UCL at the Races: Mechanical Engineering students at the Formula Student Contest

Twelve students from UCL Mechanical Engineering recently entered  the Formula Student Contest, which challenges university students from around the world to design and build a single-seat racing car. The finished car is then put to the test at the famous Silverstone Circuit. Here, Kate Oliver reports on the event.

With hopes of glory, or at least real life racing, 12 UCL students along with their supervisor Dr. Kevin Drake and their benevolent workshop engineer Neil Collings arrived at Silverstone on 13 July. With them was their racecar, a classic design produced from scratch to their specifications, partly as a contribution to their Master’s degrees.

They were entering the Formula Student competition, which every year lets mechanical engineering students pit their cars against each other in tests of build, presentation, maneuverability, fuel consumption and acceleration. It can be a topsy-turvy world, where the University of Hertfordshire often trounce the University of Cambridge, and sometimes full of heartbreak. But engineering excellence is still appreciated, as is the excitement of the racetrack.

UCL’s small red racer number 66 was moved into the pit garage that was its home for the next five days, and the team set up their tools around it. The car needed to pass a series of scrutineering checks to ensure safety before it was allowed out onto the hallowed tarmac.

Car 66 sailed through the first tests, proving its ability to stay stable at 60 degree tilt, the safety of its electronics, and its noise level, among others. However, things got more sticky when the car made its first sally out. Although previous testing had been done in UCL’s sports grounds and through the kind loan of the University of Hertfordshire’s rolling road, the participants had not been able to test their car at full speed – and that’s when the problem hit.

During the brake test, there was an issue with the back axle which, despite working dedicatedly and making several good attempts to get out on the racetrack, was just too big a problem to overcome in the garage, despite lengthy and valiant attempts by the UCL team.

The team decided to cut their losses and spend the rest of the day watching the top racers. The University of Stuttgart won overall, although UCL were glad to see Hertfordshire and Chalmers University of Technology place third and fourth. As well as being all-round good guys, they had kindly helped our team with spare parts and use of equipment.

The students who put together UCL Mechanical Engineering’s Formula Student entry were understandably disappointed to not make it any further in the competition, but agreed that the experience had definitely been worthwhile. Vincent Hung, team captain, said: “This sort of team spirit cannot be developed in the classroom; only this sort of event has the ability to bring out every single person’s full potential. It is this that builds the foundation for successful engineers of the future.”

UCL mechanical engineering will be back again next year with new students and a new car to give them invaluable experience in making their ideas real.

UCL Mechanical Engineering students regularly enter racing competitions. Their solar powered car was successfully designed, built and raced between Darwin and Adelaide in the World Solar Challenge 2007.  Click here to read about Solarfox, which will be entering again this October.