Sizing of the Electric Traction System for a Solar Competition Vehicle

Guilherme Silva Carvalho

Key information

Authors:

Guilherme Silva Carvalho (Guilherme Silva Carvalho)

Supervisors:

Paulo José da Costa Branco (Paulo José da Costa Branco); João Paulo Neto Torres (João Paulo Neto Torres)

Published in

November 7, 2024

Abstract

The objective of this project is to develop a tool that will facilitate the future design of a photovoltaic-powered vehicle for the Mobile Energy Sustainability Project (PSEM) team, enabling their participation in a solar competition. To achieve this objective, a comparative analysis is conducted between various solar competitions, including the one currently attended by the team. The environmental conditions of these solar competitions are subjected to analysis. Subsequently, the analysis is directed to the World Solar Challenge, a solar competition that covers 3,000 km, comprising 10 segments extending from north to south Australia. The previously mentioned tool is utilized to simulate the vehicle's performance as it crosses the competition segments, using data from the event held in October 2019. As a result, the battery state of charge and the time required for the vehicle to complete each segment can be determined. It can be concluded that the selected competition offers advantageous conditions for the vehicles. However, it is important to maximize energy production and optimize the vehicle as much as possible to reduce its consumption. In this regard, it is evident that aerodynamic resistance contributes most significantly to energy usage. In the future, it would be beneficial to conduct studies on the vehicle's components, such as battery degradation over time and increasing the photovoltaic surface area on the vehicle. Furthermore, it would be valuable to incorporate variable efficiencies for the motor and battery during the simulations.