Introduction to the Mission
Imagine yourself in a motorsport competition between other competitors from all over the north American continent and you are representing the institution of learning where you have spent the last several years of your existance preponding the many facets of the career that you will hold for the rest of your professional life. What kind of an impression would you want to make on the other competitors and the rest of the viewing public? As a colleague and scholar at the University of Utah’s mechanical engineering undergraduate program, your first instinct should be to make sure you are ready to take on whatever situation comes your way in the highest professional manner. Afterall, that is what your professors and technical assistants (T/A’s) have been training you for. Now it is your turn to stand and deliver. Can you make it happen?
Competition is an extremely fluid situation. At the most unopportune time, anything can go wrong and probably will. Preparation for a motorsport event is by far the most important phase of the entire race. It is true that most races are won in the garage long before the race starts. Solar vehicle racing is no exception to this rule. Keeping a solar car in working order for an entire race is a formidable task that begins in the minds of the designers at the onset of the design process. The Solar Vehicle Design Team at the University of Utah are at that critical phase at this very moment. The outcome of this current teams efforts will weigh heavily on the performance of the first working prototype solar vehicle for the state of Utah.
Given the budget constraints and limited available resources, the very best legacy that this team can provide for future teams is a basic solar car prototype that is reliable, maintainable, easy to modify and expand on, and at the same time be simple and accessible enough for the average mechanical engineering student to comprehend, approve of and eventually incorporate their own ideas to.
The Electrical System
At the heart of every solar powered vehicle is a conduit of wiring and electronic components that constitute the electrical system. This electrical system for all practical purposes is the solar vehicle. How the electrical subsystem works will determine how the solar vehicle will perform. Moreover, every member of the SVDT has to have a basic understanding of the electrical system, since all mechanical subsystems will in some way interface with the electrical system. Providing a user friendly electrical system to future is the goal of this capstone mechanical engineering senior project.