Kthfs 2015

Februari 2014

FORMULA STUDENT eV11

A closer look at this year’s car

WHAT IS FORMULA STUDENT? We eye the competition structure in detail

n o s u ge c o F a r a g car gets e h t ow the uilt H

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Besök vår nya hemsida www.kthformulastudent.se

Future Engineers

In Formula Student, applied solutions deliver results

Sponsors

R P Te c h n o l o g y

. . .

POP i Stockholm

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November 2014 路 KTH Formula Student

Onto the next one Project leader; Simon Poiret

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uite a year we have had with KTH Formula Student! After changing name and launching a new website early in the project phase, a tactical team decision was made to set the development and testing duration of the eV11 for two years, the main motivation being to improve the quality of manufacturing and to carry out a rigorous testing regimen.

In the meantime, the eV12 will be designed and manufactured in the spring and summer months. We are thus working on two projects in parallel. This allows our hard-working members to investigate their topics further, and by doing so they gain more theoretical and practical knowledge and bring more experience to the project.

We are also reinforcing our relationship with our partners, both at KTH and in the industry in order to give the team stable, long-term support which cannot be underestimated when facing the challenges of Formula Student Electric. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of our sponsors, without whom, this project could not survive. This magazine will give you a better overview of all that’s going on in the garage at present. More info will be published regularly on our website to keep you up to date on the development of our two cars.

Good reading!!

November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

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A competition with a focus on versatility Performance is only a small part of the whole competition.

Other aspects of the completion look at the manufacturing cost, the car’s environmental friendliness and team organisation.

Mer än en bil

Challenge accepted Formula Student is the competition that tests a student’s innovative creativity and ability to work as part of a team.

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uring five long days, engineering students from all over the world meet to compete and to get inspired. The competition is made up of two parts; the dynamic part which tests the cars’ performance, and static, part where the design and the cost are scored.

The challenge given is to manufacture a racing car and sell it on a theoretical amateur racers’ market.

That is what makes the competition so interesting for all the engineering students. To be able to find the best solutions within a short time period and within the stipulated regulations. A great car won’t sell if the final cost is high.

Static Event. This event involves three parts. The design presentation is awarded the greatest points. It presents the car’s innovative and effective solutions and their advantages.

An expert panel inspects the car, before asking the team questions related to its design. Next is the cost report where all manufacturing costs are presented.

It includes the cost for every single component that is attached to the car. The last part is the business presentation. Here the team has to convince the expert panel that its business plan will appeal to the target market and that it is possible to put the car into serial production and that it will be profitable for investors.

Participants at a past Formula Student competition Photo: Formula Student UK

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November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

Formula Student

FormulaStudentcombineshands-onpracticalapplicationswithstudents’academicstudies,butalsogivesexperienceinvitalskillssuchas budgeting, project management and team work.

- Ross Brawn, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Jon Hilton welcoming the teams in FS 2013

Dynamic event The dynamic event comprises five parts.

Acceleration - The car is accelerated from zero to its maximum speed over a 75 metre distance.

Traction - The car is driven as fast as possible around a number of corners without losing grip. The performance is measured in g-forces.

Manoeuvrability - The car is driven over a short distance composed of sharp turns and straights as fast as possible.

Endurance -This is the part with the most points to be earned.

The car is driven over a 22km long track as fast as possible.

Fuel/battery economy, performance, manoeuvrability and durability are tested.

Fuel economy - Average fuel consumption over the endurance race distance is measured.

Photo: Formula Student UK

A fun and Educational experience KTH-students have competed in Formula Student for over 10 years. All the KTH Formula Student alumni stress the importance for engineering students to participate in FS. It feels good knowing that working hard to-

day will in the future come to great use. Even if the main focus is to give the students hands on experience, it sure is great fun being part of such a great team. .

One of many english teams.

Everyone has been blown away by the the standards of the competition at FS and we have all been left massively impressed - Jon Hilton, FS accountable Photo: Formula Student UK

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Carbon fiber

Important feedback

Carbon fiber is a very light, strong and easy material to work with.

Thanks to our great sponsors we were able to use this material on this car.

Thanks to our cooperation with Scania wegetimportantfeedbackonourdesign beforethemanufacturingprocessbegins.

The body is manufactured in carbon composites and is mounted on the cars steel frame.

