Design Update The USM11 design phase is well underway, and this year’s car will feature a number of significant new developments. One major change for 2011 is the decision to upgrade the engine. USM have run a Honda CBR600- F4i for a number of years, and while this engine model has been extremely reliable, engines and spare parts have become increasingly difficult to source, as the F4i is now out of production. As a result, the team have decided to upgrade to the Honda CBR600RR engine. As well as being smaller and lighter, the RR will allow the use of a slipper clutch to improve braking and down-shifting, providing a smoother torque transfer which will avoid unbalancing the car. However, switching engine is far from simple, and the team will be hard at work designing and machining a new dry sump, adapting a new oil pump and, most importantly, tuning the engine. After several design iterations, final analysis and simulation of the new suspension geometry has begun. USM11’s swept back rear wishbones should allow a reduction in chassis weight while maintaining driveability, and the carbon fibre wishbones currently undergoing laboratory testing will provide further weight savings. Despite the drivetrain assembly staying similar to last year’s design, a lot of work is going into the improvement of all the constituent components. By drilling 10mm holes along the axis of the hardened steel driveshafts used in previous cars, a weight reduction of around 25% has been achieved, and team are also researching the practicality of composite driveshafts. Changes to the gearshift system for USM11 will include a paddle- shift mechanism mounted on the steering wheel. This will require the manufacture of a custom steering wheel, and the team is taking this opportunity to integrate some dashboard functions into the wheel. Space constraints in the driver’s cell Welcome to Issue 2 of USM’s 2010/11 newsletter. This issue includes details of the various events the team have attended recently, an update on the progress of the design of USM11, and an introduction to our sponsors for the 2010/11 season. In this issue: Design Update Gala Dinner 2010 Knockhill Track Day Driver Training Sponsors & Partners University of Strathclyde Motorsport Formula Student USM 2010/11 Newsletter Issue 2 www.formulastudent.strath.ac.uk [email protected]
Transcript
Design Update
The USM11 design phase is well underway, and this year’s car will feature a number of significant new developments.
One major change for 2011 is the decision to upgrade the engine. USM have run a Honda CBR600-F4i for a number of years, and while this engine model has been extremely reliable, engines and spare parts have become increasingly difficult to source, as the F4i is now out of production. As a result, the team have decided to upgrade to the Honda CBR600RR engine.
As well as being smaller and lighter, the RR will allow the use of a slipper clutch to improve braking and down-shifting, providing a smoother torque transfer which will avoid unbalancing the car. However, switching engine is far from simple, and the team will be hard at work designing and machining a new dry sump, adapting a new oil pump and, most importantly, tuning the engine.
After several design iterations, final analysis and simulation of the new suspension geometry has begun. USM11’s swept back rear wishbones should allow a reduction in chassis weight while maintaining driveability, and the carbon fibre wishbones currently undergoing laboratory testing will provide further weight savings.
Despite the drivetrain assembly staying similar to last year’s design, a lot of work is going into the improvement of all the constituent components. By drilling 10mm holes along the axis of the hardened steel driveshafts used in previous cars, a weight reduction of around 25% has been achieved, and team are also researching the practicality of composite driveshafts.
Changes to the gearshift system for USM11 will include a paddle-shift mechanism mounted on the steering wheel. This will require the manufacture of a custom steering wheel, and the team is taking this opportunity to integrate some dashboard functions into the wheel. Space constraints in the driver’s cell
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University of Strathclyde Motorsport Formula Student
mean dash area is limited, so relocating some instruments and controls to the wheel will offer increased visibility and improved ergonomics.
Gala Dinner 2010
November 2010 saw the 10th annual Strathclyde Gala Dinner undergraduate networking event at the Glasgow Hilton. Once again USM attended the event in order to showcase USMX, our 2010 competition entry, to industry representatives, students and staff. The evening was a huge success, with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for both the team and car, and the team had the chance to talk to some of the country’s top engineering companies and discuss possible relationships for the future. This helped to increase industry awareness of Formula Student, the Strathclyde team and also the talented young engineers produced by the Formula Student initiative.
At the event USM managed to secure sponsorship from Scottish Engineering for the second year running and have also entered talks with other potential sponsors to discuss partnerships for the 2011 season.
All in all the Gala Dinner was a great success and USM successfully exhibited the team and car to a wide external
audience which has already proven to be beneficial to the team this year. USM would like to congratulate the Gala Committee on the organization of such a successful event and to thank them for providing USM with the opportunity to display and promote USMX.
