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SVP News
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May 3, 11
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New Website!
We have built a new website. If you want to read more SVP news, head over to the new blog. Read more... |
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Mar 6, 11
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Erland Persson
The Solar Vehicle Project recently received news of the passing of Erland Persson, an invaluable advisor to our motor-design teams. In his honor, we contacted a few people who worked closely with him to say a few words about his impact on the team as well as their lives:
The U of M Solar Vehicle Project (SVP) recently lost a good friend and supporter. Mr. Erland Persson passed away on Feb 22 at the age of 87. He was a distinguished Electrical Engineer who specialized in the design and application of electric motors. He became involved with the SVP around 1995 as a member of the "SVP Advisory Committee". This was an informal group of experienced professionals, organized by the Dean's Office, who attended occasional all-team presentations and provided constructive comments on technical, managerial and funding issues. Erland generously contributed to the project by providing many hours of professional assistance in the development of two custom motors.
The rules for "Sunrayce 99", which were published in fall 1997, required that vehicles have four wheels, rather than the popular three wheel designs. Our EE Team wanted to explore using two modest sized motors, one on each rear wheel, with one providing power for steady speed operation and the other assisting in acceleration and hill climbing. Erland offered to help, and over the next few months, we met numerous times at his office. I was the naive customer, bringing loosely stated objectives for power, efficiency, weight and size, but had no experience with motor design. He was the patient tutor and skilled consultant who guided me through an iterative design process on a professional CAD system. Through this experience, we developed a close friendship and in Fall 1998, we gave a joint presentation to the EE5450 Senior Design class entitled "Design of an Electric Motor for a Solarcar". Eventually, motor control issues scuttled the two motor concept, but the motor was built and tested and is now used as a load on the project dynamometer.
In Spring 2001, Todd Begalke, one of the EE Team members wanted to explore a new in-wheel motor design, with higher power and efficiency than those available at the time. We met with Erland, and he offered to work with Todd in the same way that he and I worked together previously. Under Erland's guidance, Todd developed what has become known as the "Uber Motor". Problems with the manufacture of some electrical components have hampered the development of this motor, so its potential has yet to be realized. Upon graduation, Todd became a graduate student in the EE program at the U of M. He has graduated with a PhD, working with Professor Mohan on a motor project.
The U of M Solar Vehicle Project Team continues to benefit from Erland's infectious enthusiasm, his curiosity and his generosity. By encouraging us to create our own motors, and guiding us through the process of motor design, he planted the seeds for all future team members to expand their perceptions of what is possible.
Patrick J. Starr,
Professor Emeritus
Former Adviser to the Solar Vehicle Project
During my time on the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project, Erland was always more than willing to impart his vast knowledge to us young engineers, and his passion for technology was contagious. While working with him on the design of an in-wheel motor for the solar car, he inspired me to take my education and eventually my career into the area of electric drives and machines. The thing that impressed me the most about Erland though was his enthusiasm for whatever he was involved in at the time. I still strive to live my life with the same kind of enthusiasm Erland displayed every time I had the pleasure of meeting with him.
Todd Begalke, PhD
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Dec 6, 10
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Winter Fundraising
Hello SVP fans!
We wrapped up the new student familiarization process a few weeks ago and are diving headfirst into the design of the team's next car. However, we're not going to be able to build a car if we don't have the cash to do so.
Our first big milestone is ordering the solar cells for the car; ideally, we'd like to be doing this by the end of February. We'd like to raise $20,000 by that date, so that we have enough money to purchase the cells and still have some breathing room/operating cash on hand.
We would love to hear for you if you think your employer is interested in sponsoring the team; or if you want to make a small personal donation, we would love you to download the Adopt-A-Cell form to send in with your donation. Only $10/cell, a real bargain!
-Adem Rudin Read more... |
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Sep 20, 10
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New Member Introduction Meetings Start This Week
Hi everyone!
Introductory meetings for prospective new members start this week. If you're interested in the project, come to lecture hall 133 in Tate Laboratory at 6:00pm on either Wednesday or Thursday (pick whichever day works best for you). The presentation should last around an hour, followed by half an hour of Q&A. Read more... |
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Sep 1, 10
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ASC 2012 Regulations Released
Big news everyone! The Regulations for the American Solar Challenge 2012 have been released. A big thank you goes out to the inspectors who made an effort to get them released earlier than in years past.
Read more... |
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Sep 1, 10
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2010 Adopt-A-Cell, Recruting
With the start of the new fall semester just around the corner, the team is kicking off the 2010 Adopt-A-Cell fundraising drive. The Adopt-A-Cell program is a way for families or individuals to show their support for the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project. Family and friends of the UMNSVP can support us by adopting solar cells in their names. Each solar cell can be adopted for $10. As a sign of our appreciation for your support, if you donate, your name will be listed on our website. Learn how to donate here.
The team is also looking to recruit new members. This semester marks the very start of the next two-year design cycle, so there's no better time to join! If you're a student interested in joining the project, the first recruiting presentation and Q&A session will be on Wednesday, September 22nd, at 6:00pm in Tate 133. We'll also hold a repeat of the meeting at the same time and place on Thursday, if you have class conflicts on Wednesday. Read more... |
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Jul 3, 10
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Centaurus 2 Construction Videos
Last October, the team placed a webcam in the solar car shop to record footage of the construction effort for Centaurus 2. Now that the car is done, we're proud to show off the entire project, from start to finish:
Part 1
Part 2
Enjoy! Read more... |
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Jun 28, 10
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University of Minnesota solar car takes second in American Solar Challenge
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/28/2010) --The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project team finished second overall and took home two additional awards over the weekend in the 2010 American Solar Challenge, a seven-day, 1,100-mile race from Tulsa, Okla., to Chicago, Ill., June 19-26. The team, made up of students from the university's Institute of Technology (College of Science and Engineering), finished with a total elapsed time of 30 hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds.
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Jun 27, 10
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ASC 2010 Day 6 and 7
Spirits were slightly down after we had run out of power the previous afternoon; we no longer knew if we were in 2nd place, or if Bochum was far enough ahead of us to take it from us. On the other hand, we got a very good evening and morning charge, and drove to the stage stop in Normal, IL as fast as the speed limits would allow, arriving before noon. We were 5th into the stage, after Michigan, Stanford, Missouri S&T, and Bochum. We later learned that we were still in 2nd place, approximately 13 minutes ahead of the Germans. We'd gotten 7 minutes of penalties for speeding, but the Germans got 8 minutes of penalties for something, so we weren't complaining. Read more... |
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Jun 24, 10
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ASC 2010 Day 5
We started the day in 2nd place, an hour and five minutes behind Michigan, and a little over half an hour ahead of Bochum. Bochum apparently had issues on the starting line and was forced to start late, so the gap widened considerably right off the line. A few miles into the race route, our navigator missed a turn, and we ended up behind Calgary and Missouri S&T. Fortunately for us, we were able to quickly get around them... only to get stuck behind a different kind of slow moving, three car caravan. We were held up behind a group of three vintage automobiles, and the race route today was on curvy hills, so we did not have an opportunity to pass for 20 minutes! We later heard from S&T that they had the same issue. Read more... |
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