Project 2: Solar Car Literature Review - Advanced Electrical Machines

This report presents a literature review on solar cars, examining key components such as photovoltaic cells and their role in converting sunlight into electricity. It explores the working principle of solar cells, emphasizing the use of semiconductors and the generation of free electrons. The review also covers self-power generating systems, detailing methods like helical gearboxes and planetary gearboxes. Furthermore, it highlights the advantages of solar cars, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and decreased dependency on fossil fuels, while also acknowledging the disadvantages, such as high initial costs and limited power generation in certain conditions. The report references several sources, including books, journals, and websites, to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of solar car technology and its potential for future development. The assignment was submitted by a group of students as part of their Advanced Electrical Machines and Drives course project.

SOLAR CAR

Table of Contents
Literature Review................................................................................................................................3
Reference List......................................................................................................................................5
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Literature Review
The PV cells in the solar panel convert the energy available from the sunlight into electricity.
The performance of the solar cells depends on the parameters that depend on the working
environment in which the solar cells operate. To encourage the use of solar panel the cheap
availability of the cells is important in the design of the cells play an important role. The
present efficiency of a silicon cell is 24.7%. The working of the solar cell involves the raising
of the electron energy to the higher energy and this excited electron then moves into the
external storage unit. Almost all the photovoltaic cell uses semiconductors in the p-n junction
form. The photovoltaic effect is the form of a voltage that transfers the energy in a solar cell.
Even the best solar cells collect only a limited quantity of energy. This puts a limitation on
the solar car to have a lightweight body and it also lacks safety features like the conventional
type of vehicles. The solar vehicles are often connected with “wireless telemetry” in order to
determine the amount of energy that is consumed and the amount of energy that is produced
by the PV cells fitted in the vehicle. “Wireless telemetry” helps the driver to free himself
and concentrate on driving which saves the driver from uncertainties, and concentrate on
driving which sometimes can be fatal in most of the times.
Self-power generating system:
This method of electricity generation is introduced in the vehicle to charge the battery
continuously by putting in the minimum mechanical effort as the input(Mohammadi, 2018,
pp- 171). There are three main processes for self-energy generation(GÜNEŞER, et al. 2015,
pp- 15). The first one is to set up a helical gearbox with a gear ratio of 1:10. The second one
refers to the sprocket arrangement for the transmission ratio of 1:2 and the third one is the
planetary gearbox. The primary design of a solar car contains all the three essential
components which give a transmission ratio of 1:60 as the final output. This can be referred
to as the Primary Design.
Secondary design:
The secondary design is the same as the primary design but only the planetary gear. The
difficulties with the planetary gear that was detected in the test drive on-road and replaced.
Therefore secondary design is nothing but just the modification of the primary design.
Possible Innovations:
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● “Auto tire pressure monitoring system" is used to automatically detect the pressure
that is available and it can also fill the air in the tires automatically after detection of
the pressure.
● “Electro-Mechanical Braking System” is introduced as an advanced braking system
introduced in the vehicle.
● Based on the type of vehicle and type of actuation of the system the number of solar
panels can be increased in the vehicle for greater energy production.
● New technologies involving sensors that are used in the solar panels that can
automatically track the path of the solar direction (qz.com ,2019).
The basic thing that hovers around the solar vehicle is the generation of power using sunlight.
Solar cells are used for higher efficiency to convert sunlight into electricity. Researchers are
going on to develop these cells in order to make more efficient cells.
Working Principle of Solar Cell:
Semiconductors are used in the cells(Ottoman, 2017). When the sunlight falls on these cells
the cells absorb the photons by the semiconductor crystals which makes free electrons in the
cells. The majority of the cells are made up of silicon. These silicon’s have four valence
electrons and it shares its electrons with the nearest electron creating a covalent bond. When
the light is incident on the silicon atoms it absorbs a considerable amount of photons which in
turn excites the electrons in the semiconductor(Power, 2016, pp-134). The excited electrons
have enough energy to migrate from the valence bond to the energy bands. While they move
away from the covalent bond they create a hole in the bond. These are called free electrons.
Therefore the free electrons and the hole together have a great role to play in electricity and
voltage generation (patentimages.storage.googleapis.com, 2019).
Advantages:
1. It does not produce any greenhouse gas
2. Reduce the dependency on import of oil and fossil fuels
3. Excess power can be sold back to the power company.
4. It can be installed anywhere
5. It is safe to handle than the traditional way of handling electricity.
Disadvantages:
1. High initial cost
2. High maintenance
3. No solar power generation at night
4. Cloudy days do not produce electricity.
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Reference List
Books
Ottman, J., 2017. The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for
sustainable branding. UK: Routledge.
Journals
GÜNEŞER, M.T., Erdil, E., Cernat, M. and ÖZTÜRK, T., 2015. Improving the energy
management of a solar electric vehicle. Advances in Electrical and Computer
Engineering, 15(4).
Mohammadi, F., 2018, August. Analysis and Electrification of the Solar-Powered Electric
Vehicle. In 5th Iranian Conference and Exhibition on Solar Energy (ICESE).
Power, A. and O'Camb, A., 2016. Solar Car Suspension System.
Online Article
patentimages.storage.googleapis.com ,2019, SOLARAUXILLARY POWER SYSTEMS FOR
VEHICLES Accessed
from:https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/7f/bf/11/31744746d313bc/US9321352.pdf
[Accessed on 15.09.2019]
Website
qz.com ,2019, The physics of why we don’t have solar-powered cars, Accessed from:
https://qz.com/1423288/why-dont-we-have-solar-powered-cars-physics/ [Accessed on
15.09.2019]
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