Tuesday, 4 April 2017

An electric single-seat race car compete in Formula SAE

For the first time, the University of Trento will participate in the competition launched by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The Department of Industrial Engineering is working on the project

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The University of Trento, too, has its racing team: its name is “E-Agle Trento Racing Team”, and it is designing the race car that will compete in Formula SAE.

The race will take place at the circuit of Varano de’ Melegari (Parma) at the of end July. The students, who have completed the design phase, are now beginning to build the electric single-seat car with UniTrento plate.

Formula SAE is an engineering design competition for undergraduate and graduate students launched at international level by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

The goal of the programme, which started in 1981, is to develop and construct a single-seat race car. The competition provides participants with the opportunity to apply learned classroom theories in a challenging competition, working together in a team to build a high performance race car with enthusiasm and creativity.

On this circuit, based on a series of tests, the projects will be evaluated for their design and efficiency. The jury will also evaluate the business plan and a presentation of the technical choices made, as well as safety requirements and the car’s general performance.

Some sixty students from the engineering and the economics departments of the University are working on the “E-Agle Trento Racing Team” project, guided by Paolo Bosetti, professor of Manufacturing technologies and systems at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Trento, and team advisor.

«After the design phase in the mechatronics department – explained Bosetti –, we are about to move to the construction of the race car in the workshop of Trentino Sviluppo, our technical partner».

The team will also work in the new technological prototyping lab recently opened in Rovereto at the Mechatronics cluster, named “ProM Facility”. This is the first time that the university participates in Formula SAE and its debut will be with a car that is sensitive to environmental issues.

«We are developing an electric race car. It was not required by the regulation, but I believe the jury will take this effort into account».

The race to victory will not be an easy one, though. «We have a rather limited budget» he continues. «That’s why we welcome donations from those who want to support us. We are looking for sponsors who want to tie their name with our project».
Here you can find the contact details of the “E-Agle Trento Racing Team”: formula.dii.unitn.it/