Oregon State Formula

Last week, OSU SAE had the unique opportunity to attend the 2009 SAE AeroTech Congress & Exhibition in Seattle, WA. Basically a trade show for the aerospace industry, with companies exhibiting everything from composite fasteners to NC coding software, AeroTech was a great opportunity to get the word out about OSU SAE to a large group of industry professionals.

Trevor and Jasmine with the 09 Formula and Baja cars.

The week started early Monday morning, when the team left Corvallis to pick up the 09 Formula car in Portland. The car had just returned from Germany, having completed its European tour. While the crate had arrived in Portland at 5 am, due to the large volume of paperwork required to release the car following shipment we were not able to take delivery until 3 pm.
Hoping to find a dry place to unpack the shipping crate and re-assemble the car, we continued toward Seattle, crate in tow. It wasn’t until late that night that we arrived in Seattle, having spent hours in stop and go traffic. The rest of the night would be spent assembling the car and preparing it for the next day’s show.

Tuesday and Thursday were spent showing the cars and talking to company representatives. Lots of cutting edge technologies were on display, from all-composite fasteners to metal deposition modeling to fastener installation guns which log number of tightened fasteners and torque specs. The rapid prototyping products available were particularly interesting, with certain plastic compounds sealing well enough to hold vacuum, and other laser deposition metallic parts approaching strength levels of some of the machinable alloys.

One company demonstrated their damper dynamometer technologies with a miniature shock dyno running an RC car shock. Another showed off its thermal analysis software and how it could be applied to everything from human ergonomics to vehicle brake rotors. A third was showcasing reconfigurable fixtures for everything from welding operations to vehicle assembly. Over the two days of the exhibition, we talked to more than 30 companies with products or services related to our project.

Thursday started early as well, with a 6 am visit to Barton Machine, sponsor of the 2009 and 2010 car uprights. While our tight schedule permitted only a short early-morning visit, it was really a pleasure to talk with the machinists and display the car which they had helped build. Part of what makes the Formula SAE program so valuable is that it allows engineering students to work closely with professional machinists and engineers in the field, enhancing the real-world application of the engineering skills learned in the classroom.

Following closely on the heels of the visit to Barton was a tour of PACCAR’s Technical facility in Burlington, WA. PACCAR makes a variety of large (semi) trucks, and so naturally interest students in our program.

Concluding the very long Thursday was Oregon SAE Student Night. Every year student teams from Oregon who compete in the SAE collegiate design series competitions come together for the Student Night to showcase their programs. This year the other teams included the University of Portland’s Baja SAE, AeroDesign and Supermileage teams, Portland State University’s Formula SAE team, and our own Baja team. With a technological presentation on Daimler Trucks’ new Innovation Truck, a guest speaker on how to get a job in the current economic climate and presentations by the student teams, the event was quite a success. It is always exciting to get to talk to other student teams going through similar projects, as many issues and challenges are universal to student engineering teams.

By Thursday night, the team had arrived back in Corvallis and the 2009 Formula car was back home after nearly four months abroad. In typical Formula SAE fashion, our focus now turns back to the new car, still in the design phase. Over the next month we will complete our designs and begin manufacturing into winter term. I’ll keep you posted on updates.

-Trevor

Did you see us at homecoming? OSU SAE was outside the football stadium on Saturday giving out candy and offering seats in the 08 Formula and 09 and 08 Baja cars.

The next few weeks will be a flurry of activity as we continue the design phase of the year. In about three weeks we will have the unique opportunity to be a part of the 2009 SAE AeroTech Congress and Exhibition. Basically an aerospace trade show, companies from around the US will converge on Seattle the second week of November to showcase their products and services. Among them will be Oregon State University SAE.

We are very excited to be able to showcase our winning Formula and Baja vehicles and meet professionals in the aerospace industry. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about new aerospace products as well as get the word out about OSU SAE. More information on the exhibition can be found here.

Later that week, we will also take both cars to the Oregon SAE student night. The Oregon chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers holds a student night every year to let the student teams get together and present their vehicles and competition results. It’s a great time to relax and get to know the students from the other Oregon schools competing in the same events. SAE members are welcome to attend: more information can be found here.

