My Visit To Prodrive

Hello there!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

I had a recent visit up to Prodrive, a place I am very interested and familiar with, and having seen them recently show off a new tour system, I thought I had to go and have a look. Here is what I saw On my tour.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

WRC Mini Clubman, which still looks like a car unlike the modern machinery!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

 Rear-end of the Mini, where duel element rear wing.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Williams F1 6R4 MG

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Raw body of an Aston Martin Vantage, this shell was being prepped for a full bespoke Prodrive roll cage.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

A GT3 spec Vantage being built, where the front carbon ducting had been placed into the monocoque.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Here is an almost assembled Vantage GT3, with the engine and transmission installed into the car.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Front braking set up, with double A-arms and Ohlins damper.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Some stunning Alcon brakes on offer from billet, I always enjoy looking at these on GT3 cars.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 engine installed at the front of the car.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The exhaust is supplied by Akrapovic, and is beautiful!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The older generation Vantage, which just goes to show how far the new car has come, here I pictured the car side-on.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Upon the front end, it can be noted the struts for the splitter, which shows you have some downforce there!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The assembly area is remarkably clean!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

GT4 spec Vantage under construction,

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Brake set up on the GT4 is very different to GT3 spec, It was interesting seeing the sensor from the tub to the top A-arm

SCU Final Concept

I Made An Aero Package

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello there!

I have been super busy (started my new job as a Design Engineer at ZF Group) so not had much time to concept design but managed to get these renders together before I started. It's based on the SCU chassis I have made. I suspect some of you will have noticed the new rear subframe too, which hoses the inbound suspension, which is also new. This is just a temporary item.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The aero package was more a technical exercise, as I was watching a lot of Pikes Pea, so wanted the design and model a full aero package, and wanted to see what sort of numbers I could get in CFD, as well as learning Ansys a bit more. I plan on showing all the data when I have a bit more time. I hope you liked this small update and doesn't the car look good, right?

Concept Design For SCU Motorsport

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello there!

Well, this has been a busy start to 2019! Just wanted to show our concept design of a brand new single seater race car I have been designing in my spare time. SCU Motorsport will be running a brand new race series for Schools, Colleges and Universities, where this inexpensive single seater will be the car in question. And doesn't she look awesome!

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The project aims at lowing the costs for educational motorsport, something that we believe could improve, which is what this project was started, so simplicity is key here. The style was mainly done by Jake Smith, a good friend of mine, who was able to design and model the exterior of the vehicle. My main task was making sure the mechanical components of the car fits into the tight packaging, as seen below.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

In the above image, we can see the space frame chassis and all of its internal components. This was a big job as Chief Engineer but was a  great learning curve while on the side of my studies. Here are some of the flagship statistics of the car in this current time.

• Suzuki 4cyl 998cc
• Push-rod suspension
• final drive is chain driven (For this moment in time before a gearbox supplier comes on board).
• Under floor venturi and diffuser.
• Steel space frame chassis
• Twin radiators
• Foam impact structure
• Stainless Steel or Composite body (See what costs say).

The main aim is to use off the shelf components, which we are in the process off. There is a lot of development going on behind the scenes for the race series. 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Finally, we can see the chassis. Here me, Jake and Alan (Project Manager) aimed at triangulating as much as possible, as this is where the strength would come from, hence while the cooling system is wrapped in tube sections. We are quite happy with it, but a lot of FEA is coming in the coming weeks. If you want to join the revelation, we are currently looking for suppliers and manufacturers for the bodywork as well as various other parts. Email me on: Stefanruitenberg@outlook.com.

Enjoy some extra images ;) 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

#SCUMotorsport

Elder Studios Office Design Project

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello there!

I just wanted to show some work I did for a local company in Huddersfield. The company in question is Elder Studios, who design and develop software. So I set about analysing the brief and designing the best optimal solution. And this is what I was able to come up with, Design:1. 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Below is a floor plan, by looking at the brief, I designed around it. As they wanted an open plan concept, I made sure I implemented that in design. The central meeting room, which they use a lot, is a full glass structure, to keep the open plan imerstions bright. 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

With them being big fans of coffee, I designed the main table around the concept of coffee, by being a big coffee mug. I also made sure I had relaxation zones for people to work as well as chill. Il make sure I show any further work with the project. Cya! 

Group Design Report - E-Pod Project

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello There!

I wanted to show you a little update on a University project I have been working on. We call it the E-pod, which is a human-powered vehicle, with an electronic assist in the form of a small electric Shunt motor. I hope you like the render!

My role in the team was to design an effective suspension system for the vehicle, so for the best vehicle dynamics, I had to create my geometry quickly. The image above shows my design minus the steering rack and column. I went for lightweight wishbones with the spring and damper mounted inside the subframe assembly. 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

I was able to get good results with this setup, which went through a lot of design optimisation process. I wanted to make my part as strong and as lightweight as possible, thus improving the efficiency of the motor, as the forces can be a bit lower.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

In the image above, we can see how the drivetrain fits into my suspension assembly. One thing we want to improve on is the rear gearing, which is a bit low down for our liking. You can also note the simple ladder chassis. This design was used to keep the costs low. The whole aim of the product was to design a very affordable yet lightweight design.

