SOLAR CAR Science Project for Students Learning Kit Science Fair and School or Collages Project

SOLAR CAR Science Project for Students - DIY Kits

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever evolving technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis. It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Solar power lets you tap into the energy of the sun to power your home. Every sunray that hits your roof is an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint and lower your electricity bill. Over one millions have chosen solar and are being rewarded for it – and you can join them today. You all must be aware with many of the solar appliances like solar water heater, solar cooker, solar drier, solar cell etc. Now a day’s it’s become very necessary for all of us to make maximum use of this renewable source of energy like sun light and wind, as petroleum products are limited and they would get exhausted in nearest future. Solar cars have been developed in the last twenty years and are powered by energy from the sun. Although they are not a practical or economic form of transportation at present, in the future they may play a part in reducing our reliance on burning fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel. They're the most fun a kid can have their own car. We've got the plans and list of parts you need to build one for your family this Saturday and have the kids cruising around before sundown.

MATERIALS:

Chassis of a Solar Car, Wheels (4 Nos.), Solar Mount (3 Nos.), Solar Panel , Rear & Front Axle(Iron Rod), Rear Axle Support (2 Nos.), Front Axle Support (3 Nos.), Motor , Wheel Gear , Worm Gear, Gear Fixer, Motor Mount (2 Nos.), Front Axle Chassis Connector ( 1 Nos.), Wires, Nut & Bolt

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

1. Gear Motor: Geared DC motors can be defined as an extension of DC motor which already had its Insight details demystified. A geared DC Motor has a gear assembly attached to the motor. The speed of motor is counted in terms of rotations of the shaft per minute and is termed as RPM .The gear assembly helps in increasing the torque and reducing the speed. 2. Solar Panel: solar panel to catch the most sunlight and to convert it into electric energy. 3. Gear Motor: The Gear motor is mounted to create rotation 4. Rear & Front Wheel: To move the car in straight, or backward or forward direction. 5. The handles: The Handles on the steering wheel (the right one function like the "accelerator" in motorbikes to regulate the speed). 6. Brake handles: that replaces the ones that are already on the bike: When you push the brake, the motor stops. 7. Chain Pulley: To run the cycle when sundown.

What do gears do... and how do they do it?

Gears are used for transmitting power from one part of a machine to another. In a bicycle, for example, its gears (with the help of a chain) that takes power from the pedals to the back wheel. Similarly, in a car, gears transmit power from the crankshaft (the rotating axle that takes power from the engine) to the driveshaft running under the car that ultimately powers the wheels. Page 2 You can have any number of gears connected together and they can be in different shapes and sizes. Each time you pass power from one gear wheel to another, you can do one of three things:  Increase speed: If you connect two gears together and the first one has more teeth than the second one (generally that means it's a bigger-sized wheel), the second one has to turn round much faster to keep up. So this arrangement means the second wheel turns faster than the first one but with less force. Looking at our diagram on the right (top), turning the red wheel (with 24 teeth) would make the blue wheel (with 12 teeth) go twice as fast but with half as much force.  Increase force: If the second wheel in a pair of gears has more teeth than the first one (that is, if it's a larger wheel), it turns slower than the first one but with more force. (Turn the blue wheel and the red wheel goes slower but has more force.)  Change direction: When two gears mesh together, the second one always turns in the opposite direction. So if the first one turns clockwise, the second one must turn counterclockwise. You can also use specially shaped gears to make the power of a machine turn through an angle. In a car, for example, the differential (a gearbox in the middle of the rear axle of a rear-wheel drive car) uses a cone-shaped bevel gear to turn the driveshaft's power through 90 degrees and turn the back wheels. Worm gears: Here I'm using an electric motor (the gray box on the right) and a long screw-like gear to drive a large gear wheel. This arrangement is called a worm gear. It reduces the speed of the motor to make the large wheel turn with more force, but it's also useful for changing the direction of rotation in gear-driven machinery. a mechanism consisting of a worm engaging with and driving a worm wheel, the two axes usually being at right angles, used where a relatively low speed and a relatively large amplification of power are desired. Also called worm wheel. a gear wheel driven by a worm. a device consisting of a threaded shaft ( worm) that mates with a gearwheel ( worm wheel) so that rotary motion can be transferred between two shafts at right angles to each other

OBSERVATION: On placing the solar panel in the sunlight you will observe that the solar cart starts moving in forward direction.

WHY: This happens because of conversion of solar energy of sunlight into electric energy. The solar panel contains semi- metals called silicon which is capable of converting solar energy directly into electric energy. Thus on exposure of solar panel to sunlight electrical energy is generated. The electric energy generated is acquired by DC motor, and thus the motor runs. As excel of the wheel is connected with the shaft of motor the wheel of the cart also rotates and moves forward. The electric current generated here is a DC current. This solar cart can be very much useful in the agriculture and is also eco-friendly. It is useful as an alternative of tractor. Solar cars are powered by the sun's energy. The main component of a solar car is its solar array, which collect the energy from the sun and converts it into usable electrical energy. The solar cells collect a portion of the sun’s energy and store it into the batteries of the solar car. Before that happens, power Page 5 trackers converts the energy collected from the solar array to the proper system voltage, so that the batteries and the motor can use it. After the energy is stored in the batteries, it is available for use by the motor & motor controller to drive the car. The motor controller adjusts the amount of energy that flows to the motor to correspond to the throttle. The motor uses that energy to drive the wheels. TIPS: Adjust the angle of the solar panel. Try to get your solar panel to catch the most sunlight! Prop up the panel to change the angle. Use your protractor to measure this angle. What angle works best for you? Of course, you should take into account what direction your Cart is facing, and what time of day you are testing The sun has a lot more power than a light bulb, so experiment with your solar Cart outside on a sunny day whenever possible. On a clear, sunny day, the average solar energy received by the earth is about 1,000 Watts per square meter. That means you would have to fit ten 100 Watt light bulbs in a 3 foot x 3 foot square to even come close to the power you can get from the sun! and you're ready to go! ADVANTAGES: Animal lovers and activists got reason to cheer on as the invention of Solar Cart saves the honor and dignity of Animals and to protect animals from pain and distress due to carry loads and carriages.

QUESTIONNARIE:

1. On which source solar cart depend?

A) electricity,

b) Wind energy,

c) Sun

2. On which principle solar cart works?

A) conversion of light energy to electric energy

B) conversion of light energy to sound energy

C)conversion of light energy to heat energy

3. Through which semi- metal in the solar panel does the solar energy gets converted into electric energy?

A) gold,

B) iron,

C) Silicon