
of the mass (m) and acceleration (a). The mass is 500kg and acceleration is equals to
(0.3086m/s 2 ) when the time is 90s. The acceleration a (0.3086m/s
2 ) is the result of velocity
divided by the time, which is 90s. 90 seconds is the approximate time needed to reach the max
speed.
FAcceleration = m*a
= 500*0.3086 = 154.3N In the end, the sum of all forces is 249.63, and then we multiply it by the velocity to get the
motor power rating.
P = (FRolling + FDrag + FAcceleration)*V
= (49+46.6+154.3)*27.78 =6,934.8W So the rating power of the motor is 6,934.8W and according to the power rating QS motor
8000W V3 is the chosen motor.
4.3.2 Battery
The motor needs 96v to operate and since it needs a very high discharge current, the
chosen maximum current that has been found is 60Ah. In addition, the battery must charge very
fast because the car only depends on solar panels as a source of energy. So the chosen battery is
Lithium-ion battery 96v 60Ah.
4.3.3 Photovoltaic
4.3.3.1 Whole Car System
To charge the 96V battery with capacity of 60Ah, it needs 1152W. Basically, the battery
energy E = (96V)(60Ah) = 5760Wh. Since the sun in Kuwait is available at least five hours,
the power-needed is
Energy
hours =
5760
5 = 1152W.
The selected photovoltaic panels is 300W. Number of panels is equal to
Power
PV power =
1152W
300W = 3.84 panels
which means four panels in series.
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4.3.3.2 Arduino System
To charge the 12V battery with capacity of 1.2Ah, it needs 2.88W. This battery is used to
run the Arduino. Basically, the battery energy E = (12V)(1.2Ah) = 14.4Wh. Since the sun in
Kuwait is available at least five hours, the power-needed is
Energy
hours =
14.4
5 = 2.88W.
The selected photovoltaic panels is 0.75W (3V, 0.25A). Number of panels is equal to
Power
PV power =
2.88W
0.75W = 3.84 panels
which means four panels in series from 0.75W.
4.3.4 Power Rating for components
Motor: Rated Power = 8KW
Motor controller: Power rated: 96V*600A = 57,600W
Battery: Power rated: 109.2V*220A = 24,024W
Arduino: Power rated: 12*400m=4.8W
Solar Charge controller: Power rated: 96V*50A = 4,800W
4.3.5 Power Consumption
If the user will use the car for 30 minutes, which is 0.5 hours, the power consumption of
the system is shown below.
Motor controller:
The Voltage rate for the motor controller is 96V and the current rated is 600A
Power rated = 96V*600A = 57,600W
Power consumption = Power rated*hours = 57,600W*0.5h =28.8KWh
Arduino Mega:
The Voltage rate for the Arduino Mega is 12V and the current rated is 400mA
Power rated = 12*400m=4.8W
Power consumption = Power rated*hours = 4.8W*0.5h =2.4Wh
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4.4 Electrical Implementation
First of all, motor controller is connected with 4 major wires. BLDC hub motor phases
are connected according to the color of the wires. The positive and negative terminals of the
battery are connected to the controller. In the same time, there is a control connection wire which
is one of the most important wires. Motor controller with its previous described connection is
presented in Figure 4.18.
Figure 4.18 - motor controller connections
Basically, control connection wire is the wire that connects all the components with
motor controller to control the car. The components are switch Figure 4.19, throttle Figure 4.20,
and speedometer Figure 4.21. The controller receives the throttle pulse to send the order of
Three Phase of the
Motor connected to
the motor controller
+ve & -ve terminals
of the battery
Control connection
wire
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movement of the motor. When the driver touches the brake, it will move the disc brake to stop
the motor. The data of the voltage and the current of the battery, revolution, throttle voltage, and
other data are shown in a program that comes with the motor controller.
Figure 4.19 – Switch
Figure 4.20 – Throttle
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Figure 4.21 - Speedometer
To charge the 96V battery by the four-300W photovoltaic, it needs a solar charge
controller. First of all, the four-300W photovoltaic are connected to each other in series to have
144V. After that, the positive and negative wires connected to the sensor to sense the voltage and
current (will be discussed in Software design section) and from the sensor to the big solar charge
controller. The solar charge controller controls the power so it can directly charge the battery.
