Nuna 3 at Circuit Park Zandvoort

Nuna is the name of a series of manned solar powered vehicles that won the World solar challenge in Australia three times in a row, in 2001 (Nuna 1 or just Nuna), 2003 (Nuna 2) and 2005 (Nuna 3). The Nunas are built by students of the Delft University of Technology. Binomial name L. “Navy Bean” redirects here. ... In the fictional Star Wars universe, The Nuna were gamebirds that lived on Naboo. ... Columbia (also known as Nuna and, more recently, Hudsonland or Hudsonia) is the name of one of the Earths earliest supercontinents, which existed approximately 1. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1368, 426 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Nuna ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1368, 426 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Nuna ... Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motor racing circuit located near the town of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line. ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... The Nuna 3 of the hattrick winning Dutch Nuna team The World Solar Challenge is a solar powered-car race over 3021 km through central Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Founded in 1842, the Delft University of Technology, in Delft, the Netherlands, is one of the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive technical universities in the Netherlands, with over 13,000 students and 2,100 scientists (including 200 professors). ...

Nuna 3 (2005)

The team at the race course of Zandvoort

Nuna 3 was one of the favourites for the 2005 edition of the World Solar Challenge with a pre-race test-drive speed of 130 km/h. The final result was that the 3021 kilometers between Darwin and Adelaide were covered in a record 29 hours and 11 minutes, averaging about 103 km/h. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3896x3543, 1439 KB) description: The Nuon Solar Team at the Zandvoort racing track during the presentation of Nuna 3 to the press source: Nuon Hans-Peter van Velthoven File links The following pages link to this file: Nuna ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3896x3543, 1439 KB) description: The Nuon Solar Team at the Zandvoort racing track during the presentation of Nuna 3 to the press source: Nuon Hans-Peter van Velthoven File links The following pages link to this file: Nuna ...

It has very efficient solar cells of a type normally used to power orbital satellites (as had the previous Nunas), and it has better aerodynamics and is lighter than its predecessors. A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. ... For other uses, please see Satellite (disambiguation) A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

It was designed and built by 11 students from different disciplines of the Delft University of Technology, who have partly put their studies on hold for this. They used the hightech labs and workshops of the University and, as with the Nuna 2, they received advice from Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutch astronaut and professor at the University. Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch physicist and astronaut. ...

Main specifications

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a chemical compound composed of gallium and arsenic. ...

Design criteria

To have a good chance to win, the car has to:

• collect as much solar energy as possible
• use as little energy as possible to drive at a certain speed. This means special attention to:
  • the efficiency of transferring electrical energy to the wheels, and
  • minimizing friction, constituted by:
    • air friction (air resistance), and
    • rolling friction, which in turn is affected by the weight, among other things

Rolling friction is the friction that occurs when an object (e. ...

Solar cells

The solar cells are made of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and consist of three layers. Sunlight that penetrates the upper layer is used in the lower layers, resulting in an efficiency of over 26%. This type of solar cell is among the best available currently. Apart from efficiency, size also matters, so the entire upper surface of the Nuna 3 is covered with them, except for the cockpit. This article is about the chemical compound. ...

Efficiency is optimal when the cells are hit by the solar rays perpendicularly. If not, output is reduced by roughly the cosine of the angle with the perpendicular. Because the 2005 race was held in September (as opposed to October or November in previous years) the sun was lower in the sky (it's earlier in spring). To compensate for this, as many cells as possible were placed at the sides, most notably on the wheel caps. In mathematics, the trigonometric functions are functions of an angle, important when studying triangles and modeling periodic phenomena. ...

A solar cell gives a certain amount of current for a certain amount of sunlight. The voltage depends on the load (more precisely the resistance of the load). The power is the product of voltage and current and therefore also depends on the load. Over a certain voltage the current of the solar cell quickly drops to zero, as the graph illustrates. Image File history File links VIcharacteristicSolarCell. ... In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge. ... International safety symbol Caution, risk of electric shock (ISO 3864), colloquially known as high voltage symbol. ... Load may mean: Look up Load in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In physics, power (symbol: P) is the rate at which work is performed or energy is transferred. ...

However, the batteries have a fairly constant voltage, which also has a rather different value than that of the solar cells. So a voltage transformation is needed. Because this is direct current, a normal transformer, which uses alternating current can not be used. Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ... Figure 1:Three-phase pole-mounted step-down transformer. ... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ...

Also, the DC-DC converter has to make sure the load the solar cells see is such that the solar cells give maximum power, so also at the top of the green line in the graph. The machine that does this is called the maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). Here too, the goal is to have this conversion achieve maximum efficiency (>97%). Headquarter in Taiwan, we are the professional manufacturer of low-power DC/DC converter and Isolation Amplifier Modules. ...

Aerodynamic design

The underside of the Nuna 3 model in a wind tunnel

The aerodynamic drag is an important part of the total resistance. Important are the frontal surface and the streamline. Any deviation from the ideal streamline will cause turbulence, which costs energy. The ideal streamline is achieved in various stages: Image File history File links NunaModelWindTunnel. ... Image File history File links NunaModelWindTunnel. ... NASA wind tunnel with the model of a plane A wind tunnel is a research tool developed to assist with studying the effects of air moving over or around solid objects. ... Look up Drag in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic property changes. ...

