By Day GreenbergThe Daily Northwestern
With an army of 600 silicon cells to trap sunlight and a backup pack of lead acid batteries for extra “oomph,” a gas-free car built by Northwestern students boasts a seven-horsepower engine that carries its driver at highway speeds of more than 65 miles per hour. Now these students say they are ready for an upgrade.
NuSolar, the Northwestern solar car team, has built four gas-free cars since its inception in 1998. The team’s mission is to design, build and race solar electric vehicles with “perfection, craftsmanship and aesthetics,” said McCormick junior Vytas Bradunas, head of operations for NuSolar. He said the team is ready to reach this perfection with plans for construction on a new car this month.
NuSolar finished its last creation in 2005, using an old frame from a car it had built in 2003. Called nu’Nergy, it took fifth place at the 2005 Formula Sun Grand Prix, a national solar car race. The team qualified for the 2,500-mile North American Solar Challenge, but an “electrical failure” prevented it from continuing.
Team members said they are now manufacturing a new vehicle from scratch, thanks to a new design and a $200,000 budget. They estimate the next gas-free vehicle will be completely race-ready in October, and they hope to race it in the North American Solar Challenge in the summer of 2008.
“I look at the computer screen and I think someday this is going to be real,” Bradunas said. Hopefully we can get it done.”
The new car will weigh between 500 and 600 pounds – the current car weighs 800. The team’s first vehicle, made in 1998 and called SolarCat, weighed about 2,000 pounds.
The frame will be built from lightweight, high-strength aluminum instead of steel, and its shell will be made of carbon fiber. It will use lithium ion batteries, which offer significantly more power than lead acid, Bradunas said.
“We intend it to be the most advanced car yet,” said McCormick sophomore Michael Awadalla, the team’s business manager.
The only problem, Bradunas said, is “it just needs a name.”
Bradunas, who joined the NuSolar team “pretty much as soon as (he) got (on campus),” said works on the project for 70 to 80 hours per week.
“School pales in comparison with the amount of time I put in here,” Bradunas said. “I’m not a school person. I don’t like sitting in a classroom.”
He said between 80 and 100 students have contributed to the project over the course of two years, and a core of about 30 students are currently involved. The design began in January.
“It’s hand-constructed, so it gets a lot of man hours,” said McCormick senior Andrew McDermott, the team’s electrical specialist. “We actually built our shell. A lot of people who say they work on cars just buy a fender.”
Team members said they hope to place even higher at the 2008 North American Solar Challenge.
“When it runs, those are the great moments,” said McDermott.
Reach Day Greenberg at [email protected].
