Help needed!! Car project..

barbar · 8th March 2006, 00:06

Hey Guys..
Well i needed some help regarding our solar car project. To give you some information in brief :
There is a competition being organised by Dell and Winston university in Texas where the teams from all over participate in a race spanning 4 days to be held on the Texas motor speedway. We are 1 of only 2 teams taking part from India and need some assistance in terms of finance as well as any other form is welcome. I thought as you guys know alllot about cars and some of yol have contacts too, if you could help me out here and also knowing your technical expertise and if you could help us on the construction of the car, it would be great.
The official site of the competition is
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/
We are " The Solar Infinite Team" on this page :
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/teams2006.shtml
This is the schedule of the challenge :
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challeng...ndar2006.shtml
The venue of the race:
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/routeTMS.shtml

As you can see this is at an international level and its the one chance for students from india to make a difference and make it big. I hope you can help me out.
Regards
Ankit

Note From Mod - Links Edited

barbar · 13th March 2006, 00:23

hmm... noone helps a newbie ah...

nitrous · 15th March 2006, 02:08

No one does solar around here,bro.

rdkarthik · 15th March 2006, 08:43

If you have any electronic needs, pm me.

Seriously interesting project you guys are into. All the best mate !!

v1p3r · 15th March 2006, 14:27

Hey, just saw this thread... people offer help to newbies/seniors only if they can da! I'm not sure anyone knows solar here...

Which college do you study in?

amit1101 · 17th March 2006, 12:58

hi

The official site of the competition is not working, are you sure it is not canseled....

I can help you with electronics part a bit. You need a very high torque and extremely efficient motors. DC motors have very high starting torque, plus if you use any AC motor then u will have to use a DC-AC convertor which might be infficient.
Solar cells do not produce that much power.
For controlling speed of car use only PWM( pulse width modulation or similar efficient techniques).
To reduce weight you can use NiCd(nickel cadmium) and other batteries. Lead acid battery is a much much cheaper option but is heavy at the same time tooo.
If you plan to use H bridge circuit to control motor rotation in both directions, then better be carefull with H bridges made of transistors and mosfets because they arnt that gud option, they not 100% efficient.
I'll suggest you use RELAY to control your motor.

If you find any of the above thing useful, ask me more specific things, would love to c ur solar ferrari win the race

Rehaan · 17th March 2006, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit1101

and mosfets because they arnt that gud option, they not 100% efficient.
I'll suggest you use RELAY to control your motor.

Wouldnt the current draw from the relay coil (when the switch is thrown ofcourse) be a lot more than an H-bridge ? ...just wondering.

I doubt they will even need to reverse motor direction though...

Good point on the PWM and battery.

Barbar, it seems like you are going to have to give us some more information about what you specifically are planning so that we can give you better more focussed info.

cya
R

amit1101 · 17th March 2006, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Wouldnt the current draw from the relay coil (when the switch is thrown ofcourse) be a lot more than an H-bridge ? ...just wondering.
I doubt they will even need to reverse motor direction though...
R

Rehaan bhai i really had night mares with a H bridge i made from n type mosfets(IRFZ44). The mosets connected to vcc were not conductiong full because if they conduct fully the gate source voltage would become 0volts and that means no conduction

. so my motor got only 6volts with a supply of 9volts when i use all mosfets as N channel.

If the mosfets in top side(connected to VCC) are p type and down wale( connected to ground are n type) then only u will get full voltage across motor.

The losses in mosfets and BJTs rise with the increase in current. i belive driving a heavy car will need lots of current and relay will just do fine. I have also seen that Mosfets etc. reduce the torque slightly(well i am not 100% sure about this)
the power consumed by motor will be quite high, relay will consume only small power as compared to the motor.

relay can be used in place of mosfets and bjt in a H bridge. i mean to say that you can make a H bridge using relay also( i have made it)

i was makin a small robo car i tired BJT H bridge, mosfet h bridge and relay H bridge. apun ko relay wala mast laga(full voltage across motor)
atleast thats wat i observed

amit1101 · 17th March 2006, 14:05

well i fogot to say about the solar cells

You need a nice sponcer or a rich dad to afford the solar cells. They are very costly and have rare availablity. check this out before you start.

best of luck

Rehaan · 18th March 2006, 02:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit1101

relay can be used in place of mosfets and bjt in a H bridge. i mean to say that you can make a H bridge using relay also( i have made it)

Correct me if im wrong, but couldnt one DPDT relay be used instead of an Hbridge?

And i agree, good solar cells = $$$

Also, keep in mind, when making a vehicle with low power output, aerodynamics are VERY important even from 20km/h onwards!!

cya
R

BuRnT RuBbEr · 18th March 2006, 20:50

i wont suggest a DIY h-bridge for this application. Get a motor controller IC. They work really good.And you need sharp switching between directions, do keep note of this. Regarding storage batteries... try to get li-ion/ni-mh. source!!!: used laptop batteries. they mostly have burnt thermal fuses, leading to getting discarded.

regarding solar cells, they are hard to find, and a bit costly, buttttttttttttt involve the guys from aditya solar shop in your project and get those silicon wafers for free.

http://hareda.gov.in/ADITYA_SOLAR_SHOP.htm

above is the linky carying their addresses in various cities.

suggestion: dont entirely rely on solar power. keep some of the batteries pre-chraged

.

there are enough mech guys around, they'll surely help you. for the electronics, I will try my best to help.

amit1101 · 19th March 2006, 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Correct me if im wrong, but couldnt one DPDT relay be used instead of an Hbridge?
cya
R

You need 2 DPDT to make a H bridge and allow the motor to be run in both directions.
The 2 switches in one single DPDT will replace the 2 diagonal eliments(BJY,FET) of the H bridge.
Thus you will need 2 DPDT relay for one H bridge.

