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Wind Powered Vehicle - Sussex Power Storm

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The Competition

As a team of Engineering Master’s Students from the University of Sussex, we are taking part in the 2019 Racing Aeolus, run by Wind Energy Events. This is an annual international sustainable racing event held in Den Helder in the Netherlands during August and is one of the four largest sustainable racing events in the world. Entrants to the race must design and build their own single-seated wind-powered vehicle incorporating a wind turbine that transmits the power of the wind to the wheels by electrical or mechanical means.

There is a very strict set of rules to abide by during the race. The minimum weight of the driver is 65kg, with weight being added to the vehicle to meet this limit if the driver is too light. Another rule is the requirement of a framework measuring 2.0m by 3.5m to fit around the Wind Powered Vehicle (WPV), which directly influences the vehicle’s design and workings. The dimensions are regulated in all parts of the WPV with the diffuser and rotor being required to have a maximum diameter of 2.0m.

 

Our Legacy

Sussex Power Storm 2018-19 is building on and refining the successful design produced by the 2017-18 team, who finished 5th out of 9 entrants in the racing event and were the best team from the UK. The results include achieving a car speed to wind speed ratio of 65%. This was achieved despite having a budget that was less than that of 10% of the other competing teams. This is proof of the success of Sussex Power Storm’s ‘Garden shed mentality’, which aims to create a working and highly economic design for use in the race.

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Competition Events

  • Endurance - Teams will be ranked on their best average top speed over multiple runs.
  • Single fastest run - Teams will be ranked on the Top speed achieved by their vehicle
  • Drag race - A straight-forward drag race where the car self-starts.
  • Innovation award - An award voted for by the teams on which team has shown the most innovation in their vehicle design.

 

Our Goals

  • Achieve 100% car speed to wind speed ratio. We were inspired to do this following last year’s record of 115% car speed to wind speed ratio, and are making huge improvements to the car to achieve this goal.
  • Achieve first place in the drag race.
  • Win an innovation award using our new designs.
  • Enjoy international competition and make lasting friends with fellow Engineers from around the world.

Success in the race is measured by the car speed to wind speed ratio achieved by a team. This is influenced by design factors such as the ability to reduce drag on the vehicle, the efficiency of the drivetrain from the turbine to the wheels and the design of the turbine itself.

Development for this year has brought in several new designs to help give Sussex Power Storm an edge in the competition. These include:

  • An Auto Pitching Mechanism for the Turbine blades, which will give us the optimum angle for the blades for a given relative wind speed
  • Auto Yawing of the Turbine, which will guarantee the maximum relative velocity of the wind into the turbine
  • A Rear Diffuser to separate airflow between the inner and outer sections of the turbine blades.

 

Our Method

Sussex’s WPV operates on a purely mechanical drive train. The rotation of the turbine is transferred to a 90° gearbox, which then transfers the power through a rotating shaft installed within the pylon to a second 90° gearbox. This then connects to a chain leading to a dirt bike gearbox, allowing us to shift gear throughout the race but also disengage the turbine to spin up unloaded for an initial kick-start. This is finally connected by a chain to a differential on the rear axle that drives the vehicle’s wheels. This differs from many of the competitors at the race that use either electrical or hybrid drive trains, which involve the use of the turbine to generate power for an electric motor, which in turn powers the vehicle.

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Sussex Power Storm represents the University of Sussex at Racing Aeolus, run by Wind Energy Events. This is an annual international sustainable racing event held in Den Helder in the Netherlands during August and is one of the four largest sustainable racing events in the world. Entrants to the race must design and build their own single-seated wind-powered vehicle incorporating a wind turbine that transmits the power of the wind to the wheels by electrical or mechanical means.
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