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By Brian Afuang
There must be some form of irony
in the whole thing when Sinag, the first Philippine made solar car,
was unveiled on a day (September 1) when the sun seemed a bit lazy
to show itself, and intermittent drizzles threatened the car’s
first public test run. This, after Sinag’s original launch date
fell squarely on the day Typhoon Dodong visited Metro Manila. That,
however, was nothing compared to the daunting task the car—and
everybody involved in its creation—had overcome and still face in
the future. If not irony then, it’s metaphor.
Sinag will participate in the
20th World Solar Challenge in Australia in October, where it needs
to traverse almost 3,000 kilometers from Darwin to Adelaide. Over 30
countries, most of whom have decades of experience in solar car
technology and are backed by large finances, will take part in the
challenge. By contrast, Sinag was designed and built by students
from the Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Engineering
departments of De La Salle University-Manila.
However, that does not mean Sinag
is merely a pipe dream. Providing assistance for the effort are
Aurora, Cabrera, Lavadia and Associates, JWT, Creasia, Merritt
Partners, Tuason Racing School (TRS), Gocherman Solar Technology,
and Stratworks. Sinag is sponsored by big-name corporations that
include DLSU, Motolite, Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corp.,
Pilipinas Shell, SunPower, Ventus, and Ford Group Phils. Garage
project, Sinag is not.
Fact is, it was Ford chairman
Henry Co, back when he was the company president, who envisioned
Sinag. Meanwhile, serving as chairman of the World Solar Car
Challenge Society is former energy secretary Vincent Perez. At the
Sinag unveiling, present DOE Secretary Angelo Reyes delivered a
speech.
“The technology may not be
ready today, but maybe 30 years from now we will all be driving
solar cars,” Reyes said in an interview.
Sinag technology
DLSU professor Rene Fernandez,
who is the project’s overall technical team leader, explained
“The car has three major parts: the mechanical system, the
electrical system, and the shell. All of these elements [must] work
together to keep the car going.”
Like most solar cars, Sinag looks
like something that came straight out of a sci-fi comic book, if not
a speedboat with wheels. A vast expanse of flat horizontal
surface—necessary for the numerous solar cells to sit on—is
broken by a glass canopy with a composite roof. Underneath, three
wheels partly hidden by aerodynamic appendages complete the
vehicle’s insect-on-stilts looks. Why majority of solar cars are
painted white, I’m not exactly sure. But there must—no,
should—be a reason for it.
Contrary to what one may
initially suspect, the rear wheel isn’t what steers the car but
rather the two front ones. The rear is actually the one that powers
Sinag. From the 400 solar cells, energy is harnessed (as much as
2000 watts) to charge Kokam Lithium Polymer batteries, which in turn
power the in-wheel motor. The 120-volt batteries can be fully
charged in five hours of sustained sunpower, and the energy stored
in them can run Sinag in top speed for four straight hours. The
stored energy also comes in handy when clouds cover the sun.
A single race bucket seat perched
at a 27-degree angle serves as the driver’s seat, and the cockpit
is protected by a safety rollcage. The driver turns the car through
a steering system made from used motorcycle forks and wheels. A
modified MacPherson strut system suspends the car, and calipers
brake it.
“The car weighs just about 150
kilograms,” says Co. “With 1000 watts of electricity, the car
can run up to 100 kph.”
A large factor in Sinag’s
design is its low weight. “The shell is actually made through a
new technology where carbon fiber is fused with a hollow core
comb,” Co says. “A thin fiber carbon skin then covers it,” Co
explained further.
“If you touch the underside of
the car, it’s a bit soft. But it’s very strong—and light.”
Another key element in Sinag’s
design are the solar cells. “We are fortunate that SunPower, a
local company, makes one of the best commercially available solar
cells in the world,” says Co.
SunPower’s monocrystalline
silicon structure converts solar energy into electrical power more
efficiently than conventional cells do.
Sinag strategy
“Of course, it’s not only
about the equipment,” Co says as Sinag was wheeled out of the
display hall and onto public roads at the SM Business Park for its
first public test drive.
“It’s also about the
‘race’ strategy. It’s knowing when to speed up or when not to,
knowing the route, knowing how to maximize energy.”
And here is where the expertise
of race driver JP Tuason of TRS comes in. Besides supervising the
Sinag public run, Tuason will train the Sinag team who will fly to
Australia on the finer points of fuel economy driving. The team will
use Ford’s newly launched Focus TDCi, a diesel car that boast of a
claimed 21.7 kilometer-to-a-liter fuel consumption yet makes 340
Newton-meter of torque. So quick yet fuel-efficient it is, an
excellent car to train in, with equally competent tutors to learn
from.
If anything, the Focus TDCi’s
involvement in the project further underscores Ford’s commitment
to alternative energy source programs. Ford also sells a flex-fuel
Focus that runs on conventional gasoline or E10 gas/ethanol blend.
Sinag workload
Everybody involved in the project
admits there are still lots of work left to be done before Sinag is
hied off to Australia. At the test run, Sinag performed flawlessly,
tackling the makeshift slalom course, and starting up or braking to
a halt as necessary. But Tuason admits the car still has to meet the
performance levels other participants have achieved.
As if on cue, rain started to
fall again as soon as Sinag was done with its test runs and parked
at its stage, with all the photo opportunities over and done. The
Sinag team then pulled out the car’s protective cover, which was
made from discarded plastic wrappers glued together with duct
tape—no sponsor decals, no sewed up material, no nothing. It truly
illustrates more work is needed.
“If you look closely, the
car’s construction is a little crude. So we’re helping them out
now to work on some of the rough edges,” Co says.
“But you have to give them
credit,” Co quickly adds. “They built this working car by hand.
They should be given Master’s Degrees already,” Co says,
referring to the Sinag team college students.
As the heavens continued to open
up, Sinag was wheeled into a tent, where the Sinag team beamed with
pride as they gathered around the car. The rains may have spoiled
schedules and all, but it didn’t dampen Sinag’s spirit.
Guess you could call that the
eternal sunshine of spotless minds.
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