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FSU HAS A CAR AND A PIT STOP IN THE GREAT '99 SOLAR RACE
By Fran Conaway
FSU Communications Group
When 40 race cars pull into Tallahassee next June, there won't be any fill-ups at gas stations. And there won't be any black smoke from exhaust pipes, loud engine roars or backfires.
All the cars will be solar-powered, fueled by car-topping arrays of hundreds of shiny, dark-blue 4" squares - photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight to energy.
Tallahassee is a major stopping place on the path of Sunrayce, a race of solar-powered cars. Entries are designed by students at the United States' and Canada's engineering schools.
Competing in the Sunrayce '99 event will be the Florida A&M-FSU SUNSATION, now being designed by the College of Engineering's Solar Car Team. The project is directed by Tom Harrison, a professor of electrical engineering.
The 10-day, 1,500-mile race route runs from Washington, D.C., to Orlando. Tallahassee is the finish line for the eighth leg of the race.
A biennial competition, Sunrayce is sponsored nationally by GM, EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and the U.S. Department of Energy. The first Rayce was in 1990.
Students at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have been building and racing solar cars since 1995. In 1999, their second time at the Sunrayce, their rivals will include California Polytechnic State University (winners of Sunrayce 97), Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Military Academy, University of Illinois and Yale.
The contest isn't just for fun. Student designers of solar cars may one day create environmentally sensitive, cost-effective, energy-efficient solutions for transportation problems worldwide.
With Tallahassee a pit stop for the race, Harrison is committed to a good showing.
"We absolutely must have a competitive car," he told members of the Solar-Car Team.
"We have two goals. First, we're hoping for a car that will completely finish the race under its own power. Second, we want the SUNSATION recognized as a good engineering solution."
About 100 students - civil, mechanical, electrical and industrial engineers-to-be - are involved in designing the car and arranging support for construction and racing.
According to race organizers, a competitive Sunrayce car, at peak, runs at 10 horsepower. The car's streamlined, composite fiberglass body must be light and aerodynamic.
Energy-conservation strategy can become more important than speed. Electronic readings in the SUNSATION will be radioed to a chase car, which will determine the car's best speed and strategy based on terrain, amount of sunshine, and amount of energy stored.
This year's race is more challenging than past events, especially because
of hilly terrain and total distance, Harrison said. Sunrayce cars should
be able to reach highway speeds of up to 65 mph, but hills provide a special
challenge because of the low horsepower.