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The Car.

The decision to go to an all-wheel drive electric vehicle comes as a conscious move to power towards a more environmentally aware future within engineering and motorsport. Designs to bring the ULM car into the future included 4 AMK kit motors to put power onto the tarmac when and where it is needed. A custom-built accumulator to power these are designed within the constraints of a carbon monocoque chassis and to appropriate safety standards laid out by FSUK. A full aero package will increase downforce and enable the 13" tyres to guide the car around competition circuits in the best possible time. A whole high voltage system must be competently designed in order to ensure both the safety of our driver and the full functionality of the car. 

ULM016

 

Build Progress.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of turning electric, significant investments were required in safety at the university and in mechanical components, which were burdensome to research and subsequently source for the team. This caused delays at the start of the build process and ultimately prevented the team from achieving our goals this year. However, now that these significant one-off investments have been made there is full confidence that by the next FSUK the car will have far surpassed what the team thought possible. That being said there were some significant build milestones reached with this year's journey and they can be seen below, featuring the chassis, uprights, and wheel structures. 

On the 24th the chassis was sent to Teledyne to undergo another curing process using the autoclave, during this process the bag used in the curing process ripped during the transportation of the chassis. This resulted in the chassis having to be sent back to the university to replace the bag.

 The rear wing’s manufacturing process was also carried on as well at the same time, by layering carbon fibre over the rear wing moulds. This was done in layers that had to be set for different moulds, preventing the entire layup from happening in one day.

Preparation for the second cure of the carbon fibre monocoque chassis.

UULM016 in the pits at FSUK22.

The rear wing and front wing’s carbon fibre layout was completed, cured and removed from the mould. The different parts of the wings were assembled to create both the front and rear wings.

Between the 4th and 8th, holes were drilled into the chassis as designated points to allow for the suspension system to be attached to the chassis. This included adding wishbones and the suspension spring and connecting them to the wheels. The front and rear wings were planned to be added to the chassis, however, the method of attaching them was not complete. The carbon fibre rods used to connect them had not been completed yet.

After the suspension had been attached, it was temporarily taken off to allow for the chassis to be painted blue and white to represent the colours of the University of Liverpool.

The Future.

Going onto next year's competition there is every opportunity for this car to be the best the University of Liverpool Motorsport team has ever produced and we will work tirelessly to achieve this.

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