As the Institution moves into its transport theme quarter, continues to campaign for the benefits of waste as a resource, looks ahead to next month’s Formula Student competition, and supports the work of our membership in the West Midlands, the Institution is pleased to highlight the launch of a remarkable car by the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (WIMRC).
The Warwick Manufacturing Group, who partnered with the Institution for the inaugural lecture on Green Skills at Birdcage Walk in April, have recently unveiled the “WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car” which is powered by chocolate, steered by carrots and has bodywork made from potatoes.
With Formula 1 bosses embracing green technology and announcing that the sport will need to reduce costs next season, the Warwick researchers decided to build a competitive racing car using environmentally sustainable components to show the industry just how much is possible using current environmentally sustainable technologies.
It is the first Formula 3 racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable materials. The car meets all the Formula 3 racing standards except for its biodiesel engine which is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. Formula 3 cars currently cannot use biodiesel.
James Meredith, the project manager for the research team said: “The car was very much about showing the motor sport industry what possibilities are offered by sustainable technologies, and presenting a different way of manufacturing, running and disposing of cars. The car is made up of components from plants. The race specification steering wheel is manufactured from Curran - a unique biocomposite material derived from carrot fibre polymer. Its qualities of strength and energy absorption mean that it has the potential to replace glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP) and carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) which are widely used in the automotive industry.
“Plant oil based lubricants have also been used. The biodiesel engine has been configured to run on fuel derived from cocoa butter – the waste product from the manufacturing of chocolate – and waste vegetable cooking oil from the University’s kitchens.
“The radiator of the car is coated with BASF PremAir® ozone-destruction catalyst that destroys harmful, ground-level ozone already in the air. The catalyst reduces ground-level ozone in the air that passes over coated surfaces by converting ozone molecules into oxygen molecules upon contact - PremAir can destroy up to 80% of ground-level ozone that passes across it.”
“The WorldFirst project expels the myth that performance needs to be compromised when developing the sustainable motor vehicles of the future.”
Paul Butler FIMechE, who is the Professional Programmes Manager at WMG was keen to emphasise the importance of cross-discipline co-operation in making the project happen. He commented:
“The project was a great collaboration between the university and industry, with the WMG acting as a conduit. The input, expertise and support of local companies, particularly from the automotive industry, have been invaluable in creating this car. What is exciting for us is that the car will act as a platform for encouraging the motor sport industry to consider the viability of green technology, but also to spur on young engineering undergraduates to consider similar research projects.”
The Warwick car, and the successful partnerships between academia and industry, will serve as an excellent example for young engineers taking part in this year’s Formula Student taking place at Silverstone from 16-19 July 2009.
The competition’s Class 1A, the ground-breaking new low carbon category which encourages green innovation has seen entries double since its inauguration last year, and there is a real expectation of even greater contests between the teams in the class this year. Cenex, the government funded Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies, has been announced as the new sponsor for Class 1A. Association with Cenex will raise the profile of this fast-growing class, and will help to expand the sustainability element of this engineering competition, with a view to inspiring the Formula 1 or Formula 3 designers of the future.
For further information about University of Warwick’s car
For further information about Formula Student
For further information about the Institution’s waste as a resource report or energy from waste report
For further information about events in the West Midlands