Competition Time - Sussex Power Storm

Sussex Power Storm 2019 Conclusion

Team Interviews

During the course of the academic year, the team has had to manage a high workload, while experiencing the steep learning curve that comes with designing and building a wind-powered vehicle from scratch. All culminating in a five-day international event in which the vehicles are raced.

Our Team Leader and Financial Director have provided a few words following their year-long stint in Sussex Power Storm.

Team Leader

I chose the wind-powered vehicle project for my master’s degree as it was something very different and provided the opportunity to implement a range of improvements. Choosing an electronics and programming project, neither of which I had previous experience, helped me to improve my knowledge base and will stand me in good stead for the future.

Working in a team of ten engineers is something none of us have ever done before, I am immensely proud of every single person in the team for their performance throughout the year and at the competition. Doing this project has taught me the importance of time management and contingency planning, as things never quite go to plan.

Financial Director

Completing my master's project for Sussex Power Storm provided great opportunities both academically and socially, resulting in the making of lasting friendships, both during the year and at the competition. My project was to redesign the steering system for the vehicle, something which is made challenging by the three-wheeled design. This project helped me to boost my engineering knowledge and practical skills hugely by learning from teammates and from University staff, resulting in a functional and robust steering system.  

Taking on the responsibility of the Financial Director meant I helped to secure sponsorship for the team and was in charge of making sure that we stuck to our tight budget. As one of the teams at the competition with the smallest budget, we had extra pressure on us for creative ideas to help reduce costs.

Launch Party

Before the competition, we hosted a launch party inviting sponsors, Engineering faculty and most importantly family members. Sussex Power Storm along with The University of Sussex’s two Formula Student teams launched their vehicles with over 300 guests attending the event was a huge success. Each team leader gave a ten-minute presentation to the guests before each vehicle was unveiled, followed by a drink’s reception and buffet. The team had a great night showing off their work to friends and family members; with it being clear to see how proud parents were.

Competition

After a year of hard work, stress and ‘all-nighters’ we finally had a complete vehicle to take to Holland for the international competition Racing Aeolus. The competition has four events, each contributing towards the overall score for each team. These consist of a standing start drag race, the fastest run (highest percentage of vehicle to wind speed ratio), endurance (highest averaged percentage of vehicle to wind speed ratio) and an innovation presentation and judging.  

Upon getting there and setting up our vehicle, we took it out for our first test run. Disaster struck. Our chassis started to bend. After a repair (taking almost a full day carried out by our Chief Engineer and Team Leader) we were ready to race again. Unfortunately, by this time the wind had died down meaning there was not enough to get our vehicle moving. We only managed one unofficial run, achieving 30% vehicle to wind speed ratio. However due to our innovative idea of a second splitter diffuser, to separate the airflow and provide more laminar air to the tips of our blades where most of the power is generated, we achieved 2^nd for innovation resulting in 7^th place overall.

Although we may not have performed as well as hoped in the competition, a huge amount was learned throughout the process which will be carried into industry when we start our careers as Engineers. Further, the bond created by working together to build something is a special thing and I am certain the friendships made will last lifetimes.

Thank you and Best Wishes

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors especially DesignSpark for providing us with RS Components store credit towards the many parts and tools required to complete the project and be competitive. Also, a huge thank you to all of our lecturers and technicians at Sussex University, without whom we would not have been able to compete at all. The project will be run in future years as a society rather than a masters project so we would like to wish them the best of luck!