About This Project
Formula SAE is an intercollegiate competition that gives students the opportunity to design, fabricate, and assemble a small scale formula style race car. For the first time, this year's competition will require vehicles to be powered by a full electric powertrain. The students of Western Washington University want to enter this competition in the hopes that this opportunity will give them the valuable experience now which can be applied later on in the future.Ask the Scientists
Join The DiscussionWhat is the context of this research?
Not only will Western Washington University be designing and building an electric vehicle for the Formula Electric competition, but the team will be building a vehicle for the combustion event as well. With a new approach towards simplicity and ease of manufacture, constructing two new vehicles is a possibility. This will be the first time for Western Washington University to build two vehicles in a single year in the Formula SAE series.
What is the significance of this project?
All of us on the team have a passion for things that move, especially cars. We realized that electric vehicles could offer a level of efficiency and performance far ahead of anything on the road today. This is what we want to do: revolutionize the way cars work.
We are investigating the dynamics of small to medium sized electric vehicles. This is important not only for the small formula racing car that we are developing but also to a new generation of highly efficient and affordable consumer electric vehicles while giving experience to the future engineers who will be building these cars.
What are the goals of the project?
We will focus on gathering real world data collected from both static bench testing to the rigors of the race-course. From this information we will identify the most important factors affecting system performance including air drag, battery pack construction, battery charging methods, extreme weather conditions, vehicle weight, gear ratios, software configuration, and cooling configuration to name a few.
Budget
We absolutely appreciate all of the support we receive from our sponsors but it is limited compared to what we need for this project. We have already allocated all of the funds we anticipate on receiving this year from sponsors to the rest of the cars such as materials for chassis, suspension components (dampers and springs), internal combustion powertrain, brakes, etc.
Meet the Team
Team Bio
Alan Luan is a senior at Western Washington University with a focus in Operations Management. While Alan studies business, his passion is working with kids and serving in the community. He also enjoys a healthy amount of 4-square every now and then.Alan Luan
Alan Luan is a senior at Western Washington University with a focus in Operations Management. While Alan studies business, his passion is working with kids and serving in the community. He also enjoys a healthy amount of 4-square every now and then.
Nicholas Conroy
Nicholas Conroy is a Junior at Western Washington University focusing on a Major in Electronics Engineering Technology. Nicholas has had a long standing fascination with vehicles and computer technology, and has been the Electronics Lead for the WWU Formula SAE team since his Freshman year. In his free time he likes to drink coffee and occasionally sleep.
Additional Information
"What I like most about FSAE is the comradery and open environment. There is such a big focus here on passing down knowledge to the younger guys and without it we wouldn't be able to function year to year." - James Dunn, Manufacturing"Instead of playing Mario Kart, partying, or complaining about how hard school is, I am spending my life as a college student learning how to design and build real live racecars. People ask why I'm addicted, I ask why they aren't." - Evan Horner, Suspension
"Formula SAE has been one of the most rewarding commitments I've made in my college career" - Aaron Pecora, Controls and Ergonomics
Project Backers
- 44Backers
- 107%Funded
- $8,635Total Donations
- $119.93Average Donation