We can’t believe that the Formula Sun Grand Prix is days away, and we would all love to see you there. The annual event will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Monday May 2nd to Saturday May 7th. The race itself takes place from May 5th to the 7th. We would all love to see you at our special trackside tailgate, which is free and open all Alumni and friends of the University, with a suggested donation of 20 dollars. We hope you can attend so you can show your support for U of M Solar Car!

In order to attend FSGP and our special trackside tailgate event which is taking place on May 7th from 1-4 pm, you can RSVP to the event here!

Please make sure to RSVP before Tuesday May 3rd, as that is the last day that you can RSVP for the race. We hope that you can make it!

As always, Go Blue!

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As some of you may know we have received over 5,900 drawings over the past month from 128 different schools! Congratulations to Jennings Elementary School for submitting the most entries (526!). Although all of the submissions that we received reflected the hard work and artistic talent of the participants, we eventually had to narrow down the submissions. After diligent work reviewing all of the amazing entries, our team has narrowed down the selections to twelve entries.

Now we need your help to vote for your favorite entry! By clicking here you can vote for your favorite entry. Remember, you can vote only once and voting will be open until May 13th at 11:59 pm. So make sure to vote for your favorite entry ASAP!

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As the school year ends, and our graduating seniors leave us, it is time for us to say a sad goodbye to our amazing blogger, Kanolan! My name is Katherine Riley, but you will know me as kmriley, and I will be taking over the Solar Car blog! I realize that I have very large shoes to fill as Kathy has been an amazing blogger but I am very excited to begin this exciting experience.I just finished my junior year here at the University of Michigan, and cannot wait to start my senior year. I am an out of state student that loves pizza, poetry and anything purple.

I am double majoring in English and Communications Studies. Needless to say, I am very unfamiliar with the world of engineering but am so excited to learn more about engineering and the actual mechanics through University of Michigan Solar Car.

What really excites me about University of Michigan Solar Car is the fact that everyone around me is filled with the passion for being the absolute best. Although the team is made up of a combination of art students, business majors, english majors, and a slue of engineers, what I have noticed is that what brings us all together is our immense passion to build the best solar car in the world. As we prepare for FSGP and even later to leave for Australia, I can only imagine that this passion will only grow. I can’t wait to see what we can all do with our passion, natural talents and amazing teamwork.

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Today marks my last day of blogging for Solar Car.  I am stepping down as Head of Communications, and leaving the Solar Car Team as I graduate this weekend and prepare to start Law School on June 2nd. 

To my faithful blog audience, thank you for reading my words.  Curating a blog Monday through Friday no matter how busy life gets does not happen without the motivation that comes from knowing that I have always had your support.  You are the most loyal of audiences.

To Solar Car, thank you for welcoming me into your team and encouraging me in my endeavor.  Being a part of Solar Car has defined my senior year.  Being around such intelligent, dedicated people has rubbed off and made me a little better, too.  Thank you for letting me represent you to the world.  I enjoyed being a part of your Wilson Center World, and I can’t wait until October when you finally get the victory that you’ve been working towards since I joined over a year ago.

After nearly 90 blog posts I am retiring my kanolan penname.  Although I leave reluctantly, I leave knowing that the new blogger, kmriley, will tackle the blog with fresh insight and improve on what has come before.   

Mark Fields, President of The Americas at Ford Motor Company, met with solar car last week in his office at the Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn Michigan.  Ford has been a supporter of Michigan Solar Car for over 20 years, and the relationship has helped both Ford and UMsolar build better cars. In this film clip Fields talks about the value in being a supporter of the University of Michigan Solar Car.

To see the longer version with over twice the footage, and even more Mark Fields, click here!

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On Monday May 2^nd through Saturday May 7^th solar cars from across the country will race in the Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP).  This event will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway of the famed Indy 500 race.   

This track race is very different strategically than the other races that Solar Car races which are on public roads.  In other races the car is surrounded by support vehicles, which at the bare minimum includes a chase car and a lead car.  These cars move with the solar car and make it easier for the solar car to merge with normal cars on public roads (more on support vehicles in the caravan here).  At the Indy track, teams do not have to worry about being hindered by the need to coordinate moves with chase and lead.  

