U of T solar car project teaches great skills

A group of University of Toronto Engineering students have unveiled an entry in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge competition, a biannual event in South Australia to be held this year from Oct. 18 to 25.

Named “Horizon,” the car is pretty much a complete redesign of the vehicle that finished a very creditable eighth in the 2013 event against about 45 teams from around the world, including such science and engineering powerhouses as MIT and Stanford University.

The U of T car is the only Canadian entry in the challenge this time out, and it is the eighth vehicle U of T has built for the competition, which began in 1987.

The new car is the result of more than a year and a half of effort by a team numbering in the dozens.

Said the team’s managing director, Zhe Gong: “The word ‘Horizon’ represents the distance between what is currently the case, and what could be in the future: something better. This fits the project perfectly.

“But the horizon is always moving, and we never quite get there. The closer you get, the farther you have to go. Which again really describes a project like this: one more all-nighter, no time for friends or family, we have to keep going.’’

An example of the dedication of the 35-strong team was when they were building the lower half of the carbon-fibre tub structure.

The bonding process is incredibly complex, and through a combination of tiny errors, the bonding simply didn’t stick. They had to toss it all out and start over.

“There were times when we wanted to quit,’’ Gong added. “But we didn’t.’’

The most obvious visual difference between Horizon and its predecessors is that the driver’s “pod” is now in line with the wheels, instead of being centrally located in the car.

Gong noted that the dimensions of the pod are more-or-less dictated by the rules, but not its location.

The team concluded that having that big lump in the centre of the car added to aerodynamic drag. Aligning it with the wheels (on the left side, as it turns out) meant that the pod, in effect, hides behind the front wheel, reducing frontal area and drag significantly.

While the project is supported by a number of corporate sponsors and by the U of T and the Engineering Society, fundraising remains an issue, especially to get the vehicle shipped to Australia.

Any shipping companies out there willing to help?

The team has also started a crowdfunding initiative, the link to which can be found at the project’s website: blueskysolar.utoronto.ca/

The site also contains more information on the development of the car and links to various YouTube videos of efforts made in previous years.

Other forms of contribution are also welcome. One of my personal “currencies” is Frequent Flyer Points. Every member of the Blue Sky team is eligible to attend the event, but they have to finance their own way down there.

As a result, I am tossing in enough points to fly one team member to Australia. I can’t imagine these students putting all that effort into this thing and not being able to see it perform on the world’s stage.

Anybody else got some Aeroplan points burning a hole in their passport holder?

When I attended U of T Engineering School, about the only things we built were the Homecoming Parade Float, the bed for the annual “bed race” during Winter Carnival and an entry in the annual Engineering Society Chariot Race.

A project like this gives the engineers of tomorrow a chance to really see what it takes to make stuff for the real world — which is what engineers do.

These kids are laying up carbon fibre, sanding and polishing it, operating milling machines, soldering, welding, sourcing high-tech compo- nents and assembling it all.

They are actually building something.

Something useful. Something meaningful.

In a sense, almost all of our energy — with the possible exception of nuclear and hydroelectricity — comes from the sun.

Now, whether solar energy will be a viable transportation alternative in the longer term is not really the point. In the shorter term, the point of a project like this is to train better engineers.

It forces the students to explore where the boundaries are — where that Horizon might actually be, if you will.

It forces them to set a goal, understand the constraints (the rules), design a solution, build it, test it, overcome the myriad obstacles, and — again — establish a budget, raise funds, and bring the project in on time and under that budget.

And you just can’t teach that in a classroom.

For more information on the event itself, please visit: worldsolarchallenge.org/ Freelance writer Jim Kenzie is the chief auto reviewer for Toronto Star Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.

A project like the Bridgestone World Solar challenge really gives the engineers of tomorrow a chance to see what it takes to make things for the real world