THESIS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am heartily thankful to all who helped reach my goal and would like to acknowledge them:
• Mr. Ravi Hiraparar, for guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to manufacture such an invention and as an engineer that could solve any problem given to him.
• Mr. Rakesh Vaja, as a supplier who supplied with the Motor and the D.C. Controller for my invention, of Emco Engineers.
• Vimal Electronics, for supplying me with the Solar Panel and the Battery for my bike.
• Mr. Vilakshan Murarka, my father, for completely supporting me in successfully creating the invention and also his company, Fairfield Service Company, for sponsoring me in the manufacturing of my project.
• Krishna Auto Care, for letting me work at their garage or their station, for connecting the electrical parts of my bike such as Motor and Battery.
• Hero Cycles, for supplying me with the bike and also the parts of my bike such as brakes, wheel etc.
• Murarka Pvt. Ltd. for letting me make the sprocket needed for my bike.
• Mr. Jitendra Pandey, for helping me in improving my thesis.
• Mr. Himanshu Raval, for guiding me in this project.
• Mr. Nirav Patel for guiding me in this project.
• Mr. Kailash Tahiliani for guiding me in this project.
• Kerry Stantz, an electrical engineer in a company in the U.S. named Powerdrive, for helping me with the electrical part in the project.


INTRODUCTION
“I don’t know how World War III would be fought, but I know World War IV would be fought with sticks and stones”
- Albert Einstein
Our Earth is billions of years old, evolving every year, trying to make it green again. The plants are trying to make it free of green house gases, specifically carbon-dioxide, through the process of photosynthesis. But we humans are destroying the plants, or as said following the process of deforestation which is leading to an alarming rise in the green house gases level.
Today’s technology has reached at a level where it has started to consume more of fossil fuels which are the non-renewable resources or the resources that take millions of years to form and when consumed, they release huge amounts of green house gases such as carbon dioxide that causes global warming as it traps the heat energy from the Sun, hence increasing the temperature of the Earth. We humans are starting to act like parasites by using our host’s or Earth’s body for our benefits and causing harm to it, for example: Global Warming, Pollution and destruction to its key organ or the Resources.
There are many ways to decrease the rate of global warming. One way is to use non-conventional sources of producing energy in the place of fossil fuels. There are many non-conventional sources of producing energy, some are:
 Tidal energy: Tidal energy is the utilization of the Sun’s and Moon’s gravitational forces, because of the movement of the rotation of the Earth and the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon the tides are formed and because of the movement of the tides a water wheel is created which surrounds a turbine which rotates and produces electricity and this method is also called Hydropower electricity.
 Geothermal energy: geothermal energy is a form of energy that is produced with the help of the steam produced when the absorbed heat is released and the steam produced turns a turbine and hence electricity is produced.
 Wind Energy: Wind energy is the production of energy with the help of wind turbines which are also called wind mills. The wind mills turn and the turbine located in the wind mill also turn and hence electricity is produced.
 Biogas: Biogas is an energy produced through the fermentation or anaerobic digestion of organic matter in the absence of oxygen and which comprises mainly of methane and carbon dioxide which can be used for cooking and nowadays natural gas is produced which can be used as a fuel to run motor vehicles.
 Solar Energy: The generation of electricity with the help of photovoltaic cells which convert the light from the Sun to electrical energy which can be used to run appliances at home and can be used as fuel to run motorized vehicles.
My goal is to engineer such a bike that would function and run with the power generated from the conversion of solar energy, a renewable source of energy which doesn’t cause pollution, into electrical energy and then the conversion of the electrical energy to mechanical energy that results in no release of greenhouse gases and hence no occurrence of the phenomenon of global warming which also keeps the human healthy, as the bike would only get enough power from the motor to allow the human to give half the effort the human originally gave, and gives the earth a longer and healthy life. For example: If a man’s weight is 50 kg, then on my bike, while riding he would feel as if he is applying force to push only 25 kg i.e. half the man’s weight.
I got the inspiration of engineering a solar bike by looking at the plants that how they are trying to replenish the health of the Earth, so I thought that why not I also help them by contributing my small invention to improve the health of the Earth.
I chose to engineer a solar bike as:
 To save the planet from its illness or also called global warming as it is a renewable source of energy.
 To keep the humans healthy by creating a machine that doesn’t cause any pollution.
 It saves the non-renewable resources of the planet.
