Automotive & motorsport
Torquing through the COVID-19 lockdowns
The national lockdowns of 2020 may have helped advance the design and development of the next generation of hyper-efficient city cars, as reorganisation of an annual endurance competition lead one of the teams to re-focus its efforts with a little help from Sensor Technology.
E
very year since 2005, university-based Eco-Runner Team Delft has developed a new vehicle and entered the Shell Eco-
Marathon, competing against many other teams from around Europe to build the world’s most efficient hydrogen-powered car. In this they have always been supported by local engineering company Althen Sensors, who have supplied RWT430 torque sensors, made by British company Sensor Technology for collecting key data so that the designs can be tested and optimised. With the 2020 competition rearranged due to
COVID-19, Team Delft chose to take on an extra challenge: building not just an efficient car but building an efficient city car. This meant that rather than developing a lightweight design optimised to the track-based competition, practical aspects were also taken into consideration and incorporated into the vehicle. Examples of the new requirements include making a full stop and restart after each lap to
simulate driving in urban traffic, and the inclusion of headlights, tail lights, direction indicators and a windscreen wiper. Taking all these new challenges into account, the students started to work towards building the world’s most efficient hydrogen-powered city car. In order to achieve best results, every single
element in the car needs to be as efficient as possible. To this end an aerodynamic body shape based on strong but very lightweight materials was developed. Further efforts were made to ensure an ultra-efficient drivetrain, including customisation of the main drive motor In fact ensuring the motor was optimised to
the needs of the vehicle’s proving regime was a major part of the overall project. So a special test rig was built so that the motor could be tested at various speeds, through multiple acceleration and deceleration profiles, and over long and short operating periods. The heart of the test rig was the TorqSense. This is not only a reliable, accurate and easy
to use sensor, but because it is non-contact set-up times before each test run are minimal. Over a long and comprehensive testing regime, these individual time savings add up to a considerable overall reduction in programme duration and also help maintain enthusiasm during what could otherwise be laborious procedures. TorqSense works by using radio transmissions
to detect the intensity of Surface Acoustic Waves generated by the rotation of the motor’s shaft, which is proportional to the instantaneous torque output of the motor. By using TorqView software, also developed by
Sensor Technology, Team Delft was able to get a good view of the torque capabilities of the motor at different rotational speeds. In addition, they could measure the input voltage and current of the motor controller. Also, the team was able to easily adjust the loads on the test rig to simulate different stages and conditions of the actual track-based vehicle test. The information on the torque levels and
rotational speeds of the motor, gained with the TorqView software, helped to forecast the most efficiency operating conditions of the vehicle. These calculated conditions matched those determined by testing the car on the track, confirming that they had identified the best motor setup. This then allowed the student engineers to determine the different speeds needed for an optimal lap. In fact Team Delft’s analysis and engineering
were so good that they won both the 2020 Shell Eco-marathon Hydrogen Endurance
Race with a score of 2506,6 km/kg H2 and the Vehicle Design Award. Sensor Technology
32
www.sensors.co.uk February 2021 Instrumentation Monthly
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
