Track 1 Session 5

9:10 to 10:10 a.m. Thursday April 8, 2010

Building a Reliable Solar Car Using FMEA

Building a self-designed solar car and winning the Panasonic World Solar Challenge in Australia was the dream of the third Belgian Umicore Solar Team. In order to realize this dream, a team of thirteen engineering students and two freshly graduated engineers worked day and night to build the perfect solar car. The reliability of the solar car was of utmost importance. By performing an in-depth FMEA study, the team applied this powerful technique in order to reduce and/or eliminate the possible risks which could jeopardize a top race position. This presentation outlines how the team approached this enormous challenge of building a reliable solar car. An overview is given of how the FMEA technique was implemented, the successes and the drawbacks of the application of the technique.

Key Words: FMEA, Reliability, Solar Car

Bart Waeyenbergh

Groep T

Belgium