Students at the University of Johannesburg have taken on the task of producing the faculty's first solar-powered car(s) with the intention of taking on the best of the best at the South African Solar Challenge.

ILANGA II

At the heart of the solar powered vehicle is an aluminium space-frame chassis together with pushrod double wishbone front suspension and rear swing arm suspension. Ilanga was designed in accordance with the FIA and World Solar Regulations. The outer body of the vehicle is supported by lightweight ribs and stringers with solar power converters arranged as shown (green boxes). The fibreglass shell of the vehicle has been designed to be as aerodynamic as possible while still being aesthetically pleasing and providing sufficient surface area for solar panels.

The solar cells have been arranged in five arrays or segments, with the arrays incorporating a maximum power point tracking system to ensure maximum cell efficiency. A set of lithium technology batteries will act as an energy buffer to power the vehicle when the solar power is insufficient. Managing the energy flow between the solar panels, the battery pack, and the permanent magnet synchronous motor is a critical control problem that will maximize the vehicle efficiency, range, and speed. The system also incorporates a health and usage monitoring system which records information on power consumption, cell and motor temperature and available solar energy.

WARREN HURTER - PROJECT LEADER

Warren is a Qualified Mechanical Engineer working towards a masters degree. He was chosen to Project Manager the UJ Solar team, and will also be designing a survival cell (to FIA specs) as well as the suspension steering and braking system for Ilanga II. 

On the prototype Ilanga in 2011 Warren was the project manager, chassis designer, power train designer and solar cell encapsulation organiser. His goal for 2012 is to put the University of Johannesburg on the map by producing a second competitive solar vehicle to represent the university at the South African Solar Challenge.

CONTACTS

LINKS:

http://www.ujsolar.co.za/

SOLAR CAR TEAMS

 

