DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF SOLAR POWERED COMPOSITE RACE CAR

摘要

The design and manufacture processes of epoxy based composite components for a solar powered race vehicle are considered in this paper. The following components of the solar car were manufactured from composite materials: upper and lower shells, front rims, driver's seat, wheel spat and canopy. The moulds for all these components were also designed and manufactured at the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal. The components and moulds were modelled using CAD software Solid Edge. The finite element analysis software package MSC Nastran was used in the strength analysis of the components with the conditions expected during racing providing the loading. The composite materials used for the manufacture of the various components for the solar car allows for a reduction in the mass of the car and therefore an improvement in overall performance and efficiency.