Runnin' on Shine: the story of Appalachian State University's Team Sunergy
Building a Solar-Powered Vehicle
This section introduces the project of building a solar-powered vehicle by a small group of faculty and students at Appalachian State University in 2013. The team worked on various tasks, including electronics, solar arrays, mechanical work, fundraising, and self-promotion to build their car Apperion.
Building Apperion
- A small group of faculty and students at Appalachian State University initiated a project to build a vehicle completely powered by solar energy.
- The Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment provided a home for the team and their vehicle.
- Over several months, many student and faculty hours were poured into various tasks involving electronics, solar arrays, mechanical work as well as fundraising, self-promotion, and countless other business-related necessities until Team Sunergy was born.
- The team's first official challenge was at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex for the 2016 Formula Sun Grand Prix where they placed third overall in the competition.
Preparing for Competition
This section discusses how Team Sunergy is preparing for the upcoming race at Circuit of Americas in Austin Texas. They have improved technology throughout the car with better race strategy. They are also offsetting all carbon emissions from everything they do.
Preparing for Competition
- Team members are getting ready for the race this summer.
- They have opened up their warehouse so that anyone on the team can come in and do work whenever they need to.
- They spend about 20 hours every weekend fine-tuning the car, installing new systems, testing systems to make sure that it is race-ready for summer.
- This year they updated their telemetry system hoping to have all the data this summer, save it and then analyze it after the race.
- They are offsetting all their carbon emissions from everything they do by working with an offsetting company. They have been tracking their own emissions from this semester and will offset all of those emissions.
- At the race, they will give a short presentation to other teams encouraging them to go carbon neutral as well.
Unveiling Apperion
This section discusses how Team Sunergy invited everyone from around campus who has been huge supporters of the solar vehicle team to come and share in this moment of unveiling the new and improved look of Apperion.
Unveiling Apperion
- The team is at their new space where they invited everyone from around campus who has been huge supporters of the solar vehicle team to come and share in this moment of unveiling the new and improved look of Apperion.
- They wanted to show everybody that it was something new, something more to get excited about, and make sure that excitement stays with the Appalachian community.
- To one member, "the one word that describes this car is stunning."
Solar Car Racing: Preparing for the Competition
The team discusses their confidence going into the competition, improvements made to the car's systems, and challenges they may face.
Team Confidence
- The team has more confidence this year due to being able to test and tune the car for a year.
- Improvements have been made to the suspension system, braking system, and tires.
- They believe they can stay out longer on the track without having to pit.
Challenges
- The team will face relentless heat with track temperatures reaching 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Electronics are a major concern in solar car racing as anything can go wrong. Teams need to be prepared for any issues that may arise.
Circuit of the Americas
- This year's race is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas which is built for high-performance vehicles.
- The team needs to consider other teams' strategies when planning their own strategy for racing.
- Winning is important but keeping technology advancing and inspiring others is even more important.
Scrutineering
- Before each race, teams must undergo inspections and qualifications called scrutineering.
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