Case study
Desmodur® and Desmophen® for innovative solar car solutions
Team Sonnenwagen Aachen e. V., a group of students from RWTH Aachen and FH Aachen, is developing a solar-powered car to compete in the world’s toughest solar race — the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge — in October 2019.
Team Sonnenwagen aims to show that future of mobility concepts based on lightweight construction, electromobility and photovoltaics are already feasible.
Substrates such as metals, composites and high-performance plastics are used to build lightweight vehicles. The Sonnenwagen is no exception.
Substrates such as metals, composites and high-performance plastics are used to build lightweight vehicles. The Sonnenwagen is no exception.
The SikaForce® range of adhesives enabled us to reliably build our Sonnenwagen solar car.
Today, the best joining technology for dissimilar substrates is bonding. However, combining bonding with manual assembly operations in the Sonnenwagen involves challenges such as preparing different substrate surfaces to ensure adhesion and post-curing performance. This is especially important under the extremely challenging conditions the solar car will endure, such as dry and dusty environments, high temperatures and non-stop vibrations.
PU-based adhesives perfectly fit the innovative concepts for the future of mobility. The Sonnenwagen project ideally demonstrates what role our adhesives can play in the future.
By combining ultra-light construction with high performance, 2K PU-based adhesives create long-lasting, durable joints for harsh conditions.
SikaForce® 2K PU adhesives based on Desmodur® and Desmophen® from Covestro are ideal for the complex substrates in the Sonnenwagen and other lightweight vehicles with carbon fiber and plastic parts. In this case, various adhesives - ranging from flexible to highly structurally elasticized products - will deliver high material and adhesive performance.
SikaForce® 2K PU adhesives based on Desmodur® and Desmophen® from Covestro are ideal for the complex substrates in the Sonnenwagen and other lightweight vehicles with carbon fiber and plastic parts. In this case, various adhesives - ranging from flexible to highly structurally elasticized products - will deliver high material and adhesive performance.
Sika, Covestro and Team Sonnenwagen are showing how 2K PU adhesives can turn lightweight car concepts into a reality.
