Hubballi students' solar car brings laurels

HUBBALLI: A team of automobile engineering students from BVB College of Engineering and Technology have developed a lightweight solar car that can run at 27kmph. It can achieve a speed of 40kmph by enhancing the efficiency of the engine, the team claims.
The solar array electric vehicle (SAEV) won the eighth prize at the Electric Solar Vehicle Championship, said to be the largest solar championship in Asia, organized by the Imperial Society of Innovative Engineers at Maharishi Markandeshwar University in Ambala, Haryana, recently.As many as 49 vehicles from India and abroad participated in the championship, where the SAEV was the second lightest vehicle.
Team leader Rahul Kumar said the car has a good battery backup. "Automotive company Bosch shared its technological information with us and contributed Rs 50,000, while Altair provided us with software support. After looking at the project, the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) also contributed Rs 8,000."
Venkatesh, another member of the team, said the vehicle has been designed and assembled with lithium ion battery, which is generally used in laptops. "The battery is adjusted at 48 volts, which was need of the vehicle," he added. It is built with backbone chassis that can carry all devices of the car, which weighs 158 kg. This light weight is expected to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
The other members of the team include Deep Shing, Manjunath Patange, Aakash P, Rahul Tiwari, Vivek Kumar, D Venkat Rao, Roshan Kumar, Rejin Shekar and Akshaya Patil.
Anil Badiger, head of the automobile engineering department, said the vehicle has been selected for the KSCST's final round exhibition to be held in Mangaluru in August. "Such vehicles are the need of the hour when the whole world is looking at renewable energy resources," he said.