The semester has started, and so has Rensselaer Motorsport. We’ve been hard at work, both in and out of the shop.

Currently, we’ve been working on fixing some designs for RM20 to get it up and running as soon as possible. Also, we’ve been repairing R12 as a project, not only restore the car, but also to get new members involved in the team.

Outside of the shop, we’ve been focusing on recruiting new members and getting ourselves noticed on campus.

We had a rough end to the school year last May, but we’re back in the swing of things with all hands on deck.

Right now we’re ahead of all other teams, and we need to continue focusing to stay ahead and keep our competitive edge. With hard work and dedication, we’re determined to succeed..

Chassis Emily McWilliams, Team Leader

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Technical Feature: Intake 2

Engine 3

Business 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Meet Our Team Leaders 4

A Note from the Team Leader

VOLUME #1

------- Upcoming Team Events ------- Oct 4th Oct 5th Oct 5th Oct 18th Oct 19th Oct 24th

Nov 2nd

Alumni Visit Fan Fest – Homecoming Shop Open House – Homecoming Family Weekend Fall Fest – Parent’s Weekend Table at STAR Activities Fair

Shop Tour for HEAF High School

Rensselaer Ben and Jerry’s is our newest sponsor. Make sure to check them out for catering around the capital region. Come to our Shop Open House during Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 5th for White Russian and Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream!

SPONSOR UPDATE

Jeffrey Lin Business Manager

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The engine intake can make or break a powerful engine package and the required 20mm intake restrictor just compounds the importance of the component. The 2012-2013 year was host to a revisiting of intake development. Old designs were revisited and analyzed, new ideas were considered, and computational fluid dynamics analysis was performed. First and foremost the intake has to maximum the flow through the restrictor. While the actual restrictor has to be a simple round orifice, the geometry leading up to and away from the orifice can be optimized for best flow. The cross sectional shape is an hourglass, with a conical section leading up to the restriction and another - called the diffuser - pointing away. This compresses and expands the flow to move as much air as possible. A second purpose of the intake is to take advantage of resonant waves created by the valves. With proper simulation and calculations the length of the intake runners can put high pressure air at the intake valves when they open. This forces more air into the engine and can drastically improve performance. Using Ricardo Wave and theoretical equations we can address specific RPM ranges over which we would like to see an increase in torque.

RM20’s chassis was another iteration of the traditional Rensselaer Motorsport Hybrid Monocoque Design. Its main feature is the juxtaposition of a steel space frame and carbon fiber sandwich panels with Kevlar honeycomb.

One of the more drastic changes in RM20’s design compared to the previous year’s car is the construction of the rear bulkhead. This year’s iteration sought to reduce the number of weldments incorporated into the assembly.

In addition, RM20 was designed to have a lower center of gravity, which was achieved by reclining the driver more than previous designs. This allowed the roll hoop to be lowered by 75mm, also contributing to the lower center of gravity. Reclining the driver allowed for shortening the pedal box, which minimized the increase in length of the overall car.

Chassis Harrison Bird, Chassis Design Leader

Xander Cesari Engine Design Leader

RM20 Chassis Design.

 

Technical Feature: Intake

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Alumni Feature

Business Team History You might have heard about our newly integrated business team. Arthur Ford, an alum of ’12, who currently works at Oracle, began an external fundraising business team for RPI Formula SAE in 2010. It emphasized the importance of viewing sponsorships as business partnerships; each sponsor values the team differently and each relationship should be approached and developed accordingly. Last year, we saw the need for the business team to stay internal. Uncertainty in budgets and target market, particularly machining sponsors, are only known if you are actively involved within the daily operations of the team. With that, we integrated the engineering and business teams and this transition is an amazing learning experience. Risks to Avoid It is difficult to balance the tenacity of a small team and the formalities of a large team, particularly with the newly integrated business team. A larger team can help alleviate role conflicts. At the same time, even with roles in place, commitment is dependent on the culture of the team and of each individual. Larger teams are still in need of doers as we reflect back on our previous team. At the end of the day, roles should not limit one from working on other thing. The role of all team member should be to help build a race car wherever the demand is. In a smaller team, team members are forced to tackle tasks from all subsystem and even phoning sponsors. Strategy With proper determination, our business team will be able to secure our core sponsors for this coming year and many years to come. Before I share our sponsorship strategies for 2013-2014, my goal was to emphasize the importance of determination to implement our strategies. We cannot be stay relaxed even with our tremendous growth in membership. Being proactive is needed in order for us to get money, build long-lasting relationships and ultimately, for the car to be built. Organizational culture is critical in this sense.

Jeffrey Lin, Business Manager

The Engine, Drivetrain, and Electrical team is excited to further development of the Honda CBR600F4i. We continue to creep up the optimization curve with this venerable and proven engine. Using an old chassis as a test platform the team will improve the reliability of the powertrain package first, attempting to develop the drivability and serviceability to a competition-ready state. The electrical and shifter systems are first to be reviewed with other critical components soon to follow. Once we’re satisfied with the preparedness of the car we’ll be free to pursue performance improvements. To facilitate this testing the RM20 drivetrain is being installed in the R12 chassis for dynamometer and on-track testing.

This year we’re looking to focus heavily on validation and analysis, with more extensive use of engine modeling and computational fluid dynamics software. With a solid theoretical base behind us it’s time to broaden the use of simulation and develop more accurate models. With limited time and resources being able to accurately predict engine performance is a boon to development.

As always, the new semester brings plenty of new potential members. It’s a perennial joy to watch interest turn into scientific curiosity and enthusiasm into engineering acumen!

RM20 Engine Design.

Engine Xander Cesari, Engine Design Leader

Business Review

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Meet Our Team Leaders Emily McWilliams, Team Leader

Mechanical Engineering 2015 mcwile@rpi.edu

Jeffrey Lin, Business Manager Business Management 2014 linj6@rpi.edu

Xander Cesari, Engine Design Lead Mechanical Engineering 2014 cesara2@rpi.edu

Harrison Bird, Chassis Design Lead Mechanical Engineering 2015 birdh@rpi.edu

Jake Liberatore, Engine Project Manager Mechanical Engineering 2015 liberj3@rpi.edu

Matt Saucier, Chassis Project Manager Mechanical Engineering 2015 saucim@rpi.edu

Eric Penniman, Shop Manager Mechanical Engineering 2015 pennie2@rpi.edu

Nick Avila, Chief Information Officer Mechanical Engineering 2014 avilan@rpi.edu

Matt Ouellette, Rules and Safety Officer Mechanical Engineering 2016 ouellm3@rpi.edu