Revving Up Success at Formula Student with TorqSense Technology
14-11-2023
The Formula Student competition, fostering the development of high-performance electric cars across Europe, is witnessing innovative engineering approaches. Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, stands out with its potential secret weapon—a wireless torque sensor integrated into a test bench.
Formula Student (FS) is not just a competition; it serves as an educational platform, shaping enterprising and innovative young engineers while encouraging wider participation in the engineering field. An essential part of degree-level projects, the competition sets the standard for engineering graduates, acting as a bridge between university education and the professional workplace. Many Formula Student participants embark on remarkable careers in motorsport or various other industries.
In support of this endeavour, Sensor Technology Ltd has provided the Formula Student team at Instituto Superior Técnico with a TorqSense system. This wireless torque sensor will aid the development of a high-performance electric motor for their car. The team's goal is to achieve an impressive power-to-weight ratio surpassing any previous electric motor development in Portugal.
FST Lisboa, Portugal's successful Formula Student team, has been actively involved since 2001. With a history of seven prototypes, the team has gained national recognition for innovative engineering and project management. Their 2017 design marked a milestone as the first four-wheel-drive electric prototype developed entirely in Portugal.
In the current year, the multidisciplinary team, comprising students from various engineering courses, is pushing boundaries by developing their electric motors. Henrique Motta, studying industrial engineering and management and serving as the Sponsor Manager for FST Lisboa, highlights the significance of TorqSense in this project.
Motta explains, "TorqSense has an important role with us. We have been developing our electric motors for the past two years, and now we are starting to build production units that will be fitted into the car, designated FST 08e. As a crucial part of the motors’ development, we need to test them rigorously and log huge amounts of performance data so that we can analyse it and work toward an optimised final design."
The TorqSense sensor enables precise measurement of the motors' torque during bench tests, facilitating predictions of their behaviour once integrated into the car. The testing regime aims to model all performance characteristics of the prototype motor, reaching a maximum speed of 20,000rpm and maximum torque of 30Nm.
FST Lisboa selected TorqSense not just for its wireless convenience but also for its connectivity features. Motta elaborates, "TorqSense allows us to easily connect other hardware and software solutions using USB or CAN bus. We also like the ease of use of Sensor Technology’s software products such as TorqView and the ETD Transducer display, which make the visualisation and logging of data a simple one-step process."
