Thirty students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have been busy designing an electric racing car for an international competition to be held in the United Kingdom in July. The car, which is the first such attempt by any student group in India, will compete with 109 cars at the Silverstone Formula-1 racing track.
According to these students, entering the car for an international Formula Society of Automative Engineers (FSAE) competition, in which it would be raced on the famous F1 circuit, is like a dream. “We are yet to name the car. The car will run on electric power, which is green sustainable technology,” said Urmil Shah, captain of the IIT-B formula racing team and a student of mechanical engineering.
FSAE, the biggest educational motorsport competition in Europe, aims at promoting careers and excellence in engineering. It challenges students of universities across the world to design, build, develop and compete as a team.
“In 2009, a chip-powered formula car was designed by students of IIT-B. This time around, we are attempting to make a car that will operate on electric power with the help of lithium polymer batteries. We are expected to design and build a world-class car for FSAE. Electric cars are in, so we decided to be the first students’ group in the country to build such a car,” added Shah.
While racing cars in the US weigh about 220 kg, the IIT-B car weighs 300 kg — around 70 kg more than the formula cars that have won the FSAE so far. “As far as speed and acceleration are concerned, we are confident of having an edge over other cars at the competition. Our car can reach acceleration upto 60 kmph in just 3.5 seconds and can boost up to a maximum speed of 115 kmph, which is the approximate speed that a non-electric car can attain.”
No comments:
Post a Comment