SOLAR CAR

With abundant sunshine, India is the perfect location for solar-powered technology. Now a team of
young engineers from Jodhpur, Rajasthan have created a solar car that they believe has the
potential to be globally competitive and available as a product for the masses, at an affordable price.

It is rightly said that the beginning is always the hardest. For the Aahan solar car project, there
were many obstacles to overcome, right from the start. The first was the idea and choosing the
reference to start from, followed by how to start. Second was the funding needed to turn a dream
into reality. Third was selecting a team which would dedicate themselves to the project as an army
on a mission to complete it. Thus, their journey started with guidance from proper mentors and a
perfect army of students.

The research started in September, when the team came across the Asia-level Solar Car
Competition,which is organised every year by the ISIE (Imperial Society of Innovative Engineers),
and decided to participate in it. For reference, they chose The World Solar Challenge, Australia.
Their aim was to build a car with all specifications and features, and to take part in The World Solar
Challenge, 2019, and to win it.

When the team began, many people asked, Why? Why solar? The answer was that the sun is the
ultimate source of energy which can never get depleted despite constant use, unlike petrol, diesel,
and other fossil fuels. The other aspect was the alarming rate at which fossil fuels are being used,
thereby increasing pollution levels and global warming, the major issue our planet is facing right
now. So, the idea was to find a cleaner, safer, and abundant source of energy which could power
anything. The answer, of course, was the Sun.

Thats why the team chose solar as the working fuel for the car.
The team comprises of 25 young engineers with the
passion to achieve anything, and the will to succeed,
along with faculty advisers Mr. Rakesh Narawat, Mr.
Mohit Ostwal, and Mrs. Kusum Agarwal. They were led
by Captain Kanishk Varshney and Vice-Captain
Aman Sachdeva, students of 3rd year Mechanical
Engineering at Jodhpur Institute of Engineering &
Technology, Rajasthan.

The first step was to divide the team into various

departments. The whole team was asked to research as
much as possible regarding their departments, and to
report back in a given interval. The herculean task of
arranging for funds for registration to the competition,
and of course build the Solar Car, was accomplished
through the co-operation of The Adarsh Credit Co-
operative Society Ltd., which agreed to all the terms and
conditions and was ready to fund the whole amount for
achieving the dream of building the Solar Car.
Technical support, and guidance for the solar system design as well as supply and
installation of the flexible solar panels and solar inverter used for driving the car, was
provided by Solar Universe, India (c/o Success Impex Pvt. Ltd.).

The aim from the start was to design the vehicle with all the specifications possible, and to build
something innovative which no one has ever seen in this domain before.

For designing a solar vehicle, the main focus is on the power system, which includes the motor, the
battery, and the solar array. The team also had to keep in mind all the guidelines and rules of the
competition they were about to take part in. According to the rules of the competition the motor
power is restricted to an upper limit of 2,000 watt. Hence, the team chose a 1,200 watt BLDC Hub
Motor.

The battery and the solar panels the main drivers of the vehicle had no restrictions. The most
obvious choice in batteries are Lead acid batteries. But these weigh quite a bit, and also require
regular upkeep and maintenance. For an electric solar-powered vehicle, weight is a major concern,
as the vehicle must be as light as possible, considering the limitations of the motor. The team hence
dropped the idea of using a lead acid battery, and thought of other alternatives, such as Lithium-Ion
and Lithium-Phosphate batteries. These are quite expensive, but weigh almost a third of the weight
of lead-acid batteries, and are of course much more efficient in terms of performance, durability, and
temperature resistance.

Since Lithium-Phosphate is the more expensive option, the team chose a lithium-ion
battery of 65 Ah and 2 C capacity to run the cars 1,200 watt BLDC hub motor.

For the solar panels, the team

could have chosen the stock-type
rooftop solar PV array with about
15 % efficiency that weighs
about 14 kgs. However,
the setup was going to be highly
unfeasible for the vehicle, which
needed five such solar panels.
Hence, the team decided to go for
semi-flexible-type solar panels
with an efficiency of 19.5 % that
could be mounted on the roof very
easily, weighed only about 1.50
kgs. per panel, and could take the
shape of the car by bending as
per its curves.
These solar panels are not readily
available in the Indian market, and
hence they were imported by the
teams technical partners, Solar
Universe, India.
A total of five such panels were used to produce more than half a kilowatt of power,
charging the cars lithium-ion battery bank in 5-6 hours under direct sunshineeasy
to find in India!

The top attainable speed with this configuration is 60 kmph, which could be increased by increasing
the motor power. However, since the team has rules to follow for the competition, they stuck to this
prototype for the time being.

The Solar Car will cost approximately INR 3-5 lakhs in the current market scenario, with no further
costs. It features the latest technology in modern vehicles, including a fingerprint scanner and
password protection. It also has GPS and NVS systems, along with solar tracker technology. The
teams electrical specialists Bhattesh Kumar, Mithun Gehlot, Aastha Shrivastava and Yashvardhan
installed these in the vehicle.

The body of the car is glass fibre, about one-third the weight of aluminium and twice as strong. The
chassis is built with strong MS AISI 1018. The solar car can sustain an impact of up to 2000 N to
protect the vehicle and the driver.

This marvel was possible thanks to the design team, consisting of Aakashdeep Singh, Tushant
Prajapat, and Jitesh Singh Chauhan.

People frequently asked the team a

question, Solar cars are not new, and many are
in production as we speak. So whats new and
different in your design? India still lags far
behind in producing a vehicle with capabilities
and features able to compete in the global
market. Cars made outside India, which cost
anywhere between INR 20-25 lakhs after import,
have inspired Aahans design. Aahan costs
almost one-sixth that amount, with the same
features and capabilities, and upgrade potential
as per market needs.
Aahan will participate in ESVC (Electric Solar Vehicle Championship), 2017, organised by the
ISIE under the Government of India. There are also plans to participate in the Indo-Asian Solar
Challenge, 2017, organised by Ashman Motors. The team also aims to participate in The World
Solar Challenge, Australia, the most prestigious event for solar products. Until then, the team
continues to work in silence, and prefers to let their success make the noise.