Teijin Group says that it will be supplying materials and technologies will be adopted for a solar-powered, carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) vehicle.
The car, developed by Kogakuin University in Japan, will take part in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the world’s biggest solar car race, based in Australia.
Materials supplied include ultra-lightweight fabric made with Tenax carbon fiber for the racing vehicle’s body. Toho Tenax developed an ultra-lightweight carbon fiber fabric as thin as 0.06 mm, which is incorporated in the car’s CFRP body, while Panlite Polycarbonate (PC) resin is used for the car windows to reduce the vehicle’s body weight and improve driver safety. The company’s Technora para-aramid fiber pre-preg has been supplied for the wheel wells to help reduce vehicle weight and reinforce durability. The fiber has eight times the tensile strength of steel and is just one-fifth the weight, according to the Teijin Group. Teijin says that has been supporting the Kogakuin University Solar Team since 2013.
This story is reprinted from material from Teijin, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