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November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

ou could easily think that building an electric car is easier than building a combustion engine car. But don’t be fooled, for the eV11 had more than three times the components as compared to its combustion engine powered prede-

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Top speed 160km/h 0-100km/h 3.5s Weight 252 kg Max power 2x 52kW Max voltage 420V

cessors. The double electric engines of the car were encapsulated in our own fabricated motor case and they delivered a constant torque independent of the RPM. The transmission had a fixed gear which translated into the driver never having to change gears.

2014’s racing car Four-wheel drive is the future

3D model of each component

All the cars that have come out of the garage have had rear-wheel drive, but the team is aiming on starting to develop a four-wheel drive racing car.

For every little screw, nut and spring, a 3D model is created. Helping to calculate airflow, weight and strength.

0-100 in 3.5 seconds

Separately designed racing seat The team has a special division whose only focus is to design, manufacture and test the seat. The seat has to be both functional and comfortable.

ev11

The in-house manufactured battery configuration (roughly 300 battery cells) could store 5,3kWh, which translated to about 25 minutes of full driving.

The car had rear-wheel drive train and it missed a differential.

Instead sensors were used to measure the front wheels rotation speed together with a controller that controlled each of

Electric vehicles are the future. Therefore it was obvious that even the next car had to be an electric one. That was the only obvious thing about the project.

the rear wheel speed individually. By doing so the driver could easily drive the car through tight corners. To convert the batteries’ DC (direct current) to AC (alternating current) the electrical motor was used to converters from Infineon. To be able to get all the torque down on the tarmac, dampers from

Öhlins together with 20.5x7.0 inch wheels from Hoosier. A new innovation for the eV11 is that the front and rear wing works with the floor board to maximise the aerodynamic benefits of having it close to the ground. Manufacturing cost? Roughly 350 000 SEK (excl. blood, sweat and tears) November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

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A day in the garage It takes two years, incredible dedication and hard work to build a great car. Let’s take a tour of the garage as we interact with the team!

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i everybody! If everyone’s here i’d like to start.

It’s a Sunday meeting in the garage and the project manager; Simon begins by summarizing what took place

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November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

in the past few days. In the room are more than 50 pairs of curious eyes and almost as many glowing laptop screens. “The Garage” is a room of about 100 square meters of which a third has been converted into a rudimentary office. The average age is about 25 years, with members from all around the world. The shared factors among the students are their great interest in creating and learning new things.

Different groups The team is divided into seven different groups, with each having its own unique responsibility.

Erik Nilsson; the head of the chassis and ergonomics group had this to say; “In chassis and ergonomics we get everything together in one

In the garage Problem solving Powertrain & Electronics weigh the pros and cons of different battery configurations. It is a constant balancing act between space, weight, performance and security.

“I can not imagine how unhappy I’d been if I had not been with the Royal Institute of Technology Formula Student” –Kevin Patrik Ringdahl working on the car.

Power train advisor Kevin Kyeong (left) works together with Nikolaos Apostolopoulos on the design of a battery pack.

piece of engineering. The chassis is the main structure of the car and we collaborate with all subgroups to come up with the perfect compromise for weight, space and a good margin for rules and safety. Right now we are collecting data from other subgroups to confirm the size of the frame.

We are also refining last year’s ergonomics design and making it both more rigid and comfortable for the driver and easier to manufacture. Since we do this in our free time, it’s important to have a good balance between Formula Student and studies. I try to do my studies as soon as I can and then go to the garage and spend a few hours everyday. I usually spend all Sundays in the garage as well.

Erik Elander Aman; the corporate relations group lead had this to say; “In the Corporate Relations group we focus on finding new sponsors while keeping in touch with our current and previous sponsors. We are currently occupied with several different focus areas like initiating contact with potential partners, each carefully handpicked to fit our project, and negotiating with companies interested in sponsoring us. We are also developing new methods to make sure that we will not only have sponsors for one or a couple of years but develop a long term relationship where we can maximize our mutual benefits from working together.

Analysis and control as engine power does not exceed the permissible.

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Requires good interpersonal skills Doing everything by yourself might work in a school project, but in larger projects it requires trust, and the ability to meet deadlines.