I chose to engineer a solar bike over the other non-conventional methods of producing energy as solar energy is the cleanest of all the other types of non-conventional energies and is also cheaper and can be relied on. For example: Instead of solar energy I could have taken a hydrogen bike but the demerits of hydrogen is that it is a highly flammable gas and is dangerous to use in public basis, and hydrogen isn’t available as easily as solar energy and the amount of hydrogen need to run a motorized vehicle can only be created through the burning of fossil fuels, so to create hydrogen we would actually need to cause pollution in huge amounts. The rate of feasibility of such types of solar machines is also high as people are starting to get aware of the phenomenon of global warming and the result that would happen if the phenomenon continues and hence people have started to buy products which use non-conventional methods of fuels rather than fossil fueled products. Such a car/bike has been a manufactured by many industries and many people. For example: Twenty-eight year old Rafi Alam has designed and manufactured a bike which can charge the battery with the help of two non-conventional fuels simultaneously, which are solar and wind power.
During my project I hoped to learn many things and many new terms which will help me increase my knowledge in engineering and increase my vocabulary of scientific terms which will further help me in understanding the concepts that are required for me to learn in order to finish my bike.
I intend to achieve my goal by creating a design that gave an outline of what I am going to do and then I had to find the answers that what kind of motor I was going to use and also what kind of battery would I need and also what kind and what size of solar panel would I need to run my bike perfectly? Then I would have to find the parts and then think how I am going to connect the parts so that the demerits of the cycle are not many and then test the bike.
I have chosen to build or manufacture a solar bike and hence my Area of Interaction would be Environments as it focuses on the wider place of human beings in the world and how we create and affect our environments and my bike is an invention, that I had thought of by keeping all the conditions surrounding us that is, the natural, built and virtual. The following are the questions that my AOI encourages me to answer:
• What are our Environments?
• What resources do we have or need?
• What are my responsibilities?
The above questions helped to develop positive and responsible attitudes, and to gain the motivations and skills and commitment to my environments.


PROCESS
There were many steps that took me to reach the floor that completed my product, some steps were easy but others were as hard. I had encountered many problems in the production of the bike and some were as hard to solve as the gears of the cars that is we don’t get the right control if the gear we put is not accurate. The steps that took me to the roof of the building were as follows:
 I first put together all the research that I had done, all the formulas (See Appendix 1) and the equations.
 Then I started by combining my research and forming different designs of my bike in software called Autodesk Inventor (See Appendix 2 & 3) to come up with the best and the most effective design of my bike that would surely work.
 Then I started with the parts that I would need and the calculations that were need to be done with the formulas that I had found to get the right parts and also I put together the final design of my bike in a 2 Dimensional (See Appendix 4) and 3 Dimensional (See Appendix 5) drawings. It is important of for the project to have the specific parts needed for the bike as, if the specifications are not correct or according to the part it is going to be connected to, the result may be hazardous. The following are the parts I need, to connect and complete my Solar Bike in a running state:
1. Motor
2. VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) or D.C. Controller
3. Solar Panel
4. Battery
5. Back Wheel of the Bicycle(Bike)
6. Free Wheel of a Bicycle(Bike)
7. Sprocket
8. Metal Rods
9. Chain
 Then after the calculations and finding the specifications of the motor and the panel, etc. I started with the investigation, that where would I find the right motor with the right battery, and the battery that gets charged through solar panel and the solar panel that will charge the battery. I investigated in the most highly developed are of the city Ahmedabad, which was Relief Road because if I can’t find the right motor, solar panel or battery at any other place in Ahmedabad, then I can surely find it at Relief Road. But to my astonishment I found that I couldn’t get my battery or motor or panel from Relief Road together in a kit as I had thought, so when we failed to accomplish our goal of purchasing our materials in a kit we decided to purchase our materials in pieces and hence the first piece which I needed in the manufacturing of my bike was a motor so to find the right motor we went to a shop which sells heavy industrial motors, the shop’s name was Sheetal Industrial Motors and we tried to find the specified motor but the owner told us that they only sold motors that are need to run heavy industrial machines and not to run small machines such as a solar bike, but they informed us about a shop called Emco Engineers that sold motors for projects such as mine. The shop was a long drive from the place and was in a region called Vatva. We met the owner, Rakesh Vaja of the shop and discussed with him about my project and he told us that he had the specified motor and so hence we discussed with him that we would also be needing a D.C. controller from my bike and he said that he would try to find a person that makes D.C. to D.C. Controller because these controllers are tough and tedious to manufacture. The next thing I need was a solar panel to charge my battery which also had to be of the specifications of the battery that was needed to run the motor, but the problem we were facing was that as the power usage of the motor increases so does the amount of power that needs to be generated and because we need enough of battery back to run the motor for some amount of time the storing capacity of the battery also increases and so do the amount of solar cells need to generate that much amount of power and hence the size. The size of the of the solar panels matters the most because if the size is too big then it is not feasible to fit the solar panel on the bike and hence the purpose of creating a solar bike isn’t solved and also that the cost of the solar panel because a solar panel which generates minimum voltage would cost us around Rs. 5,000 and the solar panels are so fragile that if accidently the bike falls then the solar panel would break and hence the whole project would go to waste. These were the points that we discussed when we met the owner, Alpesh Patel of Vimal Electronics. But we got to know that even a small panel which can produce only 3-4 amperes of current can also charge the battery hence we saw the smallest panel which had a appropriate size to fit on the extra back seat that is the panel which was feasible to fit on the extra seat on the back. We also discussed with him that is he had the battery of the specifications I needed and he said that he had the battery. So finally we I had found all the parts need for my bike hence I could finally start creating my bike.
