Formula Student FEUP – The first race car

2023 Competitions’ Recap – Eurocircuits

Formula Student FEUP proudly introduces its first-ever race car, an EV-prototype. A testament to our unwavering commitment to the development of people and an ever-improving Formula Student Team.

As we reflect on this exciting season, we are thrilled to share our achievements and realization of our main goal: to pass scrutineering and compete in all dynamic events at Formula Student Germany. The most important Formula Student competition in the world.

To summarize our achievements over the competitions that took place this summer:

At FSUK, in Silverstone (19-23 July):

• Passed all scrutineering components.
• Competed on the Endurance Event.
• Received the “Best EV Newcomer Award”.
• Won the Business Plan Presentation in the FS-AI competition.

At FSPT, in Castelo Branco (31 July – 5 August):

• Passed all scrutineering components.
• Competed on the Endurance Event.
• Participated in two Static Events’ Finals: Engineering Design and Cost.

At FSG, Hockenheim (14 – 20 August):

• Passed all scrutineering components.
• Competed on all the Dynamic Events.
• Won the prize for the “FSG-Best-Prepared-Car-for-Technical-Inspection”.

With such level of support from high-level companies, such as Eurocircuits. these achievements are possible and are not just ideas written on a piece of paper.

Below there is a list of each of our PCBs:

• The Power Distribution Unit (PDU) – responsible for the distribution of various levels of voltage throughout the car (3.3V, 5V, 12V, 24V).
• Brake System Plausibility Device (BSPD) – responsible for opening the shutdown circuit in case of implausibility in the braking/accelerator system.
• Temperature Acquisition (Temp. Acq.) – part of the team’s BMS, respoonsible for acquiring the temperature signal from the thermistors in the modules.
• TSAL Driver – responsible of performing the TSAL logic, a light that indicates the vehicle’s status;
• Precharge Circuit – responsible for protecting the components downstream from the accumulator from current peaks;
• Voltage Indicator – responsible of indicating if the voltage on the vehicle side of the accumulator is higher than 60V (high voltage).
• Latching – part of the BMS logic circuit (BMS errors).
• Brake and TSAL lights – lights that aid in visually expressing the status of the TSAL and brake system.
• 60V detection – responsible for detecting the voltage on the motor controller.
• Ignition Button – responsible for the vehicle starting procedure.

Conclusion

During this year, Eurocircuits played a pivotal role in creating 11 PCBs. From the initial design considerations to its production. Which was instrumental in our overall team’s success. These PCBs were designed considering the technical requirements to be following the 2023 FSG rule book.

With such fantastic support, we’re excited about the future. Formula Student FEUP is on a journey of constant improvement, striving for even greater triumphs on and off the racetrack. Future development involves incorporating Autonomous Systems on the design and development of the next generation race car!