Technical highlights

Mechanical engineering

We, the mechanics team, face the great challenge of building a completely new vehicle in just two years. In order to achieve this task, we have formed expert groups, depending on personal skills and experience. Those are responsible for the development and design of individual modules such as the supporting structure, suspension and aerodynamics.

Constant contact among the groups as well as a continuous exchange with the electrical engineering team is basis of our effective development work. Technical questions are discussed immediately, while the definition of interfaces is a cooperated process, working hand in hand. We are convinced, that our project will be success because of that!

Electrical engineering

As the electrical engineering team, we deal with the electronics of our solar car. Our focus is on the development of the photovoltaic system to produce the electricity we need, the battery storage system as a permanent energy reserve and the electric motor as the main power source.

In our regular meetings, we work on the different topics surrounding the technics of the solar car in cooperation with our colleagues from the mechanics team.

Aerodynamics

An aerodynamic design is indispensable to be successful in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. Our department currently consists of six students from the areas aeronautical engineering, production engineering, energy engineering and computational engineering science. Thanks to the different areas of expertise, we are well equipped for the development and optimization of the aerodynamic shell of our Sonnenwagen.

Our goal is to develop a low-resistance, driving-stable and a driving performance optimized design for our solar car. We are confident that our developmental work will produce a first class design thanks to the latest CFD simulations, wind tunnel testing, intelligent system integration and continuous optimization model.

Driving Strategy

The construction of an outstanding solar car alone is not enough to win the World Solar Challenge in Australia. To be the first to cross the finish line, without any strategic failures, the team driving strategy is simulating the race route in advance.

These calculations help us to have an optimal driving strategy at hand during the race in any situation. In addition, we deal with weather forecasts and the communication with the support vehicles. Our team maintains a particularly close cooperation with the electrical and aerodynamics team and is the is providing advice in interpretation matters.