On the other hand, the 12V is charging by four-0.75W photovoltaic. The four-0.75W
(3V, 0.25A) photovoltaic are connected in series to have 12V. The positive and negative wires
connected to the small solar charge controller. The solar charge controller controls the power so
it can directly charge the battery or directly operate the Arduino.
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4.5 Software Design
In order to have a successful project, we designed a software system that helps us to
measure the current and voltage for each photovoltaic panel (PV) used in the project. Measuring
the current and the voltage for each PV panel helps us to recognize the exact panel, which
preforms bad either by having high drop in voltage or current. Since we are using four
photovoltaic panels connected in series, the drop current in one of the panels will make a big
effect. The solar panels are the main and the most important part in the solar car, when a
malfunction occurs in one of them it may stop charging the battery of the car. By using this
system, the data will be shown in the LCD and the user can notice the difference in the voltage or
the current. Our goal is to find the problem at the beginning to save the time and solve the
problem directly.
4.6 Software Implementation
This section explains in detail the implementation of the software. The coding language
used is C++ attached in Appednix C, and the microcontroller used is Arduino. Building the code
and implementing was done by using the Arduino Maga 2560 R3. Arduino Mega is the selected
Arduino because it has enough pins needed to connect the wires. After building the code, the
circuit was connecting on the breadboard. Basic LCD 4x20 is connected on the breadboard to
display the current and the voltage values. Push button is connected to change the screen
between voltage values and current values. To have a good brightness on the LCD, we used
potential resister. The circuit is shown in Figure 4.22.
Figure 4.22 - Breadboard with the components
Potential resister
Push Button
LCD
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Four solar panels need four sensors for each panel. Four Attopilot Voltage and current
sense Breakout-45A sensors are connected with Arduino Maga to measure the current and the
voltage as shown in figure 4.23.
Figure 4.23 - Arduino and Sensors
For each sensor, there is an input and an output as shown in Figure 4.24. The input
connected to the solar panels with two pins one positive and one negative pin and the output
connected to the load. In our case, outputs in each sensor are connected to each other to create a
series connection to have high voltage. The whole system is shown in figure 4.25.
Figure 4.24 - Sensor, input and output
Four Sensors
Arduino Mega
To the Arduino
+ve & -ve Output
+ve & -ve Input
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Figure 4.25 - Software System
4.7 Testing the Car
4.7.1 Testing of the electrical part
The software of our motor controller has unique and useful specifications that help the
user to be updated with the changes of the values. The interface of the program is shown in
Figure 4.26. The left column shows the system real time information of the battery, RPM,
Throttle voltage, direction of the motor (Forward or Backward) and more others. Error
information shows if there is any error like if the battery is low or over high.
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Figure 4.26 - The interface of motor controller software
After building the car, connecting the main connection with the controller motor, and
connecting the PVs with the Arduino system; we tested the motor. First of all, pushing the
throttle pedal sends the signal to the motor controller to operate the motor. With our first trial, we
faced our first problem, which is the direction of the rotation of the motor. In fact, the rotation of
the motor was working in the opposite direction because the motor was installed in a wrong way.
To solve the problem, we designed a reverse bottom to move the motor in the right direction.
The reverse bottom changed the direction as we expected but in the same time, we lost the speed
of the motor. The speed became less than 20km/hr which is 16.0451km/h. In fact, the speed is
calculated from the RPM (152) which we got it from motor controller software. We calculate the
speed in km/h by multiplying wheel diameter, revolution per minute all by 0.001885. The data of
running the motor in the backward direction is in Figure 4.27. Then, we decided to change the
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holder of the motor. We changed the design to fit the motor. The holder the motor before and
after the changing are shown in Figure 4.28.
Figure 4.27 - Data of backward movement
Figure 4.28 - The motor holder before and after
RPM used in
calculating speed
Forward is OFF
Backward is ON
+ve & -ve Input
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After testing the motor in the right direction and pushing the throttle to get the highest
speed, we got that our car moves with 1307 RPM as shown in Figure 4.29.
Speed = (56cm) (1307rpm) (0.001885) = 137.9669km/h
Figure 4.29 - Data of maximum speed
4.7.2 Testing of the software part
After connecting all PV panels with the Arduino system, we tested the operation of the
panels under the sun. Throw the LCD, it can show all voltage of each panel in details with
updated data. In fact, one of the PV panels was under a shadow; the sun cannot cover this panel.
