Simulation and visualizations of solar car motion along the road

A mathematical model for the simulation of the motion of a solar car along the arbitrary uneven road has been developed. This model consists of two parts. The first is the “mathematical model of solar radiation falling onto the panel of the solar car” that determines the amount of solar energy falling onto the panel at any instant of time and at any point of the road. The second is the “mathematical model of the motion of the solar car” that determines the law of motion by solving the differential equation of motion while taking into account all the main forces acting on the car; namely: driving, gravity, reaction, and resistance. The model-simulated data has been used to create ArcGIS-based 3D visualization of car motion along the chosen roads.

The model developed here can be used to evaluate the performance of chosen type of solar car on uneven road and can serve for the solution of various problems such as: i) optimal choice of car motion starting time to minimize travelling time; ii) determination of the optimal speed that should be maintained along the uneven road for hybrid (PV + accumulator) cars; iii) determination of the instants of time when car will reach the mountain passes where a huge amount of solar radiation or sufficiently charged accumulators, are needed; iv) to determine the proper instants of time for triggering the accumulator and its charging, etc. At the same time, the model allows to estimate the amount of solar energy harvested by PV panel during the motion on the chosen highway. This energy depends mainly on the geographical location, the season, the weather conditions, the topography of the road (trajectory) and car speed.