eRacing Magazine Vol 2. Issue 3 | Page 71

There is little doubt that electric race cars will continue to fill up our grids in the future. However, for electric racing to ever reach its full potential, its inherent issue of thermal management needs to be solved.

Luckily, this year’s elite class of engineering students studying the MSc Advanced Motorsport Engineering course at Cranfield University are taking on this challenge as part of their Group Design Project.

The Cranfield Formula Electric Series (CFES) will consist of five teams competing against each other in true motorsport fashion. Each race team will design the thermal management system for an electric version of a Formula BMW, with the aim of achieving maximum performance and safe operation throughout a twenty minute race.

To achieve the best design, teams will have to carry out a vast array of experimental testing such as FEA crash studies, heat exchanger and air duct testing, heat transfer coefficient validation of materials, optimisation, thermal performance analysis and aerodynamic testing to name a few.

The final designs will be presented and virtually raced in front of some of motorsport’s leading figures on the 14th of May Industry day. The project is supported by companies and teams such as Williams Advanced Engineering, Virgin Formula-E Team, the National College for Motorsport (NC4M), Cranfield Motorsport Simulation (CMS), Altair Hyperworks, AVL, ChassisSim with various prizes awarded by the MSA and Racecar Engineering.

"This is a bold, innovative and I believe highly relevant project," highlighted Adrian Reynard, founder of Reynard Motorsport and current co-owner of the Auto Research Centre (ARC).

"The efficient use of all types of energy will remain a focus of motorsport for the future and the electrical contribution will be at the heart of extracting optimum performance", added Reynard. "So I think it will be a valid piece of learning for all involved and a valuable experience."

If you would like to attend the Motorsport Group Design Project Day on the 14th of May then please contact Jess Greenwood at [email protected].

The heat is on.

by Gemma Hatton