The Italian adventure of PolSl Racing
Professional race track Varano de' Melegari, Formula SAE Italy, judges from leading automotive companies, 70 student teams, including PolSl Racing, a SW-05e car and a few days of incredible emotions. The team from the Silesian University of Technology experienced an amazing adventure. And it ended successfully.
A Mecca for motorsport lovers
The beginning of September was extremely intense and important for students from the inter-faculty PolSl Racing Student Scientific Club, who took part in Formula SAE Italy competition at the Varano de' Melegari motorsport race track. They competed with 70 teams.
FSAE Italy (Formula Student Italy) is an international university competition where students design, build and test single-person racing cars. The competition takes place on several levels – technical, sports and marketing. The competition is divided into static tests, which include a business presentation, design assessment and production cost analysis, and dynamic tests – these include track tests such as the time runs of a certain distance, acceleration test, skidpad (driving around a circle to assess grip), and endurance race, which checks the reliability of the vehicle over a distance of about 22 km.
- The cars must meet strict technical standards imposed by the competition regulations – says Lukasz Broncel, chassis, and suspension leader at PolSl Racing. “Vehicles are evaluated by judges who come from leading automotive companies. In recent years, a strong emphasis has been placed on the development of electric vehicles, which are becoming increasingly popular - both on public roads and in sports competitions. That is why our team has been working on the construction of electric vehicles for less than three years.
Varano de' Melegari is an Italian motorsport centre. The 14 sharp bends over a distance of 2.375 km are a good test for vehicles both in terms of technical design and strength.
“The track is relatively short, which makes it important to be precise in cornering and to prepare the car well for frequent changes of direction. There are numerous tests of Formula E construction on this facility - we had the opportunity to watch them up close – recalls a student of the Silesian University of Technology.
They are not afraid of the scale of difficulty
The PolSl Racing team was very successful in Italy – the SW-05e car passed all technical inspections successfully. They included, among other things, a technical and functional review of the energy storage and management system, including mainly the battery and electrical harness. There was also an overview of the mechanical design, including the design of all components and the aerodynamic package and ergonomics of the vehicle. The car also underwent braking, tilt, and water flooding tests.
"Passing the tests is crucial in the competition, as admission to the competition is conditional on meeting very stringent technical requirements, especially in the category of electric vehicles, which must pass rigorous safety checks on batteries, high-voltage systems and mechanical components. To illustrate the scale of difficulty, more than half of the 70 teams enrolled in the competition in Italy did not pass a technical inspections stage– recalls Lukasz Broncel.
The PolSl Racing team was appreciated primarily for the compactness of the entire vehicle.
“Despite the solutions imposed by budget constraints, we were able to design a vehicle that is characterized by driver ergonomics, while maintaining the main dimensions reaching the lower limits, which translated into the weight of the vehicle and caught the attention of the judges,” explains the competitor PolSl Racing. "The solutions proposed by the team in the field of electric propulsion, aerodynamics and safety systems were also interesting for the judges. In the context of electric vehicles, innovative solutions in the field of energy management, battery cooling system and technologies improving the efficiency of the vehicle have been appreciated. Such technical solutions are crucial in racing, where minimizing energy losses and improving performance are of paramount importance.
Huge logistics
Previously, students from PolSl Racing had to face a huge logistical and organizational challenge. Long before the competition, to be able to participate in it, it was necessary to obtain the required certificates. This involves participation in paid training. A group of about 30 people went to Italy.
- The competition was attended by students who had the greatest impact on the implementation of the project, as well as students who recently expanded the ranks of the team and need to acquire knowledge in order to participate in the competitions in subsequent seasons - recalls the student. - For such a number of people, safe transportation was required. We travelled in a compact column of several buses and passenger cars and vans. The delivery car carried the car and tools needed on the spot, as well as private tents and a banquet tent used to organize meetings and meals for the whole team.
Organization of the trip required coordination of many elements, such as securing the transport of the car and the necessary spare parts, organization of accommodation, securing tools and equipment for possible repairs on the spot, cooperation with judges and organizers of the competition.
- In addition, going to the competition is also a financial challenge – every year the authorities of the Silesian University of Technology help us, for which we are very grateful - says Lukasz Broncel.
They want to eliminate mistakes
Despite the success of successfully passing all technical inspections, the PolSl Racing team did not finish the endurance race. This was due to a technical failure of the car.
“Finding the cause requires a detailed technical review, which is why the team is currently analysing the problem,” explains Lukasz Broncel. “However, you have to realize that all the components and elements used in the car – except for the few purchased ones, such as electric motors or wheels – are the result of the work of the whole team, and the vehicle is a unit construction. Virtually all of its parts can be considered prototype. Of course, a vehicle in this version requires a lot of tests on the race track, which will allow to eliminate errors. The test stage is difficult – it requires access to the track, many trips and the associated time and financial resources. Unfortunately, the last two are missing.
Now monocoque
What are the plans of PolSl Racing for the coming months and the new academic year?
- Currently, the main goal is to refine the car - so that it can finish the endurance competition in the next season - says Dr Hab. Eng. Mirosław Szczepanik, prof. SUT, scientific supervisor of SKN PolSl Racing. – Of course, it is not easy, because considering the fact that the cars we drive every day fail – the more vulnerable to defects is a vehicle in which everything is designed and built practically individually.
The team also has plans for the development and construction of more, even more modern vehicles.
"So far we have designed vehicles based on frame construction and carbon fibre plating, aiming to achieve high aerodynamic parameters and sporty characteristics and styling of the vehicle" - continues Prof. Mirosław Szczepanik. “As we will be testing the existing car in the spring and summer, we don’t want to waste time and in the winter semester we are starting a project of a car based on a monocoque construction, combining both the functions of the supporting structure of the vehicle and the partial lining of the car. This will allow us to reduce the weight of the vehicle. We have a plan to complete a new monocoque car in two years.
This season the team ends not only with a new car, but also with a new electric motorcycle, realized within the scope of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education program “Student Scientific Circles create Innovation.”
“We are very pleased that our activities are noticed by well-known companies that offer sponsorship, for which we thank them,” says PolSl Racing’s scientific supervisor. “Recently we have managed to get sponsors in the form of Tauron and Magna companies. In addition, Tesla distinguished us in its program for scientific circles for the solutions proposed in the field of energy storage system, thanks to which we will receive in-kind support in the form of electrical components for the production of batteries. We are of course open to new partners and sponsors to secure funding for future projects. PolSl Racing therefore has an intensive period of preparation and further implementation in order to achieve better results in the international Formula Student arena.
More information, including recruitment for the next season, can be found on the team’s social media – Facebook (link).
Pictures: Zofia Kowal
