Nanyang Venture III

Team photo with Nanyang Venture III

Overview

Nanyang Venture III (NVIII) is a solar powered car designed specially to take part in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2010. The inaugural Asian edition of the Shell Eco-Marathon race will take place at Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 8 to 10 July 2010.

The race aims to challenge teams to design, build and drive the most energy efficient vehicles. NVIII is participating under the Prototype category and is the only solar car entrant from Singapore.

The Challenge

The team must complete six laps (16.8km) in a maximum time of 34 minutes at an average speed of 30km/h.

To achieve this, NVIII’s solar cells must harness solar energy in excess of what it can consume. It is a technical challenge for the team as they work to ensure the car runs completely on renewable energy.

The car’s performance and safety are further enhanced by its lightweight body structure made of high strength aluminium chassis and a carbon composite shell. Given NVIII’s smaller size (compared to its NVII cousin), the area available for solar cells to harness solar energy is more limited. Triple Junction Gallium Arsenide solar cells – one of the best solar cells available in the market were sourced for the car to compensate for lack of space. These cells are made of precious metals and are usually used only on space satellites. Getting these cells customised for the car’s use is the other technical challenge that the team has to overcome.

Car Specifications

Car Body:

Nanyang Venture III body

Nanyang Venture III has a semi-monocoque skin-frame integration
Lightweight chassis is made of 6061-T6 aluminium for its high strength and weldability
Aerodynamically designed car shell measuring 0.58m wide and 2.8m long
Load bearing car shell made of carbon fibre honeycomb composite

Solar Panel:

Nanyang Venture III solar panel

Satellite grade solar panels capable of producing up to 140W of power
Advanced triple-junction gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells with an average efficiency of 28.5%
Bypass diodes are integrated with individual cells for reverse bias protection
Maximum power point tracker regulates and extracts maximum energy from solar panels

Wheels and Brakes:

Nanyang Venture III - Wheels and Brakes

Two front wheels and a rear wheel in a tricycle configuration
Rear wheel drives and steers the vehicle
Has lower frictional losses compared to the conventional four wheel design
Utilises a hydraulic brake system for effective braking

Motor and Batteries:

Nanyang Venture III motor

High efficiency brushless DC hub motor is used
Motor efficiency maximised at 35km/h - the cruising speed of Nanyang Venture III
High energy density lithium polymer batteries are used to store electrical energy
Battery management system is incorporated to prevent battery malfunction

Team Members

Mentors

	Assoc Professor Ng Heong Wah Division of Engineering Mechanics School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
	Visiting Assoc Professor Rohan Senanayake Division of Engineering Mechanics School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering