What is Formula Hybrid?
Formula Hybrid™ is a design and engineering challenge for undergraduate and graduate college and university students. They must design, build, and compete an open-wheel, single-seat, plug-in hybrid racecar. This car must conform to a formula which emphasizes drive train innovation and fuel efficiency in a high-performance application.
Formula Hybrid builds on the Formula SAE program and takes it to the next level. It adds a new layer of complexity and provides an additional technical challenge to student teams.
Purpose
1. To give engineering students the opportunity to work across disciplinary boundaries while engineering and developing a plug-in hybrid electric race car.
2. To encourage and promote the development of high-efficiency automotive drive trains.
Design Competition
The Formula Hybrid student automotive design competition is based on the highly successful Formula SAE program and encourages the development of plug-in hybrid automotive drive trains with an emphasis on efficiency in a high-performance application.
Improved efficiency in an automotive drive system can be used to increase fuel economy, performance, or both. Fostering innovation in hybrid drive systems can ultimately benefit society and the environment, even though the immediate goal is to improve performance.
Like Formula SAE events, the Hybrid competition includes an acceleration test, autocross and endurance events, as well as engineering and construction static events. Unlike Formula SAE, Formula Hybrid events put a greater emphasis on drive train innovation and fuel efficiency.
The 2009 Formula Hybrid International Competition will have first, second, third, and fourth place trophies for hybrid vehicles. There will be a first-in-class award for a hybrid in progress and participation awards for all other teams. Teams with cars that are still under design and construction or who are just considering entering in 2010 are encouraged to attend, gain knowledge, ask questions and discuss their progress.
Plug-in Hybrids
The emphasis of the Formula Hybrid Competition is on the engineering of the hybrid drive system and vehicle suspension to maximize performance in three different tests, acceleration, autocross and endurance.
The most challenging event at the competition is the Endurance event, where all the vehicles begin having fully charged their accumulators (Batteries or Capacitors) from the grid, as is the norm for a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
Many student teams will choose to maximize their accumulator capacity, as in the Chevrolet Volt, or to run a smaller system as in the Toyota Prius. These are complex decisions, requiring extensive engineering analysis.
Engineering Challenges
Student teams designing and constructing a Formula Hybrid car can immerse themselves in any or all of the following disciplines:
- High-Power Electronics such as motors, generators, controllers, and DC-DC converters
- Mechanical systems including suspension, steering, braking, chassis design, body design, and ergonomics
- Race strategy and management
- Computerized systems control
- Data acquisition
- Internal combustion engines, including intake and exhaust systems, fuel management, and ignition systems
- Regenerative electric/hydraulic braking systems
- Project management