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Formula Student is a well-known international competi-tion that judges not only speedbut, more importantly, know-how. With the 2010 seasonabout to begin, dSPACE visitedthe UPBracing Team at theUniversity o Paderborn inGermany or an inside look atongoing development work.The team is ocusing onextending the electrical andelectronic components, evenincluding an electronic clutch.

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Behindthe Scenes

The UPBracing Team is ne-tuning newcomponents or its racing car to gear upor the 2010 season o Formula Student.

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Formula Student Opens Doors

There is hardly a German universitywithout a Formula Student team.The Association o German Engineers(VDI) began holding the FormulaStudent Germany competition in2006. Since then, it has growninto a major project, watched withinterest and great respect by uni-versities and the automobile indus-try alike. Participating students ndthat it opens doors or them, aspartner companies in their recruit-ment processes proactively search

or students with Formula Studentexperience. So it is no surprise thatin the last ew years, the availablestarting slots in Formula StudentGermany were taken up withinminutes o registration opening.

The teams are constantly improv-ing, and the standard o competi-tion in Germany is also gettinghigher, even though it alreadyenjoys a reputation as the airestbut most demanding competitionin comparison with other countries.Every year, the organizers raise thecompetitions level o di culty,ensuring a continuous pro essionaldevelopment process which theUPBracing team ully embraces.With the help o dSPACE products,the young engineers have againcome up with exciting innovationsto impress judges and spectators atthe Hockenheimring this summer.

Faster and Lighter with

ElectronicsCreativity and teamwork are keywhen Paderborns up-and-comingengineers plan new vehicle compo-nents and then test, build and mea-sure them a ter weeks o research.To hold their own against the 77

The th injector ensures that uel is used moree ciently and adds an extra 5 HP.

harness that provides quick access.

Design work on the new cable har-ness is very complex and extensive,as each individual connection hasto be thought out in advance, andevery time a components positionis changed, the entire cable harnesshas to be rebuilt. The result is impres-

other registered teams, this yearthe UPBracing team is mainly con-centrating on three new eaturesthat will reduce the weight o theirsel -designed racing car, the PX210,and also boost its horsepower.

Structured Cable HarnessIn its predecessor, the PX208, eachcable is installed and shielded indi-vidually, which makes it more di cultto correct any aults that occur. Thenew vehicle has a structured cable

sive: The vehicles overall weightis slightly reduced, its aults are easierto nd, and its reliability has beenimproved.

The Fifth Injector Adds 5 HPThe installation o a th injectorhas also brought greater power ande ciency. The E85 uel used by theUPBracing Team has a high heat ovaporization. To use the e ect betterand to allow the air in the cylinderto start cooling even earlier, the

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The CountdownHas Begun

The UPBracing team still hasquite a bit to do be ore the racebegins, and the time le t be orethey get a taste o Formula Oneracing this summer is shrinking

ast. And this year, the studentsare not only competing at theHockenheimring rom August4 to 8: They will also be at thestarting line at Formula StudentAustria.

ment. So a 60-hour week is noexception, as the students are con-stantly searching or new challengesand are immen sely ambitious intheir innovative planning. Even so,Formula Students main aim is thesame as ever: un and enthusiasm

or motorsports. n

students installed a th injector atthe start o the air duct. By injecting

uel into the air duct, the air can becooled down rom 30 C to 5 C,improving the supply to the cylinderat high engine speeds. Because the

th injector needs di erent injectionvalues, which cannot be adjustedby the engine ECU, the engineeringstudents are using dSPACEs RapidProsystem. RapidPro works simultane-ously with the same algorithm asthe engine ECU and guaranteesthat all ve signals are parallelized

and synchronized. The results aremore e cient uel utilization anda power increase o 5 HP.

Hand ClutchA normal manual transmission carhas three oot pedals: the clutch,the brake, and the accelerator. Butin the compact PX210, it is di cult

or the pilot to reach the middlepedal. So this year, the brake in thePX210 is on the le t, the acceleratoris on the right, and a hand lever onthe steering wheel activates theelectronic clutch. When the clutchlever on the steering wheel ismoved, the data is passed electroni-cally via a CAN bus to the RapidProsystem, which controls the clutchmotor. Initially the drivers were veryskeptical o this system which isalso used in pro essional FormulaOne race cars, but soon becameenthusiastic. The start-up is smooth,the vehicle handles very well, andthere is a good driving eel.

Teamwork and DedicationOverall, Formula Student is muchmore than just a design competition

or the students. It gives competitorsan opportunity to run through theentire process o constructing aproduct prototype and to get toknow important real-world work-fows, rom the original idea todevelopment work to nal manu-

acture. We are working just as iwe were in a real company, explainsUPBracing team member DenisWachsmann. Teamwork and inter-

disciplinary communication play amajor role. The di erent workgroupssuch as mechanical engineering, ITand accounting constantly have tocoordinate with each other anddevelop a eel or the work thatothers are doing. The main thingis not personal victory, but success

or the entire team, adds his teamcolleague Felix Langemeier.

In the races too, both the participantsand the spectators soon realizethat airness and sportsmanshipare important components in thecompetition. The organizers aim topromote so t skills as well, so FormulaStudent has its own award orthese qualities. Even i every teamwants to win, the students are notmeant to use their elbows, but tolend a hand i another team needshelp. 99.9 % o the work done bythe young engineering students islearning by doing, and they showenormous creativity and commit-

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