Photo Credit: Cole Witte

In order to qualify for the race, however, the solar car must first pass what is called “scrutineering,” which is a long process and part of the reason why the team will be there for a full week.  The judges check that the cars follow regulations by carefully examining things like all of the bolts on the car, and the electrical components.  Through dynamic tests the judges ensures that  the car can maneuver correctly.  The teams must complete slalom work, figure 8s, uturns, ect.  Once the solar cars prove themselves (if they prove themselves) the competition begins.

The team is excited to race Quantum competitively for the first time at this event.  “In the last two build cycles, we’ve actually finished the car in Australia.  So having Quantum ready to race for Formula Sun Grand Prix is historic,” says Rachel Kramer, the project manager, when asked about the importance of FSGP for the team.   Having Quantum race-ready 6 months before the World Solar Challenge as opposed to 6 days before will definitely give the team a competitive advantage since there will be time for extensive testing.  The Forumula Sun Grand Prix is one of those opportunities where the team can see how the car performs so that improvements can be made in anticipation for the World Solar Challenge in October.  

On Saturday, the last day of FSGP, UMsolar is hosting a trackside event.  You’ll be able to meet the team, and watch the new 2011 vehicle, Quantum, race.  While Quantum will be zooming around the track Saturday, Infinium, our last vehicle, will be on display so you can see it up close and personal.  This event will be from 1-4 on Saturday.  To RSVP, look for directions to the track, and for more general information about the event, visit this page.   We hope to see you all there!

Photo: Last year before the American Solar Challenge, the team raced at the 2010 Formula Sun Grand Prix.  It wasn’t at the Indy track, but it was still a lot of fun. Photo credit goes to Steve Durbin.

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Wired online talks with UMsolar about fanaticism, secrecy, and weight loss.

Check out the article, “U of Michigan Solar Car Slims Down to Go Down Under,” here on Wired’s Autopia blog.

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Although elementary schools had to put their drawings in the mail by Wednesday, we’re still getting drawings by the package.  The amount is well over 3,000, and more just keep coming in!   Thank you to everyone who sent in a creative drawing- we look at every single one of them.   Once they stop pouring in, we’ll pick the best one, and then we’ll pack up the solar car to visit the winner’s school.

Project Manager Rachel Kramer, Mechanical Engineer Cole Witte, Mechanical Engineer Karl Nagengast, and Microengineer Aaresh Bilimoria crowd around the drawings.

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Meet the man behind the Camera.  Evan Dougherty is the member of Race Crew whose task is to document the team’s work this summer and the race experience in the fall.  He’s a 5th year senior, associate producer of Big Ten Network- Student U Productions at Michigan, the outgoing director of New Media at Wolv-tv, and he’s interested in going into film and television production after solar car.  Hear him talk about being an ex-engineer and what he’s most looking forward to about shipping off to Australia in the Fall:

As the team tries to pass exams during their breaks from Solar Car, team alumnus Steve Hechtman steps in as a guest author for this week’s Technical Thursday post.

Racing a solar-powered electric vehicle in competitions that span two continents and 3,000-4,000 miles of public roads presents a multitude of challenges for the University of Michigan Solar Car Team. One oft-overlooked challenge is near and dear to this team alumnus’s heart: waterproofing. The car does not need to stop racing in bad weather, because the car’s battery pack allows the car to drive up to 250 miles with no sun.  This means that the rest of the car parts must be prepared to function in the rainiest, wettest conditions. There’s no room for error when it comes to waterproofing.  If a critical electrical component were to fail because it was exposed to water, the team would have to pull over to replace the part.  This would cost the team precious race time, and could mean compromising a victory.

The team packs away Infinium while a road train bears down to soak the photographer. (Photo: Steve Hechtman)

Engineers go to great lengths during the design and construction phases to protect electronics and the driver from rain, dust, and dirt. Unlike the weatherproofing on a production vehicle, weatherproofing on the solar car must be done in a lightweight, efficient manner. The first level of protection is the outer shell of the vehicle itself. The painted carbon fiber surface of the car is not porous to water.

