Case Study: Kogakuin University achieves ultra-light, high-rigidity solar car design and top-10 BWSC finish with Altair Knowledge Works

Kogakuin University - Customer Case Study

Kogakuin University’s Solar Team, a student group of over 300 engineers that has won three national championships, set out to design a one‑of‑a‑kind, ultra‑efficient solar car for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with a mission to build a sustainable vehicle that endures for decades. Their chief challenge was to create an extremely thin, aerodynamically optimized CFRP body and wing (the wing tip is just 3 mm) that balanced minimal weight, high rigidity, flutter resistance and driver safety, while being producible by junior students within tight time and manufacturing constraints.

Using Altair HyperWorks (HyperMesh, OptiStruct, Inspire and others) the team performed structural and topology optimization, lamination planning, flutter and frequency analyses, and iterative redesigns to place reinforcements only where needed. The result was a highly optimized CFRP monocoque with only ~45 kg of CFRP parts, a lighter wing design that saved up to 1 kg versus alternatives, validated flutter and crash performance, smoother industry–academic collaboration, hands‑on student manufacturing experience—and a seventh‑place finish at the BWSC.

Kogakuin University