Departments
We would like to introduce you the 6 departments in our team.
At the dynamics department we are in charge of the study and analysis of all the forces acting on the car, for which we are divided into 5 sub-departments:
– Steering:
Design and assembly of the steering system of the car. This by regulation must be mechanical, consisting of a rack and pinion system actuated by the steering wheel and connected through the steering rod.
– Suspension:
Design of a car suspension system, consisting of 4 shock absorbers, 2 at the front and anchored directly to the car and 2 at the rear located in the subframe.
– Brakes:
Design of the braking system of the car. In this section the regulations require us to have a hydraulic braking system with two independent pumping systems (one per axis) made up of disc brakes. This system must be capable of blocking all 4 wheels of the car completely.
– Geometries:
Design of the geometry of the car wheel wishbones. This consists of carrying out a study of the optimum parameters of the car’s settings and adjusting them to both the driver’s driving comfort and the performance of the car.
– Simulation:
Simulation of the car with the help of computer programmes to study the behaviour of the car in different situations, before its assembly and testing.
At the chassis department, we carry out the development of the base of our single-seater, the monocoque, together with other main safety elements.
We work with composite materials and their characterization, as well as simulations, structural calculations, testing, and subsequent application in the manufacture of our single-seater. We work to achieve a primary structure with higher torsional stiffness and lower weight, as well as higher safety coefficients. We also take into account all the safety aspects necessary in a racing car, as this structure must hold the driver intact in the event of an impact, together with a study of the driver’s ergonomics to facilitate driving.
At the aerodynamic department, the main objective is to maximize downforce while maintaining efficient airflow around the car.
On the design side, we make use of CAD software together with CFD simulations to study the impact, efficiency, and downforce generated by the package under development. We then proceed to manufacture the aerodynamic package in carbon fiber. In addition, we subject all these components to testing processes, together with a study of the anchoring of the aerodynamic package.
At the engine department, the main objective is to design and create all the necessary elements to adapt the engine of a motorbike to the car, complying with all the regulations required by the competition. For this purpose, there are different sub-departments:
– Subframe:
This sub-department is in charge of designing a tubular structure capable of supporting the engine and all the necessary accessories.
– Intake:
We work to perform the necessary calculations to develop an intake manifold taking into account all the constraints of the regulations.
– Exhaust:
We deal with the design of exhaust manifolds taking into account the limited space to be able to place them correctly.
– Gear shifting:
The challenge is to adapt a motorbike’s sequential gearbox to a sequential gearbox with cams on the steering wheel. For this purpose, a pneumatic circuit is developed which is operated by the driver from the steering wheel.
– Fuel tank:
This sub-department is in charge of designing the fuel tank of the car, selecting the fuel pump, and delivering the fuel through a tube to the injection ramp.
– Transmission:
Its main objective is the design of the necessary parts to ensure that the power generated by the engine is transmitted to the wheels. In our particular case, this power is transmitted by means of a chain and a shaft.
– Wiring:
This sub-department is in charge of transforming the original wiring of the bike into customized wiring to position the ECU of the engine where it is necessary and to remove all the unnecessary elements of the original wiring.
The electronics department focuses on two main areas: the safety of our driver and car and also the improvement of our car.
In relation to safety, we focus on preparing the entire electrical system so that the driver has the greatest possible safety. To do this, we adapt the wiring of the motor that our car uses to the safety systems that are strictly detailed in our competition regulations. For the evolution of this safety system we are sometimes forced to create other devices, with which we follow the next guidelines: the creation of the idea, simulation of the electrical diagram, development of PCBs, verification of the same, and finally manufacture and implementation.
When talking about the improvement of our single-seater, we take as a starting point for any progress, it is always important to have some data in order to have a basis for evolution. That is why we are in the process of developing a live telemetry system in our department. All this is in order to obtain real-time data about the car’s behavior on the track. In order to read and understand this data correctly, our department is developing its own CAN network to be able to interconnect all the devices we have in our single-seater. Last but not least, we are concerned about the well-being of our drivers and we are adapting a system so that they can see the most relevant data of the car and adapt their driving to the conditions.
At the comunication and marketing, our job is to contribute a little bit of each one to make the coordination of the team work. That’s why this department is not only made up of journalism students, but also students of translation, video game design and development and audiovisual communication. All of them are students at the Universitat Jaume I.
Some of our tasks are searching for sponsors, connecting and helping in order to coordinate the different departments, as well as publishing everything we do in our social networks (Instagram: @ujiformulastudents; Facebook: UJI Motorsport/@ujimotorsportfs), just as we control the economical management and promote the team.
We try to carry the organization with an agile and personal way. Therefore, we set a weekly meeting card in which we expose the points we need to arrange, just like what and when we want to publish in our social network or research which are the fairs and events we could go.
We are greater and greater, we always feel like prospering and working harder, but also that each department’s work would be valued beyond the university.