A combined energy system model for solar racers

Solar vehicles compete in various events around the world, called Solar Challenges. Successful vehicles must carefully plan and optimise their energy consumption for the course of the race. Doing so requires detailed information about the vehicle dynamics, the route, and the availability of solar energy at each point along the route. This paper describes the modelling method and integration of data sources used by the University of Johannesburg´s Solar Team for the 2012 South African Solar Challenge.