A team of eight students and two supervisors from DTU recently won 'Racing Aeolus Den Helder 2015'—the unofficial world championship for wind-powered vehicles being held for the eighth time.
This year, the DTU team fielded two cars—one mechanically propelled and one electrically propelled vehicle.The cars are powered exclusively by wind energy—they operate in a headwind while the wind turbine energy is transferred directly to the wheel axle.
Weak winds did not provide the best conditions for the WinDTUrbineracer, which is designed to perform optimally at wind speeds of up to 18 m/sec.
All the more surprisingly therefore that the team succeeded in defeating the world record holder from Canada and the other eight teams from the Netherlands, Turkey and Germany, achieving a speed equal to 62.51 per cent of wind speed.
‘Canadian Chinook ETS’ came in second with 50.05 per cent, while the German team ‘InVentus’ achieved a third place with 48.67 per cent.
The newly developed electric car, which is also designed to perform at wind speeds in excess of the prevailing conditions of 5 – 5.5 m/sec, was unable to complete the race. However, the race thoroughly tested its key components and the vehicle performed as expected.
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DTU
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62.51 per cent
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Chinook ETS
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50.05 per cent
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InVentus
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48.67 per cent
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Baltic Thunder
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42.35 per cent
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TeamSpirit
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40.52 per cent
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Anemo VII
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39.61 per cent
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Devir, ITU RAT
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14.55 per cent
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Havas Racing Team
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49.54 per cent (separate category)
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Han
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(didn’t race) |
DTU
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(Category for electrical car)
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