Back in Corvallis, we are hard at work designing the 2010 car. With lots of new changes this year and an aggressive schedule, the team has their work cut out for them.

The powertrain team hard at work

We will be heading to Detroit this summer to compete among the best teams in world at Formula SAE Michigan. With teams from all over the world registered for the event, the competition promises to be quite an event. Look for us, we’ll be car 11.

-Trevor

Last Friday we held the 2009 SAE elections, where we choose three students to fill organizational positions within OSU SAE.

Marjen Jafarbay was elected SAE secretary, which means she’ll be in charge of keeping liability waivers and SAE dues organized. Marjen is new to OSU SAE this year but brings a lot of enthusiasm to the position so we’re very excited to have her on board.

Bo Neilan was elected SAE Vice President, so he’ll be working to keep the SAE shop organized and stocked with tools and other supplies. Bo is starting his second year on the Baja team.

Hillary Shoop was elected SAE President, putting her in charge of working with sponsors for both teams.With the help of the rest of OSU SAE’s members Hillary will work to raise the necessary funds to build and race both teams’ cars. Hillary is starting her second year on the Formula team.

After the elections we all got together for a pizza party in the shop. Both the Formula and Baja teams introduced more new students to the program, and the laid back atmosphere gave everyone a chance to relax. Next week we’ll get right back in the swing of the year and start designing cars.

-Trevor

Just a short update. Yesterday the team met again, and again we had a very large group of new students. New this meeting also were this years senior project students. As part of the College of Engineering, students may apply their final year engineering design project to an assembly on the Formula Car. With about 12 seniors this year and an army of underclassmen, OSU Formula is looking good this year.

In addition to the Monday meetings, we are holding a vehicle dynamics class ME 206 that introduces students to the Formula SAE program and the math and engineering behind designing a winning Formula SAE or Baja SAE race car. The class is held once a week for a hour Wednesdays at 7pm in Roger 440. Everyone is welcome and students who want to take the class for credit have to go to Dearborn 102 to register.
Class starts tomorrow with a lecture on the the Formula SAE competitions and general Formula SAE vehicle design.

-Trevor

Yesterday was our first team meeting of the year, and boy what a turnout! In addition to the 20 or so returning members, we were joined by a very large group of new students, filling the shop to the brim. Largely a collection of freshman and sophomores, these students represent the future of Oregon State SAE.

Jeff talked at length about the Formula SAE program we have at OSU, covering the basics of the Formula SAE/Formula Student competition and the results from the 2009 season. Our Faculty Adviser, Dr. Paasch, talked about the post graduate benefits of being part of the team, helping students land jobs upon graduation. We all got to talk with a variety of new students, coming from all types of backgrounds and interests, but ultimately all motivated to check out the team because they share interest in cars and the fundamentals of engineering. One of my favorite things about OSU Formula SAE is exactly that. Students of a variety of types come together because we share a common interest and passion and work as a team to build some amazing racecars.

We will hold our next team meeting on Monday as usual, but the location has changed to Rogers 230. The first ME 206 (Introduction to vehicle design) class will take place Wednesday at 7 pm in Rogers 230. The first lecture will be an overview of the Formula SAE competitions and the rules and requirements of Formula SAE racecars. Students who want to take the lecture course for credit (1) need to go to Dearborn 102 and get an override slip to be able to register.

-Trevor

As part of our recruiting efforts for the 2010 season, we displayed our 2008 car at the College of Engineering’s annual ice cream social. A few hundred Freshman and transfer engineering students attended the event, spanning all majors in the college from nuclear engineering to construction engineering management. Every student group from the college was at the event, from Engineers without Borders to the robotics club, to SAE. By and large the biggest crowd was around the SAE cars; Formula with our 08 car and our friends from the Baja team with their 09 car. We talked to a lot of students about the team, and got a lot of enthusiastic responses. We look forward to meeting you all in our first meeting next Monday at 6 pm in the SAE shop (Rogers 132). See you then!

