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| Thursday, 16 October 2003 |
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Solar assisted electric vehicle A solar electric vehicle has been developed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa in collaboration with KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency). The vehicle developed is a two seater city car that is driven by a DC electric motor. The electricity is supplied by a battery bank. The batteries can be charged solar panels that are fixed on the body of the vehicle or using household electricity supply. The vehicle is designed to have a maximum speed of 40 km/hr. It can be driven for about 40km with a single charge. The designing of the vehicle has been done by the KOICA volunteer Hyen Chul Jang under the supervision of the Senior Lecturer-in-charge of Automobile Engineering, Dr. Rohitha Weerasinghe. The rest of the design team consists of the Technical Officer Chaminda Chandranath Jayakody, assisted by G. W. A. S. Perera, K. D. N. Piyasiri and K. M. R. Wickramasinghe. The total cost of the vehicle is around Rs. 400,000, the major component being the cost of the PV cells. The vehicle can be used as a short distance utility vehicle. It can be readily used in an enclosed area like in an airport terminal or a warehouse since it does not generate air pollution like vehicles fitted with IC engines. The Department of Mechanical Engineering has pioneered the field of automotive in the country by introducing an LP gas driven vehicle and an electric car way back in the 1970s. The official launching of this vehicle would be carried out by the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Lee Nam Soo and the Vice Chancellor of University of Moratuwa Prof. Dayantha S. Wijesekera today at 10.00 a.m. at the University of Moratuwa. |
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