The 2011 Formula Hybrid team recently registered as car number 13 in the Formula Hybrid SAE Collegiate Design Series.  The competition takes places from May 1^st to May 4^th of 2011. The team is very excited to improve on the 2010 Formula Hybrid car after a disappointing performance caused by system failures during the 2010 competition.

The design process for many designs is completed or near completed including the chassis, suspension, drivetrain and aerodynamics sections. Materials and tools are being acquired for the respective designs with building to commence in the days following the fall terms final exams.

Single Piece Kevlar Composite Battery Pod

Some new designs for the team include a single piece Kevlar composite battery pod (for mounting lithium ion batteries), optimized aluminum front uprights and a steering wheel mounted full color LCD screen.

2011 Front Upright

The development of the team’s comprehensive data acquisition unit is fully underway with several component designs (and implementation) already completed with another sensor order going out this week. The team is implementing a monitoring system of the dynamic power flow in the High Voltage drive system for on the fly tuning and optimizing of the vehicle control parameters. The team is also focusing on developing an accurate but simple method for suspension analysis by use of position sensing potentiometers, strain gauges, accelerometers and GPS.

The team would like to thank Westward Industries for donations to the development of the teams High Voltage DC to DC Generator System Converter, as apart of their Series Hybrid system. The Generator System converts mechanical power from a gasoline engine into electrical power used to replenish energy into the cars lithium ion battery pack. The team would also like to thank the Shell Fuel Fund for funding the Formula Hybrid team in the research and development of the Generator System.