Solar-boat races to test collegians’ skills
Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2006
A group of University of Arkansas at Fayetteville engineering students are working 10- and 12-hour days preparing for an international competition that will pit their technical design skills against 15 universities in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Nine months of hard work will culminate with the 2006 Solar Splash competition Wednesday through Sunday at Lake Fayetteville.
It is the first time in its 13-year history that the event — the world championship of intercollegiate solar-boat design and racing — will be held in Fayetteville.
University officials see it as a chance to highlight students ’ abilities and raise awareness about alternative energy sources. David Wright, Fayetteville’s recreation superintendent, sees it as a chance to showcase the city for the estimated 200 participants, and visitors attracted by the event.
Wright said there’s no way to predict how many people will attend but said the 652-acre park draws up to 2, 000 people on the average summer Saturday. Hopes are that park users will take a break from hiking, softball and other activities to watch the competition.
“It would be a great family event,” said Shelly Stewman, marketing manager for the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau. “Saturday and Sunday are going to be very exciting.”
For UA students, the competition will test their engineering knowledge as well as their teamwork skills.
Roy McCann, UA electrical engineering professor and team adviser, said about 40 mechanical and electrical engineering students were involved in the design of the narrow, 17. 5-footlong solar boat. Most of the students sign up as part of a twosemester, senior design course, but some younger students volunteered for no credit.
UA has participated in Solar Splash for the last seven years, jumping from fifth place in 2001 to overall champions in 2002. The team has come in second place for the last two years but hopes to walk away champions on their home course.
“I think we have a good chance this year,” said Aaron Conner, 22, the electrical engineering team captain.
After using the same basic boat design for four years, this year’s team replaced the old wooden hull with a more aerodynamic fiberglass design. McCann said the new material shaved about 100 pounds off the boat’s weight.
“The nose is like a knife compared to the old one,” said team member Eric Jones, 25, a former UA electrical engineering student who graduated in December 2005.
Other aspects of the boat have been redesigned as well, including the propulsion, instru- mentation, telemetry and solarpower systems.
Zac Pianalto, mechanical engineering team captain, estimates the team has put more than 600 hours into design, construction and rigorous testing of the boat.
Teams from other universities, including Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and Ecole Technologie Superieur in Montreal, will begin arriving today. While there is some communication between teams, Conner said the boat designs and capabilities are a secret until competition time.
McCann said teams have been known to spend anywhere from $ 5, 000 to $ 80, 000 building their boats.
William Springer, UA mechanical engineering professor and team adviser, said the competition gets tougher each year as the teams become more experienced.
The boats are designed for speed, endurance and efficiency.
Races include a 300-meter sprint, in which boats can surpass 35 miles per hour, and a two-hour endurance race that tests the boats’ solar-power efficiency.
Boats have to meet strict design and safety guidelines.
Even so, accidents have happened.
In years past, major mishaps included a boat splitting in half and sinking midrace, engines catching fire and one driver losing control and colliding with a judges’ boat.
“20, 000 watts unleashed on the water — if you lose control, things can happen,” said Jones.
UA professor of electrical engineering Alan Mantooth said corporate sponsors have donated materials, services and $ 60, 000 to help cover UA’s costs.
The f ive-day event will start with a speech by Jim Stanway, the new director of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ’s global greenhouse gas-reduction initiative, on Wednesday at 5: 30 p. m. at Giffels Auditorium in Old Main.
Qualifying activities will be held Thursday and Friday, and racing will be held Friday through Sunday.
A schedule of events is available at www. solarsplash. com.
Wright said the lake will be closed to other boat traffic during the races, but the rest of the park will remain open. Mantooth said he hopes the community will come out to support the event, which will include concessions and informational displays for the public. “If the whole dam was full we’d be great,” he said.
To contact this reporter: cpark@arkansasonline. com
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