 After that I created a budget (See Appendix 6) for me, that is the cost of the whole project according to me and I thought about where to start with in creating the bike, for example: should I start by attaching the motor or start by attaching the solar panel?
 Then I bought the parts from the dealers that are the Motor and the D.C. Controller from Emco Engineers and the Solar Panel and the Battery from Vimal Electronics.
 Hereafter, I started with the production of the bike by talking to a welder, because there was a stand that was needed to be built in order to hold the motor in place, the welder said he could do it and hence the stand for the motor was made according to the specifications and the stand was to be built in such a way that the motor’s sprocket was in perfect alignment, that is center to center, with the free wheel of the bike so that the chain doesn’t break or jump of the track. We also needed a stand for the solar panel on the back seat or the extra seat on the bike which the welder said he could do it (See Appendix 7).
 After the welding work was finished I went to a cycle shop with my mentor and started with assembling of the chain on the sprocket of the motor and the free wheel (See Appendix 8).
 After the chain was assembled, we started with connecting the battery to the bike by tying the battery on to the horizontal rod of the cycle which connects the seat and the steering of the cycle (See Appendix 9).
 Then we, that is me and my mentor started with the assembling of the Motor, D.C. Controller, Battery and Solar Panel (See Appendix 10).
 So after hours of tedious work we finished the wiring of the bike and finished my invention (See Appendix 11).
The best way to create my invention would be the way I had followed as it was the most effective way of creating the bike and it is the only way to create the product as we have tried all different methods in the designs formed by me and the result is that they don’t work.
There were many changes that I had made in the original design (See Appendix 12) such as first I had thought of putting the motor on the back wheel and change the whole axle of the bike but the result was that the process would destroy the whole bike and if the motor is attached on the back then the pedal of the bike would also move, as the motor is moving which meant that the person would have to pedal the whole time instead of sometimes. The further changes that I had made in the bike were that first we had thought of running the whole cycle on electricity and not just help in pedaling but the result was that the size of the panel had increased to a size where it wasn’t feasible to manufacture such a bike.
To help me create the product I had a prior knowledge of creating virtual designs of an object, hence I could create a virtual design of the bike which would help me to visualize that actually how the bike would look when I will make a specific change or how the end product would look and I also had the knowledge of electrical devices that is I knew where to connect, how to connect and when to connect the electrical wires hence I could connect the Motor, D.C. Controller, Battery and Solar Panel without any problem.
I had learned many new skills during the project such as:
 The alignment of the sprockets should be perfect otherwise the chain would jump off its track.
 I also have to keep in mind the limitations of my project and not just the advantages.
 What are the different parts of the bike such as the free wheel or the sprocket?
 What is meant by a bearing and a coil of the motor?
 What is meant by Torque or Horse power?
I had learned all these new terms by listening to the engineer when he talked with the dealers that what kind and what type of motor we needed and also when we were doing the welding h had a talk with the welders that where to and how to make the stand for the motor so that the alignment of the sprocket of the motor and the free wheel of the wheel is perfect.
This is all I learned and then applied to perfectly manufacture my invention of Solar Bike.


ANALYSIS & EVALUATION
ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH
The research I did helped me in making the right design for my bike so that I could get the maximum speed and a machine that could resist strong amounts of load and my research also helped me in decreasing the demerits of my invention and increasing the merits.
The research that I did included:
• Research on similar products.
• Research on people who have tried to make similar products.
• Research to get background information on what is a Motor, D.C. Controller, Battery or Solar Panel.
• Research on the formulas of calculating the specifications needed for the Motor, D.C. Controller, Battery, and Solar Panel.
• Research on where to find these products at an affordable rate.
• Research on how to and where to connect the devices.
• Research on the people who would help me so that the job is done right.
I chose to do all this research so that the information I get can help we manufacture an effective means of transportation which not only takes care of the health or the human being or the rider of the transportation but also the Earth, and the transportation that is my bike would have more of advantages rather than limitations.
