Ravens Racing unveils first hybrid SAE car

Carleton students have been participating in the Formula SAE event since 1998, with triumphs such as highest engine power, best use of computer simulation, and best fuel economy. In 2010, the project team began to shift gears to focus on the Formula Hybrid competition and on April 11 Ravens Racing unveiled its first Formula Hybrid Race Car to compete in the Formula Hybrid competition at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, April 30 to May 3, 2012.

“The car is a product of numerous lessons learnt, fervent debates about every detail, countless sleepless nights, incredible experiences and unwavering determination. But our car is not the end of a successful creative process, it is just the beginning,” says Pooja Suresh.

The Formula Hybrid International Competition, organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), challenges students to design, build and competitively run high-performance hybrid vehicles. These hybrid race cars combine the energy efficiency of electrical power and the range of gasoline power to boost performance and reduce emissions. Competition vehicles are judged in static events, including a marketing and design presentation, and dynamic events based on timed runs, including acceleration (both electric and unrestricted), autocross, and a 22 km endurance event.

As part of a two-year design cycle, the team was tasked with building the RR12 and designing the 2013 vehicle.

The RR12 has wheel drive configuration with the rear wheels powered by a 250cc gas engine and each front wheel powered by an electric motor. The car can achieve a top speed of 120 km/hour and accelerates from 0-100 in less than 4 seconds. The eventual progression of the car is to be completely electric.

“An impressive design for the body, developed with help from architectural students, and a more ergonomic seat are all part of the steps we are taking to strengthening the knowledge base of the team and improving future designs,” says Suresh.

The Ravens Racing team consists of 22 engineering students, mostly from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, a small group of volunteer students, and project manager Glen Clarke and lead engineers professors Miller, Wang and Feszty.

“The transformation of our innovative designs into a manufactured race car was possible primarily due to the support of our sponsors. Their contributions provided an experimental platform for emerging hybrid automotive technologies and an exceptional learning opportunity for engineering students,” says Suresh.

Design highlights for the RR12 include:

• chassis is a tubular space frame with composite components
• suspension and kinematics design based on maximizing tire performance. The suspension is a double wishbone design that is push-rod actuated, aided by re-engineered shocks and T-bar type anti-roll bars.
• a complete set of aluminum wheel centres manufactured for the first time based on comprehensive failure and fatigue analysis to improve reliability and maintain low cost and weight.
• electric drive system powered by lithium polymer batteries
• efficient, in-house-built control system
• carbon fibre impact attenuator (nose cone)

Team members are: Kosta Christopher, Stevenson Joseph Ediza, Brad Fackoury, Mark Freill, Aydin Ghoddosei, Yuyu Gu, Sunny Gulabani, John Hamilton, Mohammad Abdul Jalil, Omar Jarrar, Curtis Johnson, David Kolkman, Candace Lemon, Saman Mani, Andrew Oneski, Udit Roy, Megat Shuib, Kyle Stitt, Pooja Suresh, Gabe Surette, and Jonathan Wiebe