College - Author 1
College of Engineering
Department - Author 1
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 2
College of Engineering
Department - Author 2
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 2
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 3
College of Engineering
Department - Author 3
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 3
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 4
College of Engineering
Department - Author 4
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 4
BS in Mechanical Engineering
Date
3-2021
Primary Advisor
Peter Schuster, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department
Additional Advisors
John Fabijanic, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department
Abstract/Summary
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) hosts the Solar Regatta every year in Rancho Seco, CA, a competition which consists of teams building a solar powered boat to compete in three races: the sprint race, endurance race, and slalom race. The Cal Poly Solar Regatta team was informed mid-project by SMUD that the competition has been canceled once again for spring 2021, but the team decided to move forward with the construction of the boat. The previous Cal Poly team from 2019/2020 designed the hull and propulsion system of the boat. The 2020/2021 team worked with the previous team in order to build a fully functional boat. The goal of this project was to design and build a solar-tracking mechanism and the power management system that not only maximizes the power output but also meshes with the previous team’s hull and propulsion system design. Due to certain restrictions put in place on campus because of COVID-19 and other minor delays, an alternative plan was put in place to see through regatta teams once the competition opens back up again.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/mesp/576