For those of you who want to get involved immediately, check out these links:

2010 Formula SAE rules

Unofficial FSAE forums

Formula SAE/Formula Student news

-Trevor

So it’s been a month since our last post. While the euphoria from the Austria victory has worn off, we’re happy to start work on our next car, which will compete in 2010 competitions. So far work on the new car has been slow as much of the team is home for the remaining days of summer. We will return in full force when school starts in the next week and a half.

The progress that is being made isn’t directly related to the new car but instead the organization of the new team. One of the great challenges that every team faces is knowledge and experience transfer between years. Many experienced team members have graduated and left the team and will be replaced by the influx of new seniors and other team members. In order for the team to be successful, these new members must quickly be integrated into the team and learn as much as possible from their predecessors. By no means is this an easy task, and just one of the many challenges facing the new team.

We will resume weekly team meetings starting Monday, September 28th at 6 pm in the SAE shop in Rogers 132. If you are interested in joining the team or just want to check us out, make sure to come by and learn more about the team.

For those of you who need a new desktop picture, the group photos from FSG and FSA have been published. Click on the pictures to see the full size.

FSG:

FSA:

-Trevor

German host school DHBW Ravensburg takes 3rd

Results from FSA:

Overall
1. Corvallis(OSU) 918,57
2. UAS Graz 775,57
3. Ravensburg 772,18
4. TU Graz 763,38
5. TU Munich 736,07
6. Zurich 730,00
7. Loughborough 711,05
8. UAS Munich 670,90
9. Schweinfurt 626,12
10. UAS Hamburg 622,43

We are very excited that years of hard work have finally payed off with OSU Formula’s first ever overall win. With our friends at the BA racing team finishing with a strong third place overall, the mood around here is pretty upbeat. The day’s summary follows below:

As usual the day began at a bright and early 7:30 am for the drivers’ meeting, covering the rules and operation of the day’s events. While Bill and Jeff were in the meeting, the rest of us carefully inspected the car to ensure it was safe to run after the last night’s rear brake rotor change. We were able to slip into line for the practice track before the drivers had returned, letting us warm the car up and prepare for autocross. Jeff hopped in the car and looped the practice track a few times. In addition to preparing himself to drive, this exercise also let us bed in the brakes and put some residual heat into the tires. As Jeff came off the track we rolled directly into the tire covers and then off to autocross. Race engines were revving as we waited for the first cars to run. With the temperature already in the 80s, lap times would drop drastically as the first cars layed rubber down along the track. TU Graz was the first team to run, posting a 45 second lap on their second try. This lap went un challanged until ETS put down a 43 second lap. After 5 or 6 cars had run, Jeff went out and nailed two solid 44 second laps. With a competitive time in, we brought the car back to the pits. We would wait until just before the end of autocross to send Bill out, maximizing our chances of a winning time.

By 11, autocross was preparing to close at noon. Bill too ran the practice track, and rolled over to autocross and suprised us all with the top time of a day, a 42.39. The team was ecstatic as Bill had bested the top four cylinder cars with our little single on a high speed track that should favor the bigger cars.  Having finished out laps, there was nothing to do but wait as the remaining teams ran their second drivers, shotting to beat our time. Lap times did continue to drop, but no one could quite catch Bill’s best time. Mathias, in the BA Ravensburg car was however able to slip into a close 42.94 lap to take second in autocross. Naturally we were thrilled that both cars would be in the top starting order for endurance.

As in Germany, the endurance run order in austria takes the reverse finishing order of the autocross, running the fastest cars and the end of the day. This meant that both OSU and the BA Ravensburg teams would wait until nearly 6 pm to run the endurance event. With little left to do but inspect the cars before endurance, both teams relaxed.

Endurance started at 3 pm. Still with little to do, the team watched the other cars circle the track. TU Vienna was the highlight of the early runners, stalling four times on track in the first two laps, only to restart whenever the corse marshalls approached to pull the car off track. Team members could be seen wearing shirts reading “Fuel to noise converter” in reference to the outstanding racket the car made every lap. According to the announcer the car passes the required sound tests because the engine is unloaded. Under load on the track, the noise level increases considerably, in addition to loud crack of backfires every half lap or so. Still they were fast on track, even slowly catching TU Graz.