In this case, we recognize the drop of the voltage is this panel from the LCD. This issue is the
reason behind design this software. The drop voltage in the panel is presented in Figure 4.30.
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Figure 4.30 - LCD testing.
In the same time, we faced our second problem. It is the current sensor. The usage of the
PV panels is charging the battery. Charging is not a load; the sensor senses the current of the
load not for the current of the charging.
The final look of the solar car is shown in Figure 4.31. Finally, we tested the car for 39
minutes with a fully charged battery and after 39 minutes, the battery is still almost full.
Figure 4.31 - Our Solar Car
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4.8 Electrical Engineering Courses Reflection
Two of the team members are Electrical Engineering Students. In this section, reflection
of the principals of ELEG courses are mentioned. From Electric Machinery Fundamentals
course, we studied the types of the motors especially DC motors. For our project, we chose
brushless DC (BLDC) motor because it has some helpful advantages. BLDC motor is relatively
high efficiency, long life, high reliability, need little maintenance and can reach high speed. [34]
In fact, we use a DC motor to avoid using the DC-AC inverters.
From Power Electronic course, we covered most of the renewable energy topics and we have
great details about the Solar energy system. The course improved ours knowledge about solar
energy, photovoltaics, radiance and temperature effect. First of all, the efficiency of solar energy
is different from place to place, time, and season. [35] To talk about the photovoltaic model, it
converts the sunlight to electricity. Photovoltaic is similar to a diode which we studied in
Electronics. [35] Photovoltaic uses an advance silicon. In addition, increasing in the sun
irradiance is directly proportional to the solar power generated on the PV. [35]
From Electromagnetics course, and according to Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics
book, “The photoelectric effect explains the mechanism responsible for why an electron is
ejected by a material in consequence to a photon incident upon its surface.” [36]
4.9 Conclusion
In this chapter, mechanical deigns of the chassis and the body has been detailed with the
implementation. The details contains the time line of the work, the problems faces and its
solutions. Electrical design contains the motor power rating calculation, the reason behind
choosing the battery, solar energy calculation, power rating for each component, and power
consumption. In addition, the implementation of the electrical part is explained. The software
details are also mentioned with the benefit of it.
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Chapter5 Evaluation
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5. Evaluation
In this chapter, we focus on our projects process and implementation effects from different
aspects. Each projects has effects on our lives in different aspect some of them have positive
impacts and other have negative impacts.
Mainly, the project evaluation is examined based on different impacts. The impacts of the
environmental, economic, ethical and social for our solar car are evaluated. It contains a survey,
which helps to improve the project.
5.1 Environmental Impact
The sun provides a strong resource for generating clean and sustainable energy without toxic
pollution. Solar energy system offers significant environmental benefits comparing to the
conventional energy sources. In addition, solar power emits no carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. Therefore using solar energy produces in a lower amount of gasses being emitted
into the atmosphere. Thus, our solar car helps environment because it does not depend on the
fuel. Moreover, it saves the environment because there is no another energy sources needed for
the solar car other than the sun. The solar car is friendly environmental due to reducing the air
pollution.
5.2 Economic Impact
In general, solar energy is less prone to large-scale difficulties because this energy does not
need a large place to generate the electricity. Each project can be utilized for enhancing many of
the economic aspects. One of many goals behind this project is providing a cost-effective
solution that reduces the amount of money spent yearly on the fuel. Our project has positive
impacts not only in the person economy but in the local economy as well. The first and most
obvious example is the decreasing in the use of oil as an energy source so they can use it to other
industrial issues. Solar car helps people to save their money because they are no need to refuel
the car with the fuel weekly.
5.3 Ethical Impact
Each project must be designed to have ethical impacts by looking to the safety of the project.
It should follow the standard and the known safety regulations. Our project is designed to save
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the passenger’s life and others. For the passenger safety, we ensure to have a seat belt and
mechanical breaks. For other people near the car, we put the rear red break lights. The car will
have a small fire extinguisher for the emergency cases. In future, we plan to add some sensors to
help the passenger while driving.
