Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 14, 2017 – Teijin Aramid today announced it is supporting two student teams, one from KU Leuven and one from the University of Michigan, to compete in the ‘Challenger’ category of this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, held between October 8-12 in Australia.
Powered only by solar energy, the 32 competing teams will race from Darwin to Adelaide, over the course of five days. Both teams are receiving both the material, para-aramid Twaron®, and technical support from Teijin Aramid. In particular, the University of Michigan team is using Twaron to reinforce the undercarriage of the car, choosing this material for its high abrasion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio. Sarah Zoellick, from the University of Michigan team: “We’re very grateful to Teijin Aramid for generously supporting our needs, and helping us to meet the design deadlines at short notice.”
The KU Leuven team is using Twaron-based parts above the tracking box and in the driver safety canopy to allow electromagnetic signals to enter and leave the vehicle. Without this the car would not be able to send or receive communication or monitor signals.
Next to the para-aramid fiber Twaron, both teams also receive Tenax® carbon fiber from TohoTenax, like Teijin Aramid, a company within the Teijin Group.
Sources: www.umsolar.com and www.solarteam.be and Teijin Aramid and http://www.teijinendumax.com.