By 5:30 we were getting ready to run. We would start directly after the BA, but had to fuel the car before the run. As we fueled up, TU Munich, Longborough University and the BA circled the track. Longborough was fast, but after the driver change TU Munich quickly caught up. In an attempt to escape the inevitable pass by Munich, the Longborough driver over-cooked a corner exit and spun the car, allowing both Munich and the BA to pass. The BA sucessfully changed drivers soon afterward, brining a cheer from the students around the track. As Longborough finished, Jeff was allowed to enter the track about 1/4 of a lap in front of Munich. While Jeff drove fast and clean, Munich was able to catch him and pass.  When Munich finished, only Jeff and Mathias were out on track, about 1/3 a lap apart. Mathias was continuously getting quicker, but far enough back from Jeff to finish before catching him. As Jeff rolled into the driver change, we watched with anticipation. Bill swapped seats with Jeff, and roared the 450 cc engine to life amid cheers of the team. The only car out on track, Bill clicked off consistantly quick lap times until the end of the stint. With little to announce, the race commentator commented repeatedly how Bill the driving instructor would show us all how to drive and “how they hang the hammer” in Germany (or as we say, drop the hammer). When Bill pulled in to finish, it was all over. The last cars had ran and the scores were done. We would have to wait until the awards cermony to know the results.

The awards ceremony in austria is similar to that of the German event. Dinner is followed by speeches from the event officials and lots of awards are handed over.

At the end:

OSU:

1st in Presentation
1st in Autocross
1st in Endurance
1st in Fuel Efficiency
Best driver award: Bill Murray
1st overall in dynamic events
1st overall

DHBW/BA Ravensburg:

1st in Special Event
2nd in Autocross
2nd in Endurance
3rd in Acceleration
3rd in Skidpad
3rd overall 

-Trevor

First day of dynamic events is complete and we have results for three events:

First in presentation
Fourth in acceleration
seventh in skidpad

The day started at an early 7:30 am with the driver’s meeting. The main topic of the day was the schedule of the events, while allotted only an hour and a half for skidpad, but three hours for acceleration. The teams would be hard pressed to get both drivers through with two runs.

As soon as the meeting ended, we rushed off to skidpad. We wanted to be one of the first cars in the dynamic area so that we could warm the engine and prepare to enter the track after 5 or 6 cars had dusted it off and layed some rubber down. Andi was the first in the car. Unfortunately only the total skidpad times were displayed. Since only the second lap of each skidpad direction is scored, the overall times don’t tell us anything about our actual score in the event. Regardless, Andi looked fast, and said he felt very happy with the car. By this time, we were running out of time on the skidpad. The event was closing at 10:30, in the next 25 minutes. We skipped the practice track and headed immediately into the second driver line. Cars poured off the practice track and into the first driver lane, so much so that we were afraid we wouldn’t get Chris in for his runs before closing time. We did end up getting two more runs in before 10:30, and despite a communication error with the officials (they forgot to pull the exit cone, and Chris couldn’t exit the track after his run) we finished 7th. We moved on the to the acceleration run, and with Chris were able to place 4th with a time of 4.223 seconds.

We are still waiting on scores for the Design event and the FSA unique “Special Event”. The greatly anticipated additional dynamic event turned out to essentially be a 0-100kph-0 competition, with a 75 acceleration run immediately followed by maximum braking in order to stop the car within a 25 m long box. While it forced the teams to change their strategy and car setup to accommodate the new event, it rewards peak power and braking performance instead of agility and cornering performance upon which our car is based. Bill did two runs, both nearing 95 kph at the gate and stopping in the box. While the performance was near the maximum capability of the car, the times were only midpack. Without completing any additional runs with a second driver, we called it a day.

Autocross and endurance will both be run tomorrow. With any luck we can repeat our autocross performance from Hockenhiem and set ourselves up for a dynamite endurance performance.

-Trevor