5.4 Social Impact
Solar energy provides suitable conditions for our health and our economy. Our solar car uses
a totally clean source of energy. The cities or areas that decide to use a solar car will enjoy a
cleaner quality of air in the region. It conversely can make the citizens and workers living in the
area with clean air. In addition, the solar car designed with low speed that reach the maximum of
100km/hrs. It reduces the number of accidents, which reduces the number of life damages.
5.4 Survey
The survey is included eight questions and sampled of a hundred people. We chose those
questions to help us in our plans. The first question was about the environmental to know the
vision of the people, if they are friendly with the environment or not.
Figure 5.1 – Percentage of people who care about environment
Around 94% they care about the environment which is our goal. The other 6% which
they don’t care about the environment, they have a lack of awareness.
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The second question about the solar businesses. The question is asked to know if they are
interest on solar businesses and its concept. The answer will effect on marketing our project.
Figure 5.2 - Percentage of people who like to purchase solar products
36% answered yes and 51% maybe and those people who answered maybe. 51% of them
already care about the environment but they may not have knowledge about the solar and its
effect on the environment. The following question was about the amount of money people pay
monthly to filling the car gas.
Figure 5.3 - Percentage for payment of filling your car with gas
From the answer, the range of the payment are around 20-30KD monthly. Because our
car doesn’t depend on the gas, this will help us more to tell the people they can saves those
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money monthly. Then we asked about the benefit of owning the solar care, if it is only
environmental or economic benefit or both.
Figure 5.4 – Chart shows people selection for benefits of owning a solar car
71% answered environmental and economic benefit, which matched with our goal, and
then we asked about the factors when they purchasing a solar car like the car style, size,
performance and technological features to reach the satisfaction of the people.
Figure 5.5 - Percentage of style factor
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Figure 5.6 - Percentage of size factor
Figure 5.7 - Percentage of performance of the car factor
Figure 5.8 - percantage of technological features in the solar car
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50% care about the performance and 50% they need technological features and both
those factors are most important factor we are working on. The next question, if they are willing
to purchase expensive products for a higher quality solar car or not.
Figure 5.9 – Percentage of people who like to purchase expensive products
We have the 50%, they agree to buy an expansive product for the higher quality while the
other 50% they don’t agree. After that we want to know how much they will pay to having a
solar car.
Figure 5.10 - Percentage for payment of filling your car
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34% are willing to pay less than 5000. 34% of the people can pay from 5000 and 10000
KD. While 20% they can pay between 10000 to 15000KD and the rest will pay it more than
15000. The last question is about the speed for the solar car.
Figure 5.11 – The needed speed for the solar car
42% like to have a speed of 120km/h and 38% they like it more than 120Km/h.
5.5 Conclusion
To conclude the chapter, the impacts on environment, economy, ethical and social have been
discussed. A sample of 100 people from Kuwait has been taken to analysis our project and to
know their opinion on the solar car that can help them and the environment. In addition,
discussion regarding the target market of our project has been explored.
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Chapter6 Conclusion
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6. Conclusion
This chapter talks about the main characteristics of the project and the progress of it. The
progress of the project contains both capstone I and capstone II works. In addition, the plans of
the future work are mentioned.
6.1 Project idea
We decide to build a solar car for our capstone project. Our project is a big scale car that
uses the solar energy to work. The project tested based on environmental, economic, ethical, and
social effects. It has a software feature that shows the voltage and the current of each
photovoltaic panel on a screen. Furthermore, the design of the project with the components are
mentioned in previous chapters with the implementation.
6.2 Project progress
6.2.1 Capstone I Course
In capstone one, we did researches about the similar ideas of our project to increase our
knowledge about the solar car. In addition, the system architecture were designed and discussed.
In this semester, we purchased the different components the car needs such as, aluminum,
battery, brushless motor, motor controller, throttle, speedometer, brake and photovoltaic panels.
The team are working to learn the mechanical knowledge and combine it with computer and
electrical courses taken in the university. With lack of knowledge of mechanical engineering, we
designed the chassis of the car. Furthermore, the survey was done to help us in our plan for our
project.
