Development of a Formula SAE Powertrain

Presenter Information

Samuel Stachel, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Matthew Skaaland, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Christopher Cox, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 202

Start Date

2-4-2019 1:05 PM

End Date

2-4-2019 2:05 PM

Student's Major

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Gary Mead

Mentor's Department

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Formula SAE is a collegiate engineering competition with participants from all around the world. First starting in 1981, the purpose of the competition was to give students the opportunity to participate in an exciting, and challenging hands on project to develop design, fabricating, and project management skills. Each team participating in the event will design and build an open wheeled Formula style racecar. During the competition teams will give presentations to explain all their design process as well as race their car in different events to test the ability of the car.

This year's MSU FSAE engine team has decided to use a new engine in the car for the 2019 competition. It is a 450cc single cylinder, four stroke, Yamaha engine. The team also intends to use a naturally aspirated configuration instead of putting a turbo-charger on the engine. The overarching goal for the entire engine team this year is to make 44 average horsepower while reducing overall system weight from the previous year's car. This portion of the engine team is responsible for fluids, internals, and engine breathing. The Intake system for the new engine has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Engine Internals will be upgraded from the stock configuration to maximize air flow into the engine, and increase the compression ratio. The engine runs on 100 octane fuel and uses a stock Yamaha injector.