..........and we play The team charges their batteries with a gokart evening. Competition drivers are selected after this annual gokarting outing

There is a lot of work in both school and with KTH Formula Student but as you notice after a couple of years in your studies, you have time over for other stuff as well. What I do in KTH Formula Student I find very exciting and consider it to be a really valuable and fun way to occupy myself. In school students learn theory in areas that they will be working in later on, but here you have the chance to actually get experience and knowledge of how the real world works. So I don’t really consider my time in this project as taking time from my education but as a very important part of it.”

Goal orientated Johan Westlund; head of the powertrain team had this to say; “Powertrain and Electronics is the biggest group. We are in charge of the entire car’s electric system. We do everything from designing the batteries, the Printed Circuit Boards and the car’s controls. Presently, based on test results, we are designing a standard concept for the electronic system and fixing errors. For the testing we use tools such as CANoe from Vector to analyze the CANbus; Oscilloscope, multimeter and power supply from Keysight Technologies (formerly known

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November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

Room for creativity and innovation

as Agilent Technologies) for testing of the electric system; and software from dSPACE and Atmel to debug the code. We use the test results to improve the electronics configuration for the next car. What i like best being part of this team is setting and meeting goals within very tight time periods.

From idea to product

Erik Westlund from Aerodynamics

Every new season begins with a planning phase, lasting just over three months. Then the design presentation is presented to engineers at Scania for critiquing.

Once the design is given the green light the construction can begin. Some components are sourced but the team members

fabricate most of the parts. At their disposal, they have a machining hall at KTH with computer-controlled lathes, water jet cutting and milling equipment.

After a lot of painstaking manufacturing work, it’s then finally time for test runs. These usually consist of lots of troubleshooting and often some last minute fixes for the upcoming competition.

How the car gets built

The week before and during the exam period we put the tools on the shelves, the weekly meetings are cancelled in order to fully focus on the school

Juggling studies with work Combining the hectic and fast paced studies at KTH with a project at this level might seem intimidating to many. Team members always make sure to give their studies first priority.

The week before and during the examination period, team members put shelve their tools and temporarily hang their gloves so as to fully focus on the exams.

But as soon as the exams are over, the garage once again gets full of activity.

Some of the team members standing behind the incomplete eV11

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Sponsors

Investing in the future

Scania has for several years been working closely with KTH Formula Student and supports its activities in many different ways. We spoke to Scania’s Research and Development HR manager; Erik Barkman about why they think it is important to support the KTH Formula Student team.

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uilding cars is neither cheap nor easy, especially when it comes to electric cars. The entire project is made possible by support in various forms from companies and organizations that share our passion of nurturing the

best engineers. Scania has been our main sponsor for many years. Each year, in addition to monetary support, they provide important feedback on the car’s design before the team begins production of the car. At this year’s car design presentation, it was revealed that the majority of the Scania engineers present at the event had themselves been part of previous KTH Formula Student teams.

Practical experience

The team on their way to Scania in Södertälje

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November 2014 · KTH Formula Student

Erik Barkman has employed many KTH Formula Student alumni. Why does Scania think that it is important to support the team?

Sponsors

One of the main reasons we think they are so good is because they have that incredible dedication Design presentation at Scania

- Above all, the project is a unique spring board for working life. It is important for us that potential employees have worked on or tried working on quite large and complex projects where they gained experience on working as part of a team. There are many different opinions and views that have to be united and agreed upon with others and these lead to a tangible product that has to work.

Get to know the engineering profession Scania collaborates with various engineering colleges so as to give advice on what skills the industry needs. It has been noted that students from KTH are of high quality. To further improve their employability Erik emphasizes that they should gain more practical experience.

- The quality of education at KTH is very good as it is, but it is great to couple it with practical experience. Many do not know what it means to work as an engineer, and then when they step into the working world it becomes quite a big adjustment. What we would like, is to encourage more practical experience through which students get a feel of what it is like to be an engineer.

Visiting organizations In addition to experience from working in the project Erik thinks that students should focus on learning about how it is to work at a larger company. It can be through attending guest lectures, study visits to companies or through summer jobs.

It is a really good spring board for working life Design presentation at Scania

- It is important to be able to create your own idea of what it’s like to work as an engineer, to see how it is to work on projects and how the normal day-to-day work looks like and works.

For more information about opportunities at Scania visit their website at scania.se/jobb

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