TESTING, MAKING AND ROLLING ONWARDS

Aero & bodywork

Aero and bodywork manager, Adam Devonport has been continuing the development in his section over the previous few weeks. The car has undergone several iterations in this development featuring simulations in both 2D and 3D to optimise the airflow around the vehicle. This week, a scale model has been 3D printed for testing in the wind tunnel to further validate results.

Suspension

Following on from the refurbishment of the shocks last week, the suspension section has further progressed with the wishbone tabs having undertaken their first machining operation on one of SHU's CNC lathes. These parts now require a finishing operation on a milling machine before they can be welded onto the chassis to form an integral part of the suspension system.

Suspension manager, Chandan Talwar, has been further optimising the bonding of the Aluminium wishbone inserts to the Carbon Fibre wishbones. He has been working on a fatigue study into the longevity of bonding, with physical testing ongoing. He is setting up for further fatigue testing for the wishbone tab to ensure the life of the component will be sufficient for over the course of the event and beyond.

Chassis

With a fully tacked chassis accomplished last week, our team of welders began to seam weld the rest of the chassis under guidance of Martin Heathcote. While the welding has been ongoing Martin has started the manufacture of the first Impact Attenuator (IA) made from honeycomb aluminium.

The IA is bespoke to our car designed by Martin. Once constructed, the IA will be tested to destruction in a drop test to ensure it can adhere to the regulations.

Meet the Team - Society President

SHU Racing works as a society and a team within the Sheffield Hallam Student's Union (SHSU) to encourage a diverse group of students from various course backgrounds to join the project. This allows these people to increase their skills and knowledge outside of their course and everyday experiences.

By including people from any course and year, we pick up on a number of different talents that would have otherwise gone amiss. We pride ourselves on our inclusiveness and openness which allows us to be one of the most diverse teams within Formula Student.

Within this group are a number of elected individuals with the aim to run a well-functioning and social environment where personal development is strongly encouraged. Heading the charge is our society president, Paddy:

Name: Paddy Alexander

Age: 20

Hometown: Alnwick, Northumberland

Course: Aerospace Engineering (Level 5)

Hobbies & Interests: Being sociable, the automotive world and drones.

Reasons for getting into Formula Student:

A desire to enter the Motorsport industry has naturally led me towards SHU Racing. I realised my skills could be used while enhancing my employ-ability.

Formula Student was also another reason for joining Sheffield Hallam with the inclusiveness that the team is renowned for. I knew that I would be able to get hands on with the car while in my first year of study.