6.2.2 Capstone II Course
In capstone two, we continued our journey with the project. In this semester, we started
with welding the Aluminum to implement the design of the chassis in real. Installing the steering
and suspension system with the chassis was the second step. After that, we set up the hub motor
with the wheel rim and install them on chassis as a scooter wheel. In addition, we divided chassis
into parts; a part can hold the high weight battery, and the other part to hold the motor controller.
We connected the wires to connect the motor, motor controller, battery, throttle, disc brake, and
the speedometer. Photovoltaic panels were placed as a charger of the battery and the panels are
covering the chassis to be as a body of the car. The four solar panels were connected in series to
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have 144V so we can charge the battery and the power generated is transferred through the solar
charger controller. In each photovoltaic panel, we connected an Attopilot Voltage and current
sense Breakout-45A sensors to send the data of the voltage and the current to the Arduino so it
can be shown in the LCD screen. Finally, we tested the car as shown in chapter 4.
6.3 Future Work
Many ideas can make our solar car more professional. Because of lack of time, we did
not have opportunities to do all the ideas. In the next stage, we like to add a plug to charge the
car in emergency cases; like if the weather is cloudy, dusty, or at night. Moreover, a backup
battery can be connected to the car so it can be used in emergency cases as well. We can also add
another seat. In addition, we like to improve the touch screen and adding other features. One of
the main feature we like to add is to show the remaining distance we can travel on according to
remaining voltage in the battery. Our speedometer has many amazing features like showing
status of the car’s door, seat belt, in addition the direction lights (right and left) and the front
lamp. Each feature needs a special sensor. In the future, we will work on providing these sensors
and connecting them. Moreover, we like to fix the problem we faced in current sensor. Our Final
plan is to improve and modify the outer look of the car.
6.4 Final Comment
All team members enjoyed spending the time in this project. We faced many difficulties,
starting with choosing the components, which are not available in Kuwait. Also, the lack of
mechanical knowledge was one of the main problems especially because it need to be done in the
first stage. Many other difficulties were there, but the good thing is the feel after each success we
reach. Learning mechanical information will help us in the future. This project has really great
effects on our personalities, knowledge, and skills.
92
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96
Appendix A
First Design:
Appendix A. 1 - Design of the chassis elevations
97
Appendix A. 2 - The top and elevation of the design
98
Appendix A. 3 - Side view of the design
99
Appendix A. 4 - The width of the design
100
Stress Analysis:
Appendix A. 5 - Table of study properties
Study Properties
Study name Static 2
Analysis type Static
Mesh type Solid Mesh
Thermal Effect: On
Thermal option Include temperature loads
Zero strain temperature 298 Kelvin
Include fluid pressure effects from SOLIDWORKS Off
Flow Simulation
Solver type FFEPlus
Inplane Effect: Off
Soft Spring: Off
Inertial Relief: Off
Incompatible bonding options Automatic
Large displacement Off
Compute free body forces On
Friction Off
Use Adaptive Method: Off
Result folder SOLIDWORKS document (C:\Users\Desktop\solar car\solar car\files)
Appendix A. 6 - Table of Units used in the analysis
Units Unit system: SI (MKS)
Length/Displacement mm
Temperature Kelvin
Angular velocity Rad/sec
Pressure/Stress N/m^2
101
Appendix A. 7 - Table of material properties
Appendix A. 8 - Contact information
Appendix A. 9 - Mesh Information
102
Appendix A. 10 - Mesh infromation in details
Appendix A. 11 - Solid mesh on the chassis
103
Appendix A. 12 - Tables of reaction forces and moments
Appendix A. 13 - Study results Part 1
104
Appendix A. 14 - Study results Part 2
105
Appendix A. 15 - Study results Part 3
