Introduction
Currently our main source of energy is from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels is by definition a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms; although it is originally a natural source, it is heavily processed and when burned creates a plethora of harmful side-effects. Despite being our main energy source, fossil fuels have many disadvantages which vary from environmental hazard, high prices, toxic to human health, and being non renewable. These are only some of the negatives that are involved with fossil fuels. In spite of that, there are current viable energy sources that will prolong the earth’s environmental health such as wind, solar, and wave power. One of the most popular renewable energy source is solar. Solar is a great choice for many reason; it is renewable, sustainable, environmentally friendly, reduce cost,requires low maintenance, and is readily available across the world. That is where the Spartan Superway shines; while it will solve many transportation issues, it will also solve some of the power issues with modern public transit.
The goal of the Spartan Superway Solar Team in 2015 and 2016 is to fully conceptualize the power gathering array of the system. The Team will have two focus areas: Intermediate Scale Research and Implementation, and Small Scale Implementation.
Both teams will work closely for preliminary research and designing system components before fabricating their own respectively sized deliverables.
Intermediate Scale Solar Team
The primary goal of the Intermediate Scale Solar Team is to determine the details of a system necessary to power a solar transportation system of varying size. There will be many details that need to be taken into account such as: tram energy consumption, facilities energy consumption, network size, power production capacity, and power storage capacity. Research into available solar panels and gathering methods will be conducted to determine the most effective and appropriate panel technology to be used in the system.
Once an appropriate panel type has been selected a modular mounting system will be designed for the lengths of track in the system. Communication with the Intermediate Scale Track Design Team will be crucial in the designing of this mounting system. The deliverable for this project will be a modular system that can be adjusted and mounted for wide range of track conditions that are not limited to: compass direction of the track, latitude of the track, and local weather patterns of the system’s geographic location. An additional goal, given any extra development time will be that of a dual axis solar tracking system for use on stations. This more robust power generation method will be more effective but harder to maintain and for that reason it will be used sparingly. A deliverable that could be produced for this additional goal would be a working system at the intermediate scale of the project, mounted on the simulated station.
Critical Path Scheduling
Milestones within this project will be: Research, Concept Creation, Concept Design, and Fabrication. Setting Fabrication aside which will be undertaken in Spring of 2016, that leaves Research and Conceptualization to be completed before the conclusion of Fall 2015.
To be ready for Fabrication in 2016, the following deadlines should be met:
- Research completed by mid October, 2015
- Concept Creation completed by November, 2015
- Concept Design finalized by mid November, 2015
- Fabrication Preparation completed by December, 2015
At this point this is a rough timeframe, but the Solar Team plans to be ready for fabrication by the end of Fall, 2015.
Budget
The estimated budget for the combined Solar Team will be in the neighborhood of $1,000. Further research, design, donations and unforeseen circumstances may necessitate this number be increased or decreased in the future.
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