UA Brings Solar Splash 2007 to Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — People in Northwest Arkansas will get a look at the sustainable future of boating next week, thanks to the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. Nineteen racing boats will compete for three days on Lake Fayetteville, and they won’t burn a drop of gas or diesel fuel. They are all-electric boats, powered by solar energy. With fuel prices at area lakes even higher than the record prices at local gas stations, boaters will have a chance to take a serious look at the possibilities offered by the racers in Solar Splash 2007.

Solar Splash, in its 14th year, is the world’s only international, intercollegiate solar electric boat design and race competition. Teams from 18 schools, including one from Canada and another from Turkey, are scheduled to attend. Each team is responsible for designing its own boat and power system. Boats are scored on how they look, how well they are built and how well they operate, in addition to their performance on the lake.

The solar energy event will be held on Lake Fayetteville from Wednesday, June 13, to Sunday, June 17. The event is free and the public is welcome. This is the second consecutive year the UA College of Engineering is hosting the event on Lake Fayetteville. The Solar Splash is scheduled to be held on the lake for the next four years.

The University of Arkansas is defending world champion in the Solar Splash competition, and this year’s teams hope to double their chances for a repeat win, entering two boats in the races. A multidisciplinary team of electrical and mechanical engineering students has been “tweaking” the design of last year’s winner, while coming up with a totally new design for a two-hulled catamaran. The contest is definitely a learning experience for all the students involved.

“Many of the challenges that the students encounter in designing the solar boat are the same as those encountered in professional engineering practice, such as being able to reliably operate in a harsh environment for temperature, moisture and vibration,” said Roy McCann, associate professor of electrical engineering and adviser for the electrical team. It’s that team’s job to get the most power from the sun to run the boat, obviously a key to winning the competition.

“One of the challenges is the effect of changing weather conditions on the boats’ performance,” said McCann. “We have a new set of electronics that automatically compensates for changes in cloud cover and wind speed and maintains the best solar energy conversion levels.”

The teams aren’t concerned about the extra work that went into preparing two boats for the competition.

“We didn’t want to give up a reasonably good shot at repeating as champs,” said Bill Springer, associate professor of mechanical engineering and adviser for the mechanical team. “But we also needed to begin to experiment with some things that may really help the team be more competitive in the long run. After all, the only thing better than winning is finishing both first and second.”

Last year the Arkansas team couldn’t claim victory until it won the final race on the final day of the event. This year the second- and third-place teams, Cedarville University and the U.S. Naval Academy, will be returning to challenge the Razorback engineers.

“Cedarville will be especially tough; they won in 2004 and 2005,” said Springer. “You know the Naval Academy will be competitive, but the Canadian team is always strong, and so is South Carolina. Plus there are two teams we’ve never seen before, so we have to be prepared to do our best.”

The official competition begins Wednesday morning, June 13, with technical inspections that continue through the next morning. The racing starts Thursday and Friday, June 14 and 15, when the solar boats will be timed on a qualifying course and a slalom course. Friday afternoon the teams get to show off their boats’ speed in the 300-meter sprint races, scheduled to finish on Sunday. The endurance competition, in which boats try to go as far as possible in 2 hours, is scheduled for Saturday, June 15. The Saturday and Sunday events could be switched, depending on the weather.

“We hope the catamaran will dominate in the endurance competition,” said David Darch, who has been working on the designs of both boats. “We’ve made the 'Red Boat’ [last year’s winner] more maneuverable, and expect to improve our performance in the sprints and slalom. It should do well in endurance as well.”

The city of Fayetteville is one of the many local and national sponsors for the Solar Splash. City tourism officials see the event as a unique attraction for local people, and a great way to bring visitors to Fayetteville.

“Solar Splash is not only a fun and exciting event for Fayetteville to host but it’s exactly the type of event that fits in with Fayetteville’s passion for sustainability,” said Allyson Twiggs, director of the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau. “We look for events that enhance what Fayetteville already has to offer, and Solar Splash does just that.”

Highlighting the environmental theme of the Solar Splash competition, this year’s keynote speaker will be Charles Zimmerman, vice president and head of the Sustainable Buildings Network for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Zimmerman is a graduate of the UA College of Engineering.  He’ll talk about the strategies Wal-Mart is putting into effect to become more energy- and materials-efficient throughout its worldwide operations. He’ll speak to the Solar Splash team members at 5:30 p.m., June 13, in Giffels Auditorium, Old Main. His lecture is free and open to the public.