Scrutineering for Success
For many of us on the team, the idea of standing within the Darwin Convention Centre, surrounded by remarkable solar cars and equally passionate students, was once merely a dream. Yesterday, that dream became a reality for the 21 members of our Race Crew.
Static scrutineering, the first official event for teams before the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is often seen as the official kick-off to the festivities. It's the moment when teams must prove to technical inspectors that their solar cars are ready to perform. For our team, we knew it would be a bit of a challenge.
Astrum, our solar car, had already demonstrated great reliability driving through the remote Australian Outback. Although she wasn’t perfect, our Australian Mock Race went perhaps smoother than expected, considering it was the first time we were driving on the Stuart Highway. Prior to that, our mock race in Michigan also went swimmingly with little problems. However, these test runs occurred before the installation of every system required for the challenge. Since August, we added numerous components, such as a brand-new solar array, a new emergency electrical isolation system, various new PCBs, a rearview camera, a battery ventilation system, a new MPPT box, a new array stand, canopy lock and stand, a crucial Black Ice air freshener, and more.
Although these parts may not have been required to drive a solar car, they were certainly required by the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge regulations. Think driving a carbon fiber box put together by some college students sounds scary? Well, the event officials certainly think so too, and for good reason! Many of these rules are in place to ensure the safety of the solar cars, which is paramount given the potential risks on the open road.
Unfortunately, on-road incidents are not unheard of in the world of solar car racing. In 2019, several cars faced accidents, including one that was reduced to ashes. These stories are not only gut-wrenching, but also terrifying—accidents can, and do, happen.
BWSC’s 64-page rulebook may appear excessive at first glance, but it is a testament to the thoroughness of the race regulations and the importance of events like static scrutineering. To partake in the challenge, we must first prove to the event officials that we can handle the challenge to begin with.
With a lot of work ahead, we arrived in Darwin in early October, less than two weeks before the start of static scrutineering. There, our engineers dove headfirst into perfecting Astrum's systems and ensuring compliance with every regulation. Long nights were common but necessary, and we persevered despite the challenging conditions, including the sweltering Darwin heat and humidity. The looming deadline of October 16th, the first day of static scrutineering, kept us focused.
On the night of October 15th, our team anxiously awaited our scrutineering time to be announced. It was scheduled for October 17th at 1 pm, a day later than expected, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise, providing us with an extra day for preparations.
The morning of the big day began early for our non-engineering team. They packed up Astrum and transported her to the Darwin Convention Centre, where static scrutineering was to be held. The atmosphere at the center was vibrant, filled with solar car teams, all eager to pass on the same day. We too were hoping to pass as many stations as possible, but given our bold design choices for Astrum, we knew passing on the first attempt might be a challenge.
Astrum's design was a result of our team's relentless pursuit of peak performance within the limits of the regulations. For example, the regulations state that each car’s length is required to be a maximum of 5 meters. Astrum’s CAD model is 4.998 meters long, just barely under the 5-meter limit. This is why Astrum is long and thin—we want her to have both a large surface area for solar cells and a small frontal area for aerodynamic performance. However, the downside of so ambitiously pursuing performance is that our compliance with certain regulations ends up being difficult to verify.
Regardless, our spirits soared as we drove Astrum into the convention center, successfully passing the driving test within seconds of entering the building. However, some challenges quickly emerged. We had to incorporate new logo artwork to comply with regulations, which required careful work to preserve Astrum’s smooth, aerodynamic surface. As such, we chose to postpone the installation until later that night at our workspace. Despite the initial hiccup, the day progressed relatively smoothly as we tackled various stations: electrical, energy storage, lighting, and ballast. We faced some requests for additional documentation at the mechanical station and learned that our ground clearance was slightly too low at the measurement station. The occupants station presented issues with our rearview camera, which were not wholly unexpected. Overall, we left the convention center with only a few minor issues to address.
After making the necessary fixes, including raising the ride height, installing a new rearview camera, and relabeling our canopy, we felt confident about the upcoming day. And indeed, the next morning, we passed the signage, measurement, and mechanical stations with ease. A bit more adjustment was needed for our rearview camera to work with the license plate, and we ultimately needed to install a second camera. In the process of re-presenting, the technical inspectors also requested that our battery ventilation hole be made slightly larger, so we spent some time cutting into the car in the convention center parking lot. Not our most elegant moment, but it was a small price to pay for progress. The final step was weighing the car, and then it was official – we had successfully passed static scrutineering!
Passing static scrutineering was something we worked towards since the beginning of Astrum’s design cycle over a year ago. For the dozens of engineers who poured their hearts and souls into making Astrum the best car possible, achieving this goal proved that they did outstanding work. And reflecting on how far we’ve come since our arrival at Hidden Valley, this experience unquestionably showed our ability to meet challenges head-on. Overall, we consider static scrutineering to be a rousing success!
However, this is just the beginning. Our real challenge lies in getting to the finish line, a grueling 3,000 kilometers away in Adelaide. In the coming days, we’ll be spending time testing on the road and at the track ahead of the next stage: Dynamic scrutineering! We are extremely eager to drive Astrum again and put her peak form to the test. It’s game time!