Newsletter April 2020

newsletter April 2020

AERODYNAMICS AT REVOLVE NTNU Text: Adrian Leirvik Larsen Photo: Marion Christine Løkkevig

The aerodynamics group of Team 2020 consists of five people, who together have the responsibility of designing and building the wing package as well as the cooling systems of our electric car. Within a period of eight months the group goes from a blank piece of paper and limited knowledge about the field of race car aerodynamics, to creating a top-end design and having picked up extensive understanding of all depending systems.

It’s a remarkable achievement to create something like this in so little time, and we would all have loved to watch it together with the rest of the car on the race track this summer. Unfortunately, we, as a lot of other people and teams, have been hit hard by the current situation in the world. That means we will never

be able to put the hundreds of hours of work into life. There’s not a lot we can do about the situation however, so we just have to keep working on the things we are able to work with.

Since the lockdown of the country was initiated about one month ago, the focus has been mostly on documentation. It’s one thing doing a good job for the team while you’re a part of it, but making sure the next people joining the organization get the best possible foundation to start their work is equally important. This is vital for the team to keep improving and being able to fight for the top spots at the summer events. That’s why the group members have been busy making thorough design evaluations and transfers of experience.

Jørgen Norheim

Kristoffer Finnson

As mentioned earlier, there are five members in the aerodynamics group this year. We have two guys responsible for the overall design and performance of the wing package, namely Jørgen Norheim and Kristoffer Finnson. Both doing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, they have done an excellent job during the autumn and winter, spending several hours every day in CAD perfecting the overall design. Using advanced CFD tools to visualize the airflow around all parts of the car, they have both made hundreds of iterations to make the wing package what it became in the early spring.

Amrinder Dhillon

When the design of the wing package is completed, it must be made according to the CAD models. The quality of the production is key to ensure the performance of the car reflects what has been intended during the design period. Together with the group leader, Amrinder Dhillon has been the production responsible, and has had the task of executing the production period as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. This has included selecting the best production technique, so that all elements are strong enough while keeping the weight to a minimum. We are using a sandwich structure, with a carbon fiber skin around a foam core, serving as a great trade-off between weight and strength.

Johan-Petter Dragic

Designing and assembling all of the cooling systems of the car is also the responsibility of the aerodynamics group. This year’s cooling responsible is Johan-Petter Dragic, a first-year mechanical engineering student. His tasks have been designing the air-cooling system for the accumulator, in addition to the water-cooling system of the electric motors and the inverter. It’s critical to keep the battery cells below the maximum and close to the optimal operating temperature, as these have an upper limit for when it’s safe and we’re allowed to drive with them. As for the motors and inverters, regulating their operating temperature is beneficial for the efficiency and wear of the components.

Johan-Petter has done a great job designing these systems to meet all the requirements from the different groups!

Adrian Leirvik Larsen

Finally, it’s me, the group leader. My name is Adrian, and I’m in my second year in Revolve, having been in the 2018 team as part of the electronics group. Having spent one year on exchange at TU Delft in the Netherlands, I’m back in Trondheim and in Revolve to complete my master’s degree in energy and environmental engineering. As a group leader for the aerodynamics group, my tasks are to coordinate and plan the whole year for the group, as well as making sure the communication with the other groups are maintained. I have also been heavily involved in the production planning and have had most of the contact with our great sponsors that have supported us this year with materials, production of parts, and services.

As we are in a period of a lot of uncertainty, it’s important to be as ready as we can get for the day when life returns to normal. That means we’ll spend the next few weeks making validation and test plans for the systems we are responsible for, so that we can spend as much of the summer gathering data and gaining experience as possible. For now though, we will do as everyone else: stay at home and keep working hard to put Revolve and the aerodynamics group in the best possible position going forward!

MASTER THESIS AT REVOLVE NTNU Text: Sindre Solberg, Tonja Joseph & Christine Sääv Borg Photo: Marion Christine Løkkevig

As a member of Revolve NTNU, students have the opportunity to write their master thesis here as well. We have master theses on electrical, mechanical and autonomous systems. In this article you can read more about some of the master theses that are being written this spring semester.

Tonja Joseph My name is Tonja Joseph, and I am finishing my 5th year of studying cybernetics and robotics. I am writing my master thesis in collaboration with Revolve NTNU, and I am very happy about my choice!

Revolve NTNU hooks you up with a perfect playground for developing knowledge within a large variety of advanced technology. In addition, you get a thorough follow-up with a structured progression plan, weekly meetings, workshops and frequent reviews with alumni or professors. This ensures a smooth workflow throughout the whole year - the great obstacle for any master student. To compete in Formula Student, Europe’s most established educational engineering competition, is also significantly more motivating than any grade.

I believe the environment of Revolve NTNU is very rare, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. The first thing you will notice about the members of Revolve is the remarkable encouragement and passion towards the project. The typical Revolver is open-minded and eager to share knowledge, knowing that the chain is no stronger than its weakest link. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Not asking them, on the other hand, is quite stupid.

The typical Revolver reads literature, but does not blindly believe in it. When theory is put into practice, several critical questions arise and all precarious conditions must be taken into account. The typical Revolver also tests his/her system in real life on a real race car pushing real limits and assuming nothing that creates distance to reality. In my opinion, this really adds quality to a master thesis.

The subject of my master thesis is state estimation on the autonomous race car, solved by developing an error state Kalman filter fusing the various sensors on the car. The hands-on experience has made me grow a lot as an engineer, and I would definitely recommend anyone passionate about technology to become a master student at Revolve NTNU.

Sindre Solberg Hi there! My name is Sindre Solberg, and I am this year’s group leader for Embedded Electronics in Revolve NTNU. I have a bachelor in Electronics, and I am currently studying for a master in Management of Technology. This year has been the last year of my studies and Revolve has been a unique experience in many ways. Working for Revolve is much like working in an ordinary organization. I believe this experience has made me more prepared for the coming working life.

During the last years, multiple technical student organizations have been established as part of the NTNU environment. I am currently writing my thesis about team leadership and team development in student organizations, including topics as group dynamics and team roles and how the team leader can affect this.

Being a group leader in Revolve while doing this research has been very interesting.

I have been able to see the theories in practice and reflect on my behavior as a leader throughout the year. This has made me aware of the importance of feedback in groups and how feedback can affect group performance.

In Revolve you are part of a big team of dedicated students and writing a thesis in such an environment is motivating. There are many possibilities for a master’s thesis in Revolve, both technical and more organizational. I would really recommend writing your thesis for Revolve!

Christine Sääv Borg My name is Christine Sääv Borg and I am in my last year of a cybernetics and robotics degree. I was a part of the 2019 team of Revolve NTNU and during April last year I stood in front of the choice of what to work with and write about for my master thesis.

For the seven months I had been a part of the team I found it really challenging, really educational and extremely fun! Therefore, to get the opportunity to do something challenging, which I really like, and also do it with an awesome group of people, I decided to write my thesis for Revolve.

The topic of my thesis is nonlinear control for the autonomous vehicle, Atmos, more specific model predictive control. I am a part of a crucial system for this year’s goals which makes my work and thesis more rewarding personally and motivational as the organisation is dependent on what I do.

This year has been extremely educational and fun, as I hoped. Getting the opportunity to work with the whole team is the perfect way of writing a master thesis, in my opinion. You get to work with talented people who become your friends and they are always backing you in your work. I have learned a lot and I am really glad I chose to write my master thesis for Revolve.

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