3 ms·
I believe World Solar Challenge regulations [1] are now only allowing a maximum of 5m^2 for Cruiser class vehicles (mounted to the car itself). +------------
by karlding 10y ago
I believe World Solar Challenge regulations [1] are now only allowing a maximum of 5m^2 for Cruiser class vehicles (mounted to the car itself).
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Class | PV Cell Chemistry | Allowable Total Cell Area (m^2) |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Challenger | Si | 4.000 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Challenger | thin film GaAs | 3.560 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Challenger | multijunction | 2.640 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Cruiser | Si | 5.000 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Cruiser | thin film GaAs | 4.440 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| Cruiser | multijunction | 3.300 |
+------------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
And then a supplemental array may be carried inside the vehicle only for charging (2m^2 for Si, 1.78m^2 for thin film GaAs, and 1.32m^2 for multijunction). So the total area actually on the cars at WSC would be less.
But yeah, as a member of one of these solar car teams, it is hard to design a net-positive vehicle that doesn't resemble a UFO. Cruiser class is a move in that direction, but the most successful teams have an aerobody and chassis optimized to be as flat as possible, to get the most out of their array.
[1] https://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/files/1504_2017_bwsc_regulations_final_release_version_11.pdf https://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/files/1504_2017_bwsc_reg...