ORGANISATION A-Z	CAR'S NAME	TEAM NAME
Aristotle Uni of Thessaloniki, Helios	Helios	Faculty of Engineering
Arizona Solar Racing Team - USA		Arizona Solar Racing Team
Ashiya University - Japan	Sky Ace TIGA	Solar Car Project
Auburn University	Sol of Auburn	Sol of Auburn
Aurora Team, Australia	Aurora	Aurora Vehicle Association
Bochum Solar Car Team		Das SolarCar der Fachhochschule
California Poly S University	SLO Burn  Sidewinder	San Luis Obispo
Cambridge University		Eco Racing Team
Clarkson Uni Solar Car Team, USA		The Solar Knights
Delft University - Holland	NUNA I & II 2003
Dell Winston School	The Hunter	Solar Car Challenge
Desert Rose, Northern Territory Uni	FUJI DESERT ROSE
Drexel SunDragon Home Page
Durham University		Solar Car Racing Team
École de technologie supérieure Quebec	Eclipse V (5)	Éclipse Vehicular Solaire
École Polytechnique de Montréal	Esteban
Eko-Auto  Poland	Eko-Auto
Electron Analytic Corporation	Dark Horse	EAC Skunkworks
George Washington University		George Washington Uni Solar Car
Georgia Institute of Technology	Solar Jackets	Solar Jackets
GWAWR Cymru solar car		Solar Car Wales.co.uk
Heliodet, Germany	Heliodet	Heliodet, Solar Car Team
Helios - Lille, France	Hélios IV	Hautes Etudes d'Ingénieur
Heliox Solar Car Team	Héliox	Dominic de Vries
Honda Car Company	Honda
Illinois State University	Surya, Ratha, Mercury	Illinois State University Team
Iowa State University	Fusion	Team PrISUm
Jonasun  Japan	Orbit	Solar Car Paviion
Kansas State University	Paragon	Solar Car Racing Team
K-Con	Solar Wing
Los Altos Academy of Engineering		Los Altos Solar Car Team
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Tesseract	MIT
McGill University Monteal, Canada	iSun	Team iSun
McMaster University	Phoenix	McMaster Uni Solar Car Project
Messiah College Grantham, Penns	Genesis II	Genesis II Solar Racing Team
Michigan State University		Solar Racing Team
Michigan Technological University		Solar Car Team
Minnesota S Uni-Mankato/Winona S Uni		Minnesota Solar Car Team
North Dakota State University	The Double Deuce	Sunsetters - Solar Race Team
Northwestern University	N'Uvation	Northwestern University
Nuon Solar Team, Netherlands	Nuon 3	Het Nuon Solar Team
Osaka Sangyo University, Japan	OSU model S	Solar Car Team
Prairie View A&M University	Solaris	Sun Panthers
Principia College	RA 6	Principia College Solar Car Team
Purdue University	SPOT 2	Purdue University Solar Racing
Queen's University Canada	Radiance  Gemini	Queen's Solar Vehicle Team
Red River College	Red River Raycer	Red River College Solar Car Team
Rice University		Rice University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology		Rose-Hulman Solar Car Team
Southern Illinois Uni Edwardsville	Cougar Cruiser	Southern Illinois University
South Bank University, UK	Mad Dog	South Bank Mad Dog Team
South Dakota School Mines & Tech	Solar Motion	South Dakota Solar Motion Team
Southern Taiwan University Tech		Southern Taiwan Solar Team
Stanford University	Solstice	Stanford Solar Car Project
Tamagawa University - Japan		Tamagawa Solar Challenge Project
Team Futura, Italy	FUTURA 2	Team Futura
Team Solaris	Solaris 1 & 2	Dokuz Eylül & Ege University
Team SunLake - Japan	Phaethon model	Team SunLake TOYOBO
Texas A&M University	Columbia Sunraycer	Texas A&M Motorsports Team
The Power of One  - Toronto	Xof1	The Xof1 solar car team
Tufts University	ANNE E. B. II	Nerd Girls
University of Alberta		University of Alberta Team
University of Arizona	Drifter	Solar Racing Team
University of Calgary		UC Calgary Solar Car Team
University of California-Berkeley	CalSol	California Calsol Team
University of Delhi		Project Solaris
University of Johannesburg	Ilanga II	UK Solar Car website
University of Kansas	Solution, CATalyst	KSU Solar Car Racing Team
University of Kentucky	Gato del Sol II	Solar Car Team
University of Massachusetts	Spirit of Mass 413	Lowell Solar Racing Team
University of Michigan	Momentum	University of Michigan
University of Minnesota	Borealis III	U of M Solar Vehicle Project
University of Missouri -  Columbia	Suntiger VI	The Mizzou Solar Car Project
University of Missouri -  Rolla	Solar Miner V	Solar Minor Car Team
University of North Dakota	Subzero 3	Team SubZero
University of Ontario Institute of Tech		UOI Solar Vehicle Team
Uni of New South Wales SCR Team	UNSW Sunswift III	New South Wales SCR Team
University of Patras, Hermes		Solar Car Team
University of Pennsylvania	Keystone	Penn Solar Racing
University of Queensland	Sunshark	Queensland Solar Team
University of South Australia	Ned  KELLY	SA Solar Car Consortium
University of Tehran	Persian Gazelle	Persia-Gazelle.com
University of Texas at Austin	Solar Steer	Solar Vehicles Team
University of Texas at El Paso		Solraycers
University of Toronto	Blue Sky	Blue Sky Solar Racing
University of Toulouse	Heliotrope	Heliotrope Solar Car Team
University of Utah		Vehicle Design Team Utah
University of Virginia		UVa Solar Car Team
University of Waterloo	Midnight Sun VIII	Midnight Sun Solar Race Team
University of Western Ontario	Sunstang	Sunstang USP Solar Car Team
USP Solar Car Team		USP Solar Car Team
Western Michigan University	Sunseeker 05	W Michigan Solar Car Team
Yale University	The John Lee	Team Lux

IF YOUR TEAM OR EVENT IS NOT LISTED HERE,  PLEASE CONTACT US.

Ilanga I road tests

SOLAR CAR EVENTS

American Solar Challenge

American Tour de Sol

American World Solar Challenge - Formula Sun          

Australian World Solar Challenge

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