Josh Feldman, 2009 World Solar Challenge Driver, drives through the flooded Australian Outback (Photo: Julia Hawley)

The solar cells are also protected.  They’re laminated in a material that protects them from water and other elements.  The seams between different solar cell modules within the solar array are filled with a thin layer of water-resistant silicone, which prevents water from getting under the cells and coming into contact with the wiring of the solar panels. A puddle of water has ions that conduct electricity; therefore, if water touches both the positive and negative connections of a solar panel, electricity tends to flow through the water, rather than into the batteries of the solar car. This would prevent the car from getting any power from that solar panel, and could also damage the panel itself. This accidental electrical connection is called a “short circuit.”

As discussed in a previous technical Thursday, the seam between the upper and lower halves of the car is sealed off from the elements with everyone’s favorite yellow tape. The driver door, however, is not taped, so the driver can exit the car unassisted just in case there’s an emergency. The door is one area in which weather-stripping or silicone may be used to prevent water from entering.  Similar to a production vehicle’s door, a line of weather-stripping or silicone may be placed along the inside edge of the door. When the door is closed against the car’s body, this creates a weather-tight seal. Or, at least in theory it does.  Some thoroughly soaked drivers would tend to disagree.

Aside from the seam on the door, there are only four other places on the car where water can enter: the three wheel wells, and the low-drag NACA duct in front of the canopy that provides air for the driver. The simple solution for the driver’s air duct is to have the driver close the vent during wet conditions, stopping the flow of all water, or at least making it more of a pleasant mist to make up for the lack of air conditioning. Although water is kicked up by the wheels, carbon fiber bulkheads are designed to isolate the wheels and suspensions from the remainder of the vehicle. Carbon fiber or nylon wheel well covers are also placed above the wheels to provide additional protection from the elements.  This, however does not always stop the water as planned.

Even if the electronics are completely shielded from water, the rain may still be a nuisance for the driver.  The driver usually expects to get somewhat wet during a rain storm, and hopefully holes drilled in the cockpit prevent water from pooling up and giving the driver a bath. Unfortunately, this is somewhat of a trial-and-error process.

Not quite according to plan… (Photo: Julia Hawley)

But even in monsoon conditions, although the water may be able to soak the driver, it is not able to get to the car’s components.  The 2009 Infinium team was soaked for a great deal of their testing in the Australian Outback, when water made its way through both the door seam and the wheel wells.  In soggy times like these, a second layer of defense protects all electronics—each circuit board has its own enclosure to shelter it from the elements. These enclosures span a wide variety of construction, from custom-made Kevlar housings, to off-the-shelf lightweight plastic boxes, or everyone’s favorite, the Altoids tin that has housed both circuit boards and switches. Environmentally-sealed electrical connectors prevent water from entering the boxes where wires pass through. We work closely with sponsors like Molex to ensure that our connectors and cables are lightweight, easy to use, and protected from the elements.

The Water Drips Out (Photo: Julia Hawley)

Driver Josh Feldman dries off after a wet day during Mock Race (Photo: Steve Hechtman)

Windshield wipers are impractical for weight, power, and aerodynamic reasons; therefore, a coating like Rain-X is applied to the windshield to keep it rain and fog free. In recent years, treadles tires have been banned from competition, as treaded tires provide more wet-weather traction while still maintaining low rolling resistance.

The best solution to keeping the car protected from water, of course, is to spend as little time driving in the rain as possible. Thanks to our team’s meteorologist, we can plan our race speeds so that we spend more time in the sun and less time going through stormy, wet weather!

The Driver's Seat. Looking None too Comfortable (Photo: Julia Hawley)

Steve Hechtman is a 2009 Michigan Engineering graduate and 3-time solar car racing veteran. As a micro-electrical engineer and driver for Continuum in 2007 and 2008, Steve Hechtman had a vested interest in keeping both the car electronics and car driver dry. During the Infinium Project, Steve served as the Project Manager, switching his focus from electrical engineering to fund-raising and team management. During the 2009 World Solar Challenge, he led the team through the Outback as they competed in one of the most intense solar car races in recent memory, ultimately securing a close third-place finish.

Steve now works as an electrical engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. From this remote location he undertook the colossal task of creating the new website and transferring all the information from the old Drupal website to this new WordPress one.  He continues to advise the team in all things website and IT.  In the future, he looks forward to traveling to Antarctica with APL to launch a giant balloon-mounted, solar-powered telescope into the stratosphere.

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