Knockhill Track Day
On Wednesday 24th November, three Scottish Formula Student teams gathered at Knockhill Racing Circuit for a highly successful event which was the first of its kind. The aim of the Formula Student Scotland Track Day 2010 was to promote Formula Student and engineering excellence in Scotland.
Teams from Strathclyde, Heriot-Watt and Dundee universities were present to display their cars to sponsors, academics and invited guests in front of the Russell Paterson Morgan (RPM) showrooms. Once the last guests had arrived, and the first guests had started to develop frostbite, the serious business got underway in the blissful warmth
of the Knockhill clubhouse, where the event was introduced by Dr Bruce Davies from Heriot-Watt University. USM’s Amy Bolland gave a presentation on Formula Student before each team provided a short insight into their team history, their previous competition results and their design goals and aspirations for the coming season.
Following this all in attendance headed trackside where the three cars were put through their paces on Knockhill’s Tri-Oval circuit. Among the highlights were USM driver James Hall’s ‘deliberate’ 360° spin in front of the grandstand and the contorted expressions on the faces of team members attempting to look warm in shirtsleeves.
Having invited all team sponsors, USM were delighted that representatives from Michael Wood Pharmacy, Tannlin and ExxonMobil were able to attend. Also in attendance were academics and guests from the University of Strathclyde, for many of whom it was their first chance to see the car live on the track.
As a result of the event USM received further sponsorship from Michael Wood Pharmacy, which will help fund the purchase of two new Honda CBR600RR engines. The team is also
discussing a potential sponsorship deal with another company, which we hope to report on in our next newsletter.
Of the event, team sponsor Mike Wood said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was good to meet with the team. The team is clearly a well organised group and the way they all conducted themselves throughout the day was excellent. They are all certainly good ambassadors for both Formula Student and the University of Strathclyde.”
Following coverage from an outside broadcast team from BBC Radio Scotland and a slot on STV’s ‘Daybreak’ the team are delighted with the media exposure the day received, and are already looking ahead to a similar event later in the season.
The full interview can be seen at http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/videos-pics/2010/11/26/knockhill-hosts-student-racing-car-tournament-86908-22742243/.
Driver Training
One of the primary goals for USM’s management team this year is improved driver training, and so far we’ve been able to take USMX testing four times.
Our first test at Knockhill was to allow as many team members to drive the car as possible, to help www.formulastudent.strath.ac.uk
identify the quicker drivers. A track was set up in the paddock area, and although the engine gremlins seemed determined to spoil our fun, the problems were soon rectified and the car performed fantastically until fading light forced us to call it a day.
The next trek up to Knockhill took place on a cold and wet November Wednesday, and wasn’t quite so rewarding. We had two drivers out on track before a crankshaft sensor failure put an end to our test session, resulting in an early (soggy) drive home.
USM’s most recent test came in two parts, the first a shakedown at Cambuslang Karting which allowed us to identify a couple of electrical glitches. Electrical Design Head Eddie Corr was called in, and the problems were sorted in time for the trip to Knockhill the following day.
Damp conditions failed to get in the way of our plans, and the car ran perfectly on a varied circuit designed to maximise the use of the available paddock space.
Driver training began in earnest, with lap times and cone hits recorded for each driver, and the GPS-based datalogger spent all day harvesting information on suspension movement, lateral and longitudinal motion and
brake temperatures for use in the design of USM11. The result was a hugely successful day out for USM, and we look forward to more of the same.
Sponsors and Partners
Once again, USM would like to thank all our sponsors for providing us with the resources we need to run a successful race team. Our main financial backers last year were the University of Strathclyde Engineering Faculty, Accenture, ExxonMobil, Balmoral Group, the Strathclyde Graduates Association and Scottish Engineering, and are joined by Michael Wood Pharmacy and Lifescan for the 2011 season.
Arnold Clark provide the team with free van hire for testing and competitions, RS Components and Premier Welding Supplies provide workshop and welding consumables and INA supply a range of bearings.
Our existing machining partners Global Datum and Lasered are joined by Tannlin, and RPM Motorsport have come on board for 2011 as general racing consultants. Knockhill Racing Circuit, Cambuslang Karting and the East of Scotland Kart Club all provide use of their facilities for testing. Further details of our current sponsors and partners are available on our website. Thank you all for your support!
