[image:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/supersolarjetcarcopy.jpg]

Solar cells for electricity, which power the microwave.  Inside the
microwave is a glass of water, and as the microwave heats the water, it
turns to steam.  Then, the steam shoots out the pipe that is attached to
a hole in the microwave door.  It has to be a muffler, though, or it
will whistle like a kettle.  And this steam shooting out is like a
rocket!  A super hot steamy rocket!  (Bonus: wet t-shirt contests in
your rearview).  I suggest driving the car along marathon routes, so
you can collect water from the little refreshment tables along the way
to refill the glass inside the microwave.  And since those solar cells
cost so much, get an old beater bus to follow behind you incase you
have to get back to class and the car just isn't quick enough.

MPWR Wrote:

Andy I believe it is? (Correct me if I have the wrong name.) At the
time I posted, I was not sure what the exact question was. There was
the possibility of him wanting to build a model of an electric car
design. After his latest post I have moved this topic to the "most"
appropriate forum.

MPWR Wrote:

I couldnt have said it better!

Do we have a 1:1 kit car forum Mike?

And I'm sorry rsbandi. Welcome to AF!!:) This is, however, a scale
modeling section. You know..small plastic kits n stuff. But I don't
know where to point you on this forum otherwise. We are trying to be as
helpfull as possible, if not, rying to be comical at least to make you
feel welcomed:) Good luck on your build tho. PM Mike if you have
problems. He is scratchbuilding a model of his own, and might be able
to point you to some tips on metalwork and plan building. And agian,
good luck dude:)

thanks you very much to one and all for ur prompt replies...actually i
dont want u to do all the stuff..i want to get some information
regarding the materials that can be used...in building  body..and some
stuff like... calculating the frictional resistance and drag and all
teh stuff..actually we are not developing we are just doing the design
and modelling thats it

Ok.  Let me see if I've got it correct.  You are going to basically be
doing what a car manufacturer does for a concept car.  You are going to
design the car as if it were going to be full scale, and then you are
going to build a small scale model to represnt it?  Before it would
theoretically be built to test it before spending tons of money on the
real thing?  If so, then you wouldn't really need to use carbon fiber
and the like in the scale model.  If I am on the right track, the next
question is, once the model is built, will it then advance to the
actual construction stages?  Is this a school project or corporate?

You are getting a Master's in engineering design, and you are typing
like that asking for our help? You need to learn quickly, regardless of
the setting, how to type professionally, especially when you are asking
questions like yours. My other question is why would you be coming to a
car forum like this to ask questions about your graduate level
engineering work when (big assumption, correct me if I'm wrong please)
a majority of the people responding will not have an engineering
background?

As far as your question goes, take my advice for what you will. I am an
undergraduate mechanical engineer working on a car for the Formula SAE
competition (half scale Formula 1 style race cars powered by a 600CC
motorcycle engine) in which we have to design the car ourselves from
the ground up. A configuration of one wheel in the front and two in the
back would give you the easiest steering setup and would be less awkward
to deliver power. One wheel in the back will, however, give you less
rotational interia the motor needs to overcome during acceleration, and
will provide less DIRECT rolling resistance. While its possible to make
it otherwise, one wheel in the front will generally give you better
aerodynamics in a three wheel set up. Aerodynamics will be key to
traveling at the speeds you require for the length of time you require.

Weight is also a major factor for your vehicle. You'll get a nice stiff
chassis out of steel, but it will be heavy. You can use aluminum to
fairly easily achieve the same stiffness for less weight, but its more
costly and much more difficult to weld (I'm assuming you'd be using
this assembly process). Carbon Fiber would likely be one of your best
choices, but that would be extremely expensive and would likely have to
be outsourced.

As far as the frictional resistance and drag, no one will be able to
answer your questions because its completely dependant on your design.
As a graduate level engineer, you should know how to test for that.
Once you have a basic design, many modeling packages will have some
type of simulation where you can run and get an estimate on the
variables for which you are looking. When you say you are using
Inventor Pro, do you mean AutoDesk Inventor? Do you have the ANSYS
Workbench package to go with that program?