Imperial Racing Green is working to present a one-person electric vehicle prototype to compete in the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Race. This is a competition in energy efficiency, with teams competing to use the least electrical energy to complete 13 laps of Mercedes-Benz World racetrack in Weybridge, a total length of 15.6km.
Our DMT’s objective is to produce a race-ready car for this year’s competition. A new aeroshell was designed with improved aerodynamics, increased headroom and aerodynamic fairings. A CFD simulation of the final design iteration measured almost 30% decreased drag compared to the current shell, while maintaining positive lift values to reduce the effects of rolling resistance. A carbon fibre wet lay-up manufacturing process using a foam positive mould and a fibreglass negative mould was deemed most cost/weight effective. This will be manufactured as an extracurricular at the IC Hackspace in White City.
For the powertrain, a MATLAB Simulink model was developed to encompass all physical systems in order to optimise our choice of chain drive transmission ratio. Cell configuration, BMS, switches and relays were carefully selected and positioned to reduce wire length and create a comfortable driver interaction. The battery pack design and configuration are strongly supported by the MATLAB simulations. The result was a highly robust and safe power supply circuit which was designed with efficiency at the forefront of all design considerations.
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