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Dutch students unveil solar cars
Zandvoort, Sept 05: A team of Dutch students has unveiled a sun-powered car that they hope will set new records and defend Holland`s title in an international solar car race in Australia.
Zandvoort, Sept 05: A team of Dutch students has unveiled a sun-powered car that they hope will set new records and defend Holland's title in an international solar car race in Australia.
It sits one person and has only three wheels. And it is set to speed across Australia without a drop of fuel. It is the NUNA 2, a sun-powered car developed by Dutch students to compete against giant car-makers in the World Solar Challenge in Australia.
Some 40 teams from all over the world are expected to compete in the 3010-kilometres race from the northern city of Darwin to Adelaide in the south.
The Dutch won the last race in 2001 and this year's team is hoping to defend the title with a new car. Just like the previous model, the NUNA 2 is equipped with solar cells developed by Europe's Space Agency (ESA). The cells on NUNA 2, triple junction gallium arsenide cells, are among the most advanced in the world.
Besides, the team also worked hard to improve the aerodynamics and the weight of the car.
"From our competition we know that they continued to use their old car and made improvements on their old car, but we built an entirely new car, which means that we improved on the three parts that I just mentioned, the aerodynamics, the solar cells and the extreme weight loss. So given all these points, we think that we have a big chance in defending our title in Australia," Koen Koster, one of the students, said. Driving at an average speed of 91 kilometres per hour, the NUNA 1 finished the race in just under four days. This year's team is aiming to boost the speed to one hundred kilometres per day.
"The top speed will probably be around 160 kilometres per hour, but we will not make that during the race, because during the race we will have to save energy and be very responsible with the energy that we take up from the sun. So, during the race we are expecting to get a speed of about one hundred kilometres an hour," said Kosters.
To make sure enough power is stored for cloudy periods, the NUNA 2 sends data on the electrical current from the solar panels to a support vehicle. The team from the second vehicle could then calculate the optimum speed in relation to the weather forecast. Bureau Report
Some 40 teams from all over the world are expected to compete in the 3010-kilometres race from the northern city of Darwin to Adelaide in the south.
The Dutch won the last race in 2001 and this year's team is hoping to defend the title with a new car. Just like the previous model, the NUNA 2 is equipped with solar cells developed by Europe's Space Agency (ESA). The cells on NUNA 2, triple junction gallium arsenide cells, are among the most advanced in the world.
Besides, the team also worked hard to improve the aerodynamics and the weight of the car.
"From our competition we know that they continued to use their old car and made improvements on their old car, but we built an entirely new car, which means that we improved on the three parts that I just mentioned, the aerodynamics, the solar cells and the extreme weight loss. So given all these points, we think that we have a big chance in defending our title in Australia," Koen Koster, one of the students, said. Driving at an average speed of 91 kilometres per hour, the NUNA 1 finished the race in just under four days. This year's team is aiming to boost the speed to one hundred kilometres per day.
"The top speed will probably be around 160 kilometres per hour, but we will not make that during the race, because during the race we will have to save energy and be very responsible with the energy that we take up from the sun. So, during the race we are expecting to get a speed of about one hundred kilometres an hour," said Kosters.
To make sure enough power is stored for cloudy periods, the NUNA 2 sends data on the electrical current from the solar panels to a support vehicle. The team from the second vehicle could then calculate the optimum speed in relation to the weather forecast. Bureau Report