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

Abstract

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.