R23 Electric Racing Car
​​​​​
Skills
​
-
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
-
Composite wet lay-up and prepreg lay-up
-
Structural equivalency testing
-
Vehicle assembly
-
Project management
​​​​​
Objectives
​
-
Gaining experience in composites work.
-
Learning how to operate in multidisciplinary teams.
-
Understanding the vehicle from a holistic point of view.​
This was a photo taken on launch night at the RMIT Bundoora Campus, where the car was showcased before the competition.
Chassis Manufacturing
​
The 2023 chassis lay-up was a great learning experience. At times, it was challenging, given that we were behind schedule and many hours were spent in the composites lab to troubleshoot and come up with a final product. The problems that the team faced were due to a variety of factors, including COVID-19, which severely disrupted year-to-year knowledge transfer within the team.
I documented the chassis build process that the 2023 team followed and from this, I wrote a post-mortem analysis. I presented this post-mortem analysis to management, which outlined key areas of improvement for future chassis design and manufacturing.
FSAE Competition 2023
​
The FSAE competition at Calder Park in 2023 was an amazing opportunity to talk to other university teams. I was particularly interested in how they packaged their cars, tested the chassis and the problems they encountered.
After hours and hours of hard work and commitment, R23 passed the technical inspection process and we received all five stickers, which allowed us to enter the next stage of the competition. This was a huge achievement for the RMIT team, as this was the first time in four years that the electric car competed in all four dynamic events.
Key Lessons Learnt in 2023
​
-
Communication is key. Any miscommunication can form a myriad of problems later in the project life cycle.
-
Knowledge transfer is vital. You can have the best team in the world but if there is no succession planning, documentation or transfer of skills and knowledge, the success of the future team becomes less likely.
Deep Dive into Composites Research
​
​At the start of 2024, I underwent research into understanding composite structures and expanded upon my understanding of the chassis subsystem. From this research, I wrote two reports:
-
The correlation between aluminium core height and sandwich panel stiffness.
-
The concept design process of a carbon fibre monocoque.
I was also fortunate enough to be involved in composite training sessions, which detailed the different selections of fabric.
​
​