BTW that solar cell site is nice, you can get cheap solar cell under SC, share user section

BARBAR boy where are you, you dont check this thread or wat :(

barbar · 19th March 2006, 14:57

Hey thx all you guys for the inputs.

@Amit, Rehaan, Burnt_rubber... Guys thx allot for the info. right now i got (final) exams going on which'll get over in the next 3 days. So ill get back to all of you on all the info i have along with the help i need, specifically, cuz we definately need more help man..

@viper, im in cottons ISC

Btw,amit, here are the revised links for the site (its actually the same, dunno y its not workin for u) :
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/routeTMS.shtml
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challeng...ndar2006.shtml
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/rules.shtml

Solar infinite team here:
http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/teams2006.shtml

8th March 2006, 00:06	#1
barbar BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 60 Thanked: 3 Times	Help needed!! Car project.. Hey Guys.. Well i needed some help regarding our solar car project. To give you some information in brief : There is a competition being organised by Dell and Winston university in Texas where the teams from all over participate in a race spanning 4 days to be held on the Texas motor speedway. We are 1 of only 2 teams taking part from India and need some assistance in terms of finance as well as any other form is welcome. I thought as you guys know alllot about cars and some of yol have contacts too, if you could help me out here and also knowing your technical expertise and if you could help us on the construction of the car, it would be great. The official site of the competition is http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/ We are " The Solar Infinite Team" on this page : http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/teams2006.shtml This is the schedule of the challenge : http://www.winstonsolar.org/challeng...ndar2006.shtml The venue of the race: http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/routeTMS.shtml As you can see this is at an international level and its the one chance for students from india to make a difference and make it big. I hope you can help me out. Regards Ankit Note From Mod - Links Edited Last edited by Rehaan : 20th March 2006 at 00:17.
	() Thanks

13th March 2006, 00:23	#2
barbar BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 60 Thanked: 3 Times	hmm... noone helps a newbie ah...
	() Thanks

15th March 2006, 02:08	#3
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	No one does solar around here,bro.
	() Thanks

15th March 2006, 08:43	#4
rdkarthik BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: bangalore Posts: 206 Thanked: 13 Times	If you have any electronic needs, pm me. Seriously interesting project you guys are into. All the best mate !!
	() Thanks

15th March 2006, 14:27	#5
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,334 Thanked: 6,896 Times View My Garage	Hey, just saw this thread... people offer help to newbies/seniors only if they can da! I'm not sure anyone knows solar here... Which college do you study in?
	() Thanks

17th March 2006, 12:58	#6
amit1101 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: faridabad Posts: 77 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	hi The official site of the competition is not working, are you sure it is not canseled.... I can help you with electronics part a bit. You need a very high torque and extremely efficient motors. DC motors have very high starting torque, plus if you use any AC motor then u will have to use a DC-AC convertor which might be infficient. Solar cells do not produce that much power. For controlling speed of car use only PWM( pulse width modulation or similar efficient techniques). To reduce weight you can use NiCd(nickel cadmium) and other batteries. Lead acid battery is a much much cheaper option but is heavy at the same time tooo. If you plan to use H bridge circuit to control motor rotation in both directions, then better be carefull with H bridges made of transistors and mosfets because they arnt that gud option, they not 100% efficient. I'll suggest you use RELAY to control your motor. If you find any of the above thing useful, ask me more specific things, would love to c ur solar ferrari win the race
	() Thanks

17th March 2006, 14:05	#9
amit1101 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: faridabad Posts: 77 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	well i fogot to say about the solar cells You need a nice sponcer or a rich dad to afford the solar cells. They are very costly and have rare availablity. check this out before you start. best of luck
	() Thanks

18th March 2006, 20:50	#11
BuRnT RuBbEr BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: DL 1 Posts: 367 Thanked: 13 Times	i wont suggest a DIY h-bridge for this application. Get a motor controller IC. They work really good.And you need sharp switching between directions, do keep note of this. Regarding storage batteries... try to get li-ion/ni-mh. source!!!: used laptop batteries. they mostly have burnt thermal fuses, leading to getting discarded. regarding solar cells, they are hard to find, and a bit costly, buttttttttttttt involve the guys from aditya solar shop in your project and get those silicon wafers for free. http://hareda.gov.in/ADITYA_SOLAR_SHOP.htm above is the linky carying their addresses in various cities. suggestion: dont entirely rely on solar power. keep some of the batteries pre-chraged . there are enough mech guys around, they'll surely help you. for the electronics, I will try my best to help.
	() Thanks

19th March 2006, 14:57	#13
barbar BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 60 Thanked: 3 Times	Hey thx all you guys for the inputs. @Amit, Rehaan, Burnt_rubber... Guys thx allot for the info. right now i got (final) exams going on which'll get over in the next 3 days. So ill get back to all of you on all the info i have along with the help i need, specifically, cuz we definately need more help man.. @viper, im in cottons ISC Btw,amit, here are the revised links for the site (its actually the same, dunno y its not workin for u) : http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/ http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/routeTMS.shtml http://www.winstonsolar.org/challeng...ndar2006.shtml http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/rules.shtml Solar infinite team here: http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/teams2006.shtml
	() Thanks