106
Appendix B
Appendix B. 1 - Design of the chassis and the solid mesh
107
Appendix B.2 - Study propeties and Units table
108
Appendix B.3 - Table of material properties
Appendix B.4 - Table of Loads and fixtures
109
Appendix B.5 - Table of mesh information and details
110
Appendix B.6 - Solid mesh on the chassis
Appendix B.7 - Tables of reaction forces and moments
111
Appendix B.8 - Study results Part 1
112
Appendix B .9 - Study results Part 2
113
Appendix B.10 - Study results Part 3
114
Appendix C #include <LiquidCrystal.h>
LiquidCrystal lcd(7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2);
#define btn 8
boolean flag = true;
int VRaw1; //This will store our raw ADC data
int IRaw1;
float VFinal1; //This will store the converted data
float IFinal1;
int VRaw2; //This will store our raw ADC data
int IRaw2;
float VFinal2; //This will store the converted data
float IFinal2;
int VRaw3; //This will store our raw ADC data
int IRaw3;
float VFinal3; //This will store the converted data
float IFinal3;
int VRaw4; //This will store our raw ADC data
int IRaw4;
float VFinal4; //This will store the converted data
float IFinal4;
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16, 2);
lcd.print("Solar System");
delay(2000);
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Volt (VDC)");
delay(1000);
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(btn, INPUT);
}
void loop() {
lcd.clear();
//Measurement
VRaw1 = analogRead(A0);
IRaw1 = analogRead(A1);
//Conversion
//VFinal = VRaw / 49.44; //45 Amp board
115
//VFinal1 = VRaw1 / 12.99; //90 Amp board
VFinal1 = VRaw1 / 12.99; //180 Amp board
//IFinal = IRaw / 14.9; //45 Amp board
//IFinal1 = IRaw1 / 7.4; //90 Amp board
IFinal1 = IRaw1 / 3.7; //180 Amp board
//Measurement
VRaw2 = analogRead(A2);
IRaw2 = analogRead(A3);
//Conversion
//VFinal = VRaw / 49.44; //45 Amp board
//VFinal2 = VRaw2 / 12.99; //90 Amp board
VFinal2 = VRaw2 / 12.99; //180 Amp board
//IFinal = IRaw / 14.9; //45 Amp board
//IFinal2 = IRaw2 / 7.4; //90 Amp board
IFinal2 = IRaw2 / 3.7; //180 Amp board
//Measurement
VRaw3 = analogRead(A4);
IRaw3 = analogRead(A5);
//Conversion
//VFinal = VRaw / 49.44; //45 Amp board
//VFinal3 = VRaw3 / 12.99; //90 Amp board
VFinal3 = VRaw3 / 12.99; //180 Amp board
//IFinal = IRaw / 14.9; //45 Amp board
//IFinal3 = IRaw3 / 7.4; //90 Amp board
IFinal3 = IRaw3 / 3.7; //180 Amp board
//Measurement
VRaw4 = analogRead(A6);
IRaw4 = analogRead(A7);
//Conversion
//VFinal = VRaw / 49.44; //45 Amp board
//VFinal4 = VRaw4 / 12.99; //90 Amp board
VFinal4 = VRaw4 / 12.99; //180 Amp board
//IFinal = IRaw / 14.9; //45 Amp board
//IFinal4 = IRaw4 / 7.4; //90 Amp board
IFinal4 = IRaw4 / 3.7; //180 Amp board
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
//Display
if (flag) {
lcd.print("P1:");
116
lcd.print(VFinal1);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.print("P2:");
lcd.print(VFinal2);
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("P3:");
lcd.print(VFinal3);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.print("P4:");
lcd.print(VFinal4);
}
else {
lcd.print("P1:");
lcd.print(IFinal1);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.print("P2:");
lcd.print(IFinal2);
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("P3:");
lcd.print(IFinal3);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.print("P4:");
lcd.print(IFinal4);
}
if (digitalRead(btn) == HIGH) {
flag = !flag;
if (flag) {
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Volt (VDC)");
delay(500);
}
else {
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Ampere (Am)");
delay(500);
}
delay(500);
}
Serial.print(VFinal1);
Serial.println(" Volts");
117
Serial.print(IFinal1);
Serial.println(" Amps");
Serial.println("");
Serial.print(VFinal2);
Serial.println(" Volts");
Serial.print(IFinal2);
Serial.println(" Amps");
Serial.println("");
Serial.print(VFinal3);
Serial.println(" Volts");
Serial.print(IFinal3);
Serial.println(" Amps");
Serial.println("");
Serial.print(VFinal4);
Serial.println(" Volts");
Serial.print(IFinal4);
Serial.println(" Amps");
Serial.println("");
Serial.println("");
VFinal1 = 0;
VFinal2 = 0;
VFinal3 = 0;
VFinal4 = 0;
IFinal1 = 0;
IFinal2 = 0;
IFinal3 = 0;
IFinal4 = 0;
delay(200);
}