Renewable technology

The Nuclear Option

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Lucy Fielding

The definition of the word ‘nuclear’ is a simple but insufficient one: ‘of or relating to atomic nuclei’. It does not capture the immense cultural and societal stigma that such a word now holds – and will have held for 25 years, come April. The tragedy of March 11 was itself, ironically, swept away and buried by reports of an explosion at one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Even now, it is necessary to scroll past too many articles covering the Fukushima incident before even reaching news of the 30,000 dead or missing; the half-a-million displaced from their homes; the whole towns washed away.

This is not another article about Why This Is The End For Nuclear or How Fukushima Made Me Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. They are already clogging the internet and attracting all sorts of insane online versions of the sandwich board screaming “REPENT. THE END IS NIGH”. Instead, it is an attempt (of which there have also been many) to inject some perspective, some rationality and some information into the energy debate, which has been running for far longer than the past two weeks.

Although CUER is a group firmly focused…
Read more →

Posted in Energy, Renewable technology | 1 Comment

MPPTs – what’s in a name?

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Lucy Fielding

Following on from the article on solar cells, we continue to disperse the dense fog surrounding electrical engineering to reveal the technology behind CUER’s most-loved acronym* – the MPPT.

First off, let’s get the formalities out of the way. ‘MPPT’ stands for ‘Maximum Power Point Tracker’. This may have been mentioned in previous blog posts, possibly in an attempt to clear away the aforementioned fog. It’s not entirely certain why they thought it would help. It’s unlikely that the response to this revelation was “oh, Maximum Power Point Trackers – they track the maximum power point! Of course! It’s all so clear!” No, this is a PR challenge even Ronseal would struggle with.

However, unlike the average Ronseal customer (or perhaps not?) we are in a position to understand the relationship between the photons reaching a solar cell, and the amount of useful energy we can get out of it. However energy on its own is not a useful measure. A solar array could provide 1kJ of energy – in fact, they all will, if you wait long enough – but an array that produces 1kJ in 0.5s is better than one that produces it in 20s.

Power, then, is…
Read more →

Posted in Anatomy of a Solar Car, Auto Technology, Electrical, Renewable technology | Leave a comment

Ansys Seminar

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Lucy Fielding

On the 7th December, several CUER team members loaded Endeavour up onto the trailer and took her for a day out at the Heritage Motor Museum in Warwickshire. She enjoyed herself immensely while her handlers attended the Ansys Hybrid Electric Vehicle seminar. With this event being so relevant to what we do, as well as being hosted by one of our long-term sponsors, this was an opportunity we could not afford to miss. The event focused on how Ansys software could be used in all aspects of car design, including battery chemistry and EM-field modelling – not just aerodynamics (hands up all those who knew it was even used for aerodynamics). This was also a great opportunity to show off Endeavour once again and gave us another chance to talk to people in the automotive industry who are interested in what we do and have plenty of technical expertise to share with us.

Posted in Auto Technology, Energy, Renewable technology | Leave a comment

Shining a Light on Photovoltaic Technology

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Lucy Fielding

A solar cell is fascinating, in that it is one of only a few machines that operate with no moving parts. This gives it a potential edge over other energy-generating technologies, which have to contend with energy losses and maintenance costs due to constant motion (e.g. turbines) and heat transfer (e.g. biofuels, nuclear).

The basic premise behind a solar cell is identical to that behind any type of chemical cell or battery – the separation of regions of different electrical potential. An electric current flows when these regions are connected to each other by an electrical circuit, allowing the negatively-charged electrons to flow towards the positive terminal. In a solar cell, this is achieved by the use of semiconductor materials – a certain class of non-metals that, under certain conditions, can conduct electricity.

Posted in Anatomy of a Solar Car, Electrical, Renewable technology | Leave a comment

Aerodynamics and the Car of the Future

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Lucy Fielding

Aerodynamics (more generally known as fluid dynamics) is one of the more ‘user-friendly’ aspects of design. Most people have some instinctive understanding that cars (and anything else that moves) need to be ‘streamlined’. We don’t need to run a simulation to conclude that a torpedo is more aerodynamic than a brick. It’s obvious, we say. It’s common sense.

It is probably because of this everyday familiarity of the concept – or at least the language – of aerodynamics that BMW chose a slightly different approach in their latest ad campaign, in an attempt to sound hi-tech:

Is This The Car of T..
Watch the ad…

Posted in Aero, Anatomy of a Solar Car, Auto Technology, Renewable technology | Leave a comment

Solar Impulse

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Dan Wilkins

Here is something a bit different - a quick review of the Solar Impulse project (http://www.solarimpulse.com/): a plan to build a single seat solar powered plane, which will take off autonomously and be capable of remaining airborne for several days. The plan is to use this as a springboard to develop a two seat version to circumnavigate the globe.

Posted in Renewable technology | Leave a comment