Solar car state champion!
by Ms Kylie Pearson, School Librarian
Box Hill High School
On 19 October, Eli A competed in the Victorian Model Solar Car State Championship and came first for the second year in a row.
Hosted at Scienceworks, Eli's car dominated the competition, successfully winning all the races it competed in and securing first place for Box Hill High School.
Model Solar Car is a competition for students up to 12th grade. The students must build a model car that runs purely on solar energy and conforms to a set of regulations that are released earlier in the year. These regulations define rules like the maximum size of the car and the cargo that the car must carry, which this year was 20 ping pong balls.
Eli said:
This year I modelled my Solar Car in OnShape - a 3D Design CAD (Computer Aided Design) tool. This allowed me to create the technical drawings digitally and export them. This approach allowed me to import the 3D models into Sim Scale, an aerodynamic simulator and evaluate the aerodynamics of the car. I also used my 3D modelling skills to create 3D printed components for the car.
The most enjoyable part of the Solar Car program is producing a solution to the technical challenge, designing the car and building it. Oh, and getting to see the finished car running on the racetrack is also really cool.
Eli will be representing Victoria in the National/International Model Solar Car competition later this year, along with the other three cars that qualified. Such an outstanding achievement and we wish him the best of luck!