Optimal material for solar electric vehicle application using an integrated Fuzzy-COPRAS model

ABSTRACT

Amidst numerous factors affecting the quality of the environment especially the availability of conventional sources of energy, development of sustainable technologies to benefit the natural ecosystem can be cited as the primary need of the hour. Solar vehicles, with no emissions of greenhouse gases and its renewable-energy-based working can be considered a substitute to modern-day automobiles in this genre. However, the power obtained from solar energy in a running car is limited and for proper functioning of the car, its energy efficiency is a necessity. Selection of appropriate material for the manufacture of the car design is often associated with energy saving and emission reduction in a car. The selection of the material, however is an issue involving multiple characteristics associated with the performance of the material, including physical, mechanical, and environmental properties. This study presents a systematic structure for selection of the optimum material using a hierarchy of 14 different properties of 19 different feasible materials taken into account, using a hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) analogy, the Fuzzy Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS) model. A Sensitivity Analysis was conducted to account for the robustness of the solution obtained. The results prove the effectivity of this approach toward selection of optimum material for manufacture of a solar car.

KEYWORDS:

• Fuzzy-COPRAS
• sustainable development
• solar vehicle
• material selection
• automobile applications
• data modeling
• MCDM
• renewable energy

Acknowledgments

Though majority of the work having been independently conducted by the authors themselves, they remain grateful to the Sikkim Manipal University for helping them provide access to numerous research material and online interfaces stored within the institution’s library and access to its laboratories and resources for purposes pertaining to this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dipanjan Ghose

Dipanjan Ghose is pursuing his B.Tech. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, constituent college of Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India.

Sudeep Pradhan

Sudeep Pradhan is pursuing his B.Tech. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, constituent college of Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India.

Pratyasha Tamuli

Pratyasha Tamuli is pursuing her B.Tech. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, constituent college of Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India.

Shabbiruddin

Shabbiruddin is working as Assistant Professor (SG) in Electrical & Electronics Engineering department of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, constituent college of the Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India.