New Formula Student Race Team Develops Electric Racecar with MSC Adams

Green Voltage Racing Team and MSC Software drive to success in the Formula Student Electric.

SANTA ANA, CA - MSC Software Corporation, the leader in multidiscipline simulation solutions that accelerate product innovation, today announced that it will support young racecar engineers with its simulation solutions and expertise. The Green Voltage Racing Team from the Technical University of Clausthal in Germany will perform multibody dynamics simulations with MSC Adams for the chassis and suspension development of its Formula Student racecar.

Since the early eighties, Formula Student gives students the opportunity to experience both the technical and economic aspects of engineering through the development, manufacturing and operations of a racecar. In parallel with the competition for the Formula Student for Internal Combustion Engines (FSC), a similar event for electric vehicles (FSE) exists since 2010.

Already in its first year, 15 teams participated in the new FSE-discipline. This season, additional teams will come along, amongst them the Green Voltage Racing Team of the Technical University of Clausthal in Germany. Unique to other teams that have already experienced Formula Student, the students in Clausthal are just beginning. To compensate for this lack of experience in racecar design and to build a competitive racecar as quickly as possible, the students will count on modern engineering simulation techniques.

The Green Voltage Racing Team uses multibody dynamics simulation with MSC Adams to simulate and optimize the handling of the racecar with respect to different suspension geometries and various spring and damper parameters. The software will also be used to evaluate the expected forces on the chassis and the framework for the layout and selection of appropriate spring-damper-combinations. In a first step, Green Voltage Racing uses an already existing model of a Formula Student racecar, but later they will import their own geometry.

The team employs both Adams and Adams/Car, developed especially for the needs of the automotive development. Engineers can quickly create functional virtual prototypes of subsystems or entire vehicles and test them in different configurations and under different boundary conditions. The expenditure of time normally needed for laboratory tests and test drives will significantly decrease.

With MSC Software, the team has found a partner that offers leading simulation solutions for different branches and application areas for many years. With special offerings for students and universities, MSC Software provides students with easy entry into simulation techniques and supports them in achieving optimal use of the technology.

"We are committed to showing students all the possibilities that engineering simulation offers today for product development," said Walter Simon, Senior Manager at MSC Software in Munich, responsible for the support of students. "That extends far beyond just the usage of the software. For optimal usage it is necessary to structure the development processes and to interact with the environment."

"With a simulation model as accurate as possible we hope to gain complete and realistic knowledge of the racecar's handling, the setup possibilities of the spring-damper-unit and their influences on the handling of the car," said Nina Zander, speaker of the Green Voltage Racing Team. "Because we are a newly founded team, the simulation software will help us to at least partially compensate for our limited experience."