I had learned many new things such as what was meant by Power factor or what was meant by D.C. Current or what were the differences between A.C. and D.C. Current and which one was better for my bike?, from my research that helped me improve my product.
I had changed many gears in my original idea of making the bike, especially the position of the motor. These changes were necessary because I had to keep in mind the two most important factors of my bike that were the speed and the load so to get the maximum speed and the highest capacity of resisting a load I made the changes.
My chosen Area of Interaction also influenced my research because I go to know what to research and what are the questions that I needed to answer to have a better understating of how to create such a product. My Area of Interactions connected to the project because I had engineered such a bike that was electronically based and yet I didn’t cause any pollution because it ran with the help of a solar panel fitted on the back of the bike.


ANALYSIS & EVALUATION OF PROCESS AND OUTCOMES
I had finally achieved my goal of manufacturing a solar bike, as I have created a fully functioning bike (See Appendix 13) that can run with the help from solar energy during daytime and at night can run with the help of the stored solar energy that is in the battery to ease human effort while pedaling the bike. I have achieved my goal by using series of integrated steps. My goal was completely realistic because I have creates such a machine that keeps the Earth’s health appropriate and also the human’s body fit because my bike needs pedaling time after time but the force applied to run the bike is slacked.
I have also deepened my knowledge of my AOI that is Environments through the research and the process involved in creating my invention, I have learned that our environments not only include the physical and chemical composition but also the virtual thinking through which we have evolved.
I also had to research many things for my project so that I could get the right parts for my bike, I research had helped me a lot to get the position of the part such as the motor perfectly right so that nothing happens to the part if any damage is done to the bike because parts like the D.C. Controller and the Solar Panel are very fragile. Although there were problems in my research such as where to or how to find the formulas of calculating the specifications of parts such as the motor were solved easily through the help of my mentor.
My creation was successful as I had imagined it to be, it worked perfectly with me riding it (See Appendix 13). But as every creation has its merits and demerits, my bike also had its demerits such as the speed of the bike very slow because the capacity of the motor is very less because if the we ride the capacity of the motor the battery’s storage capacity also needs to be risen up and hence the solar panels producing capacity which gives a mammoth rise in the size of the panel and the project is not feasible then, these problems were solved by thinking critically over the problems and solving them for example the above problem was solved by decreasing the capacity of the at an extent at which the user has less fatigue. If I want to change anything in the product, then it would be the place of the motor in my bike is a place where there are the most vibrations which could damage the motor and the product would go to waste, and I would also want to change the capacity of the motor and rise it up a little bit which wouldn’t cause an alarming rise in the size of the panel so that the speed of the bike also improves and the resistance of the bike to carry a heavier load.

CONCLUSION
My project was fulfilled by the help of using many different ways. Some were very tedious such as calculating the type of motor or the solar panel needed through the formulas or getting the perfect alignment of the motor’s sprocket and the freewheel of the cycle (bike). But other steps of my bike were very interesting and exciting such as the wiring of the bike or the welding of my bike. The best part of my whole process was the wiring of the bike as I enjoy doing electrical work; the outcome of doing the electrical work is always suspense because if we connect the same wires in different manners then the outcome is always different.
I also have learned many new things by doing this project such as I didn’t know that there was a special battery for charging through a solar panel and not a regular battery. I also learned many new objects in a vehicle such as the VFD or the Variable Frequency Drive through which we control the speed of the vehicle.
During my attempt of conquering obstacles to reach my goal I have deepened my knowledge about my AOI that is Environments, I have learnt that Environments doesn’t only mean physical appearance or the chemical nature but also the virtual imagination.
To continue expanding my knowledge that would also help me improve my project would be the topic solar panels as I want to conquer all the aspects of the topic to answer the one question in my mind that is, Today’s technology is having a mammoth rise in production and is shifting gears again and again to improve itself, it is using more and more use of fuel so how can the solar panels be of any help?


BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following are the websites that I had referred to for my project:
"Renewable Energy -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 21 Aug. 2009. .
:: DC Motors, PMDC Motors, Electric Motor, Gear Motors, Permanent Magnet Motor, Magnet Motor-ROTOMAG ::. Web. 3 Sept. 2009. .
"DC-DC Controller Regulates Low Output Voltages Page of." Power Electronics Technology Magazine Online | Power Electronics Engineer, IEEE, Battery, Power Supply Page of. Web. 3 Sept. 2009. .
"Race Calculator." El Demonio Rojo. Web. 19 Sept. 2009. .
Www.vimalelectronics.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .
"Solar Batteries - Solar Batteries Manufacturers,Solar Batteries Suppliers & Exporters." Business Directory,India Business Directory,India Exporter Importer,Business India,Business Directory Yellow Pages,India. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. .