Static scrutineering

Tuesday was quite a day for the UKZN solar car team, being the first to undergo static scrutineering – basically testing whether the car complies with the rules. The team arrived early at the Darwin Royal Showgrounds and offloaded the car from the trailer and readied it to enter the scrutineering arena. Of the team, only seven members were allowed on the floor while the car was being scrutineered, while everyone else could watch the proceedings from the balcony above. But first for registration, which was simply signing in - we did receive an official lanyard though, to be worn at all times!

Team arriving.

Team UKZN almost in the house!

When the car was let in the door, it had to pass scrutiny at six stations:

Badging – the car was given the official Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) decal to add to the car, both left and right sides, and the officials also checked the other BWSC decal branding on the front of the car.

Unveiling the car.

Behold!

Bridgestone World Solar Challenge decal!

Array measurement – here the length and breadth of the car was measured. It was also put into the position it would be in when being charged by the sun (in our case turned on its side) and checked to make sure it was below a certain height, as well as being self-supporting. This was done because the car has to be within a certain volume envelope, and with these measurements the officials could determine this. The car was also weighed coming in at a whopping 227 kg.

Driver weigh in – this station involved everything concerning the drivers. Each driver was weighed in, and those under 80 kg were given a ballast bag as the official minimum driver weight is 80kg. Each driver was also timed during an emergency exit. They also checked that the drivers were able to get out of the car independently in case of an emergency, as well as that the drivers were protected in the case of the car flipping. The helmets were also checked that they complied with safety standards. Driver vision ahead and behind, and all warning lights on the car were checked.

Electrical – here the top shell was taken off and the wiring of the panels, as well as the wiring of car, was checked. This station was essentially to check the safety of the high voltage system.

Batteries – at this station the battery pack was taken out of the car to check the number of cells, as well as the weight of the pack (there is a maximum weight limit of 20 kg). Officials also inspected the general safety of the battery pack. To ensure that teams did not change the battery pack last minute officials sealed the pack, and took a photo to compare at the end of the race.

On road – the car was checked for general road-worthiness by Australian road officials. As the team had already gone through this process when they did road testing a few days ago, this was a quick process.

While the car was moving through the six stations the rest of the team watched from above, showing team support, and being proudly South African! It was very interesting to watch as various other cars came through for their round of scrutineering, and how ours compared!

Although there were some minor issues these were all fixed while at the showgrounds, and we had green stickers all round! A green round at scrutineering deserved a celebratory supper, and the team headed down to the beach for drinks and delicious fish, calamari, and chips for supper while watching the sunset. Beautiful!

Cheers, Minke