Hyperion arrives at the Kalamazoo, Mich., checkpoint on Tuesday. Larger photo. Photo by American Solar Challenge.
AMES, Iowa – Hyperion spent most of Tuesday racing down the road at the speed limit – including some stretches at 55 mph.
That made Hyperion, Iowa State’s student-designed and student-built solar race car, the second car into the American Solar Challenge’s checkpoint in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The speed allowed Team PrISUm to make up a 36-minute deficit to Principia College. The team spent the rest of the day doing its best to cut into its 2 ½-hour deficit to the second-place University of Minnesota. The University of Michigan continues to lead the race.
“We had another great day,” said Evan Stumpges, Team PrISUm’s project director and a May graduate in mechanical engineering.
It turns out Hyperion thrives in the scorching weather parked over the Midwest right now. Stumpges said the conditions are great for converting sunlight into electrical power. And the team’s battery pack isn’t prone to overheating, a common problem in solar car racing.
“The battery pack is handling the heat quite well,” Stumpges said. “The thermal design has been optimized to withstand higher temperatures. A lot of teams have been battling the upper thresholds of their batteries.”
What about the drivers?
Stumpges said Hyperion’s cockpit can get up to 105 degrees: “It’s not the most comfortable environment.”
But there’s a little ventilation in there. Water, too. And so the drivers have been managing just fine.
On Tuesday – day four of the 1,650-mile, cross-country challenge – two drivers relayed the car to a roadside stop just south of Plymouth, Ind. The Argos United Methodist Church offered showers, air-conditioning and a place for the night.
Then it’s less than 200 miles to the next stage stop in Normal, Ill., on Wednesday. The time sheets there should say a lot about Hyperion’s chances of climbing even higher in the standings.
