Case Study: Blue Sky Solar Racing achieves 22% drag reduction and 4% more solar power to finish first among Canadian teams with Dassault Systemes

Blue Sky Solar Racing - Customer Case Study

Blue Sky Solar Racing, the University of Toronto student team competing in the Panasonic World Solar Challenge, faced the challenge of evaluating many design variables to reduce drag and weight while increasing solar array power to optimize their fifth-generation car. To meet this challenge they partnered with Dassault Systemes and used DS PLM solutions, notably CATIA and ENOVIA Digital Mock-Up (DMU), to speed design iteration and define wiring early in the process.

Using Dassault Systemes’ CATIA and ENOVIA tools, the team automated design tables and wiring-harness modeling to generate 60 design iterations in about five hours (approximately 96% time savings), optimize composite parts, and plan wiring to reduce structural overdesign. The result was a 22% reduction in drag, a 4% increase in solar-array power, a 3% reduction in total vehicle mass, and a top finish—first among Canadian entries and fifth overall in its class.

Blue Sky Solar Racing

Andreas Marouchos

Managing Director