Energy Integrations is rolling out a brand new reference design package tailor-made particularly for solar-powered race vehicles as 37 scholar groups put together to race throughout the Outback within the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge beginning August 24.
The package, RDK-85SLR, options the PI™ InnoSwitch™3-AQ IC , which contains PI’s PowiGaN™ gallium-nitride swap expertise. The package is impressed by a design created by PI’s PowerPros℠ on-line help engineers in collaboration with the ETH Zurich aCentauri team, whose #85 ‘Silvretta’ challenger-class automotive is utilizing the design to maximise effectivity in its auxiliary energy provide.
“1000’s of engineering college students take part in solar car challenges all over the world every year, and these innovators will assist deliver a couple of extra sustainable future,” mentioned Andy Smith, director of technical outreach and coaching for Energy Integrations. “We’re offering this reference package to assist younger engineers reap the benefits of the most recent, most energy-efficient applied sciences, corresponding to PowiGaN, of their designs.”
The design package contains all the pieces wanted to create a 46-watt energy provide that delivers as much as 80 watts for brief intervals—making it perfect to be used as an auxiliary energy provide in a photo voltaic race automotive. It employs the corporate’s InnoSwitch3-AQ flyback energy provide IC with a extremely environment friendly PowiGaN swap and eliminates the necessity for a heatsink, enabling extra compact, light-weight, and cost-effective designs. Contents of the package embody a pattern energy provide, 4 InnoSwitch3-AQ ICs, and an unpopulated PCB. It’s backed by a report containing energy provide and magnetics transformer construct directions, schematics, a PCB structure information, a components checklist and complete efficiency knowledge. Dwell tech help is out there from Energy Integrations’ PowerPros workforce.
“We proved PowiGaN’s reliability, efficiency and effectivity within the Bridgestone World Photo voltaic Problem in 2023,” said Aaron Griesser, lead electrical engineer from the 2023 aCentauri workforce. “We achieved 95 p.c effectivity throughout each gentle and full hundreds with a broad output vary of 5 to 60 W. Moreover, the scrutineering judges had been astounded to see an auxiliary energy provide with no heatsink.”
Energy Integrations is a proud sponsor of the aCentauri workforce and can be reporting on the race from Mr. Green’s Blog and PI’s social media channels utilizing hashtag #PowiGaNVan.