SolEater

CHALLENGE

Design a Solar Car to compete in an annual Solar Car Grand Prix in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Build the vehicle to pass scrutineering and compete in the endurance race.

Aerobody Subteam

Design, manufacture, and implement an aerodynamic shell component onto the car. My main roles involved composite manufacturing and CAD integration.

TEAM

A team of 9 UCI Students
working on our Aerobody.

TIMELINE

(June 2024 – Present)

Techniques

CNC
Composites
CAD

Manufacturing Steps

Construct Shell Components
Shell Surface Work/Repair
Combine Shell Components
Integrate onto Chassis/Rest of Car

Hover to learn our process

Topshell Divinycell Layer. Laid in between two single ply fiberglass.

Bare aluminum top shell mold. Layup was done on top of the surface.

Topshell layup vacuum process.

Topshell out of mold, with foam rigidification adhered.

Bare aluminum side shell mold.

CNCing foam for male plug on sideshell layup.

Male plug for side shell layup. Duratec coat spray painted on to protect against bondo.

Side shell layup #1

First side shell result.

Side shell layup #2

Trimming excess fiberglass on side shell.

Full cut top shell laid ontop of side shell for the first time.

Two side shells being adhered together

Canopy layup

Fully CNC'd foam mold for Canopy

Sideshell fully put together and bottom lips cut.

Sideshell bulkheads adhered for reinforcement.

Canopy cut and ready for latching.

Topshell Divinycell Layer. Laid in between two single ply fiberglass.

Bare aluminum top shell mold. Layup was done on top of the surface.

Topshell layup vacuum process.

Topshell out of mold, with foam rigidification adhered.

Bare aluminum side shell mold.

CNCing foam for male plug on sideshell layup.

Male plug for side shell layup. Duratec coat spray painted on to protect against bondo.

Side shell layup #1

First side shell result.

Side shell layup #2

Trimming excess fiberglass on side shell.

Full cut top shell laid ontop of side shell for the first time.

Two side shells being adhered together

Canopy layup

Fully CNC'd foam mold for Canopy

Sideshell fully put together and bottom lips cut.

Sideshell bulkheads adhered for reinforcement.

Canopy cut and ready for latching.

Process In-Depth

Integration

Designed and simulated using Solidworks CAD and ANSYS Fluent

Foam CNC Work

Accumulated over 100+ hours working with CNC. Foam was a big part of our composite work from the sideshell male plug to the canopy layup mold.

FSGP 2025 Lessons Learned

Aeroshell along with SolEater's mechanical/electrical systems managed to pass all static scrutineering. However, due to electrical issues up to the very last day, our car was unable to test for dynamics. Lessons learned for our Aerobody was to prioritize ease of assembly, as taking off the shell from the chassis was extremely time consuming. These issues are being fixed as of now.

FSGP 2025 Competiton Photos

Image Gallery

UCI SolEater

CHALLENGE

Aerobody Subteam

TEAM

TIMELINE

Techniques

Manufacturing Steps

Process In-Depth

Integration

Foam CNC Work

FSGP 2025 Lessons Learned

FSGP 2025 Competiton Photos