1. Through computer simulations of the design
2. Through testing of a scale model in a wind tunnel. For example, liquid paints can be applied to see the flow of air over the surface. The photo shows is taken during one of those tests in the Low Speed Laboratory of the TU Delft.
3. Through testing of the full scale car in a wind tunnel. For this a German-Dutch wind tunnel in Emmeloord will be used.

From meteorological data from the area where the contest is to take place, it can be concluded that there will likely be a strong side-wind. The wheel caps of the Nuna 3 are designed such that a sidewind will have a propulsory effect. A scale model of the Tower of London. ... NASA wind tunnel with the model of a plane A wind tunnel is a research tool developed to assist with studying the effects of air moving over or around solid objects. ... Emmeloord is the administrative center of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. ... // Meteorology (from Greek: μετέωρον, meteoron, high in the sky; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ...

Motor

The motor is totally encased in the rear wheel to minimise loss through mechanical transmission from motor to wheel (such as in a normal car in the gear box and cardan). The motor is an improved version of the original 1993 Motor of the Spirit of Biel III by the Engineering School of Biel, Switzerland (now: Berner Fachhochschule Technik und Informatik). The improvements are due to completely redeveloped digital power electronics and control, realized 1999. They allowed for 50% more power (over 2400 W) and a 45% higher torque compared to the 1993 Spirit of Biel II. The efficiency of the total drive system (including the power electronics losses) is also improved and is now over 98%. But as the graph shows this depends somewhat on the speed and increases with speed. The design was initially made to reach its maximum performance at the normal cruising speed of the solar car at around 100km/h. Image File history File links BielMotorEfficiency. ... Torque applied via an adjustable end wrench Relationship between force, torque, and momentum vectors in a rotating system In physics, torque (or often called a moment) can informally be thought of as rotational force or angular force which causes a change in rotational motion. ...

Test drive

During one of the test drives in the Netherlands the Nuna 3 achieved a speed of 130 km/h. On the first day of the race the car achieved a top speed of 140 km/h. For comparison, the Sunraycer (the first winner of the Solar Challenge race) attained a top speed of 109 km/h in 1987. The Sunraycer was a solar powered race car designed to compete in the worlds first race featuring solar-powered cars. ...

The race

Winning the race requires not just a good vehicle but also a clever way of driving it, in accordance with the characteristics of the track. Which is why this has been researched for two months prior to the race. Height differences are mapped and linked to GPS data. From this, during the race, the optimal speed can be determined. Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ...

Despite all testing and other preparations, one uncertain factor remains; the weather. Any clouds would strongly influence the amount of sunlight that can be captured. So any weather changes along the track will have to be constantly monitored. All these data are analysed by a computer model that constantly computes the ideal speed for that moment. This equipment is built into (petrol powered) pilot cars. Through telemetry these constantly receive data about the condition of the batteries and the amount of captured sunlight. For the geological process, see Weathering or Erosion. ... Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. ...

Important opponents

The winner of the American Solar Challenge from the University of Michigan (USA) was considered to be one of the most important opponents. Other important contestants were the MIT (also USA) and the Japanese Ashiya University team. In 2005 there were also two other European contestants, the Dutch Raedthuys Solar Team from the University of Twente and the Belgian Umicore Solar Team from Leuven. American Solar Challenge is a solar car race across North America. ... The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ... Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ... The Solutra is the first solar car designed by a group of students, the Raedthuys Solar Team, of the University of Twente. ... Universiteit Twente is a university located in Enschede, Netherlands. ... Geography Country Belgium Community Flemish Community Region Flemish Region Province Flemish Brabant Arrondissement Leuven Coordinates , , Area 56. ...

2005 Race monitor

• 5 August 2005: the team arrives in Adelaide.
• 2 September 2005: The road permit is granted.
• 16 September 2005: During a test drive Nuna 3 strands in the rough next to the road. A defective wheel suspension turned out to be the cause. The damage was limited and repaired after a few days.
• 22 September 2005: The Nuna 3 is approved by the organisation.
• 24 September 2005: The Nuna 3 qualifies for the 8th starting position, which is better than the starting positions the previous two models got.
• 25 September 2005: The Nuna 3 covered 827 km holding first place, leading the next-placed Michigan team by approximately half an hour.
• 26 September 2005: On the second day the Nuna 3 covered 835 km, at an average speed of 105 km/h, which is a new single-day record for the World Solar Challenge. The Michigan team is now 132 km behind.
• 27 September 2005: Nuna 3 covered 858km, beating yesterdays record. They extended their lead to two hours. 500 km to go.
• 28 September 2005: Nuna 3 arrives as first car in Adelaide, thus scoring a hat-trick. The overall average speed of 103 km/h over 3,010 km means an improvement by 6 km/h of the 2003 record.

Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... In sports, a hat-trick (more often rendered in North America as hat trick, without the hyphen) is associated with achieving something in a group of three. ...

External links

• www.nuonsolarteam.com
• The weblog of the Nuna 3 team (largely from Australia)