As you  probably already know, metals4U are sponsoring the Formula Student team from the University of Huddersfield for this racing season. We are delighted to be able to put our name to this amazing endeavour. The team of young men and women are working around the clock to ensure that every element of this year’s car is performing to the highest standard.

Last week, Team Hare revealed the new chassis design for the competition, here is the CAD presentation to give you an idea of what the final build will look like.

Now we can see what the final build will look like, we can start to appreciate just how much work has already been done this season.

The design of the aero package (front and rear wings, nose cone,sidepods, floor diffuser and bodywork) is not just to look good, every single element has to ensure that the car is subjected to minimal drag and maximum streamlining for optimal performance…Think bullet rather than parachute!

The aerodynamics team have been busy during the planning stage to see how they can work with the drag and lift forces that are created when air passes around and over an item- particularly when that item is travelling at speed- they need to be able to create a perfect balance of keeping the car securely on the road, while minimising the drag forces that will slow it down unnecessarily or create instability.

Due to the costings of the bodywork construction and not having a full size wind tunnel, Team Hare have come up with a solution to testing the aerodynamic performance without creating a full size body kit. ‘Experimental Designs’ have 3D printed a 10th scale model of the aero package to enable Team Hare to test in the windtunnel to ensure their CFD (Computational fluid dynamics) predictions are accurate before investing in the full size, and full cost, componants.

This week we caught up with the aerodynamics team led by Charlie May and Rafael Doherty to see how they were getting on, they had this update for us;

“The Aerodynamics department has focused on ease of manufacturability this year whilst also ensuring a beneficial aerodynamic performance package is created.  Due to struggles within the manufacturing of aerodynamic components in recent years, simplified yet effective designs have been implemented.  A huge amount of work has been spent tweaking aerofoil angles and analysing airflows over the vehicle to ensure each component is as effective as possible, and this simplified approach has allowed the aerodynamics department to work towards the ‘Aero on a budget’ award at Formula Student Silverstone, with the front wing, sidepods, rear wing, nose cone, bodywork, and floor diffuser all aiming to be manufactured for under £1800. With materials beginning to be delivered, it’s time to get our hands dirty and get building ready for the new HARE-19 vehicle.”

 

 

Charlie is the Aerodynamics and Bodywork Team leader. Currently studying for his Automotive and Motorsport Engineering MEng, he is responsible for the design of the aero package, the manufacture of the bodywork, and composite material elements of the vehicle build.

 

 

 

Rafael is an exchange student from Brazil studying at the University of Hudderfield for 6 months as he works  towards his Mechanical Engineering MEng. Rafael is reponsible for designing the front wing, nose and the rear wing using CAD and CFD analysis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year’s gold tier sponsorship of Team HARE is one of the really exciting endeavours of our 2019 pledge to continue our support of innovation and emerging talent in engineering.

Team Hare are continuing to work tirelessly towards creating their best performing Formula Student car for the 2019 season. This week we caught up with the team to see how they are progressing.

Last time we caught up with Team Hare, we looked a little closer at the drivetrain- if you missed it, you can read all about it  here.

This week we caught up with the ‘Powertrain’ team to find out how they are getting on.They had this to say;

“The main aim for the department this year is to have the engine operating reliably whilst producing a high power output. With the teams major changes to the chassis and suspension, there has also been a lot of work with regards to redesigning a new exhaust, lubrication and fueling systems. A huge amount of hours have been spent dyno testing the engine, this assists us with ensuring we will have reliability throughout 2019’s formula student events through correcting and improving the current engine build.  An exciting few months are now ahead of us, as parts of the car start to arrive and we get to see how well our engine performs in the newly designed car.”

The powertrain is the system that transfers the drive from the engine right through to the axles. Whereas the drivetrain is concerned with the drive from the transmission onwards, the powertrain is concerned with all the parts that convert the engine’s power to movement- all elements of propelling the vehicle.

The performance of the engine has to harness the power of combustion to deliver energy to the crankshaft- here the linear motion energy is converted into a rotary motion known as ‘torque’. This torque is then controlled by the transmission system, which then passes the energy onwards through the remainder of the powertrain that is comprised of the drivetrain elements.

 

A simplified explanation of the powertrain.

 

The powertrain team is led by Conor and Jack, they are responsible for ensuring everything runs smoothly and on time within their team.

 

 

Conor O’Brien is the Powertrain Team Leader with overall responsibility for the management of the engineering of the powertrain and the rest of the team. Conor is currently studying for his Automotive and Motorsport Engineering MEng and hopes to pursue a career in motorsport once he completes his Masters- he is certainly off to a good start.

 

 

 

 

 

Jack Watson is also studying for his Automotive and Motorsport Engineering MEng and is sharing leadership of developing the powertrain. Jack’s role specifically sees him working on engine mapping and intake and exhaust design.

 

 

 

 

To keep up to date on our sponsorship activity, follow us on social media!

 

This week we caught up with Team Hare 19  to see how things are taking shape this season, and in particular what the drivetrain team are working on at the moment- Team HARE’s drivetrain team are responsible for the configuration of the drive method between the engine and wheels, as well as the gear shifting method. They had this to say,

“This year’s aim for the drivetrain team is to ensure an efficient and reliable gear shifting method. Decision was made to utilise a mechanically hand activated gear shifter as this would drastically reduce overall weight and packaging. Current focus is made to maximise feel in the gear shifter. Numerous components have been designed to ensure minimum deflection of the push pull cable when it is in motion.”

The drivetrain is not a part of the engine, it is the system of component parts from the transmission to the wheels- the system of transferring the power from transmissionright through to the clutch, gears and differential to the axles and wheels; basically, everything beyond the transmission concerned with propelling the car forward!

A simplified explanation of the drivetrain.

 

As part of our sponsorship of Team Hare, this week we would like to showcase two members of Team Hare with overall responsibility for the drivetrain.

 

 As the Drivetrain Team Leader, Ben Tripp has overall responsibility for ensuring everything within the drivetrain system works and oversees the rest of the drivetrain team.

Ben  is a student from Cambridge currently on the Mechanical Engineering MEng course at the University of Huddersfield.

 

 

 

 

 

As the Drivetrain Team Manager, Stephanos Savva has responsibility for ensuring the drivetrain parts are in optimum working condition and replacing or repairing parts if modifications are necessary.

Stephanos  is also studying for his Mechanical Engineering MEng at the University of Huddersfield.

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media to keep up to date with our sponsorship of Team Hare 19!