Rember, this is just a design concept so a lot can be improved upon, but as a whole, I am happy with how we all worked. Our next steps are to make sure the vehicle is as good as we can make it, with some small fine improvements. 

I hope you enjoyed this little post, and I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Hope you all have a very good Christmas and New years too! Cya.

A very Special Radical RXC

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello there!

I just wanted to share some pics and a video of a very special Radical I saw at Silverstone. The ones that know me will know I have appreciated for Radical cars. Enjoy this awesome RXC.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

I like this image of the car side on. Shame I missed the front fender and splitter!

Here is a quick tour I did while in the pit lane. It sounds better in real life! 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

A nice engine shot I got. It has a modified Ford EcoBoost V6 3500cc 650bhp with two turbochargers.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Here we can see an overview of the backend. With a set of fully adjustable suspension with a neat inboard damper system. I like it a lot.

I built a Racecar...

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

 Hello there!

Sorry for the radio silence, been very busy with my studies as well as our Formula Student Team, so not really had the time to get some content up on my blog. But I found some time for this, which was my first hand in hand experience with Race Engineering a car.

Last weekend I attended a band new Motorsport event at Silverstone, 'Motorsport Days', where I and SCU Motorsport built a racecar for the BMW 116i Trophy race series.

SCU Motorsport is going to be a brand new series for students who want to learn about Race Engineering and not necessarily design. The series will be made up 1-series BMWs competing in the 116i Trophy, with a single seater sprint series to go alongside it. I will reveal all at a later date.

Meanwhile, the guys and girls from SCU were able to strip out and prepare the BMW for racing. We even applied livery and safety items too. The only real job is the roll cage, which is under complete fabrication at the time of writing.

Out on the track, as the video shows, the car ran well and smooth, with Alan O'Neill at the wheel. When the car came in, all the tyre pressures were stable, and so the car went back out and was working well.

The main job is to change the balance, as the rear wanted to swap around on a couple of occasions so we will have to look at the data on that one. But apart from that, it was a very good diel in test session for us, as the car had new brakes and suspension that weekend.

If anyone wants to actively get involved, we are more than happy to help you with that. Email me on stefanruitenberg@outlook.com. But in the meantime, enjoy some photos from the event.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

 Radical Motorsport was out in force.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Ligier showed off its new styling for future LMP cars, based on a Ligier JS P3 chassis. More images soon.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The Silverstone Wing. mega.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

This Audi TT had an awesome rear wing.

Part 1: Formula Student Front Wing Project

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello there!

Another year of University has passed, and so this means I can get on with some of my own personal design projects. As you may know, I am very interested in Aerodynamics, and so have set about designing and full aerodynamic package for a Formula Student race car in my spare time.

Being a student at Huddersfield University, I often interact with the Formula Student team (Team Hare) and so with me being a fan of Aerodynamics, specifically race car aero, I have set about optimising the first aero package we have ever incorporated onto a Formula Student vehicle.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The three images shown here are my full geometry so I can show you them. The image below has very similar geometry to our 2017 car, albeit different end plates to maximise the flow outboard of the front wheels. This is scheduled for CFD through ANSYS in a couple of days.

The image above is another iteration I created using geometry very similar to the 2017 car. While our car had tremendous downforce/drag ratio and efficiency results, we saw a sizable loss through cornering. So while driving linear, the car worked well, it was under an angular motion that the car struggled, so I have set myself a goal of trying to improve this over summer. Stay tuned for some juicy numbers on that.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

The final variant seen above sees a change to the central section endplates, which support more aerofoils. My idea is to move the flow around the suspension A-arms and the pushrod actuated rods - which normally are quite draggy. as well as the tyres. Moreover, this is a fairly similar design in FS as my research shows. I think it looks epic.

 I believe it is very important to get a good background on wing design, and so I am currently reading a lot, as well as trial and error with my Solidworks/Ansys designs. Never jump in at the deep end I say, but enjoy the learning ride. I would recommend reading Race Car Aerodynamics from Joseph Katz and this post by Racecar Engineering's Gemma Hatton - http://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/tech-explained-formula-student-aerodynamics/  - It's fantastic!

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this little post, I'll report back when I have some accurate data, where I will correlate it with some wind tunnel testing. Yep, I won't be doing a HRT in F1 ;)

My Latest CFD work

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Hello again.

So, that's the February exams over, so now I can continue with my biggest passion, Aerodynamics. And as you can see above, I used the in-house Fluid Simulation that Solidworks provides. Yes, Solidworks does not have the best CFD software, but I do have Ansys, and I am currently doing some work here. But more on that soon.

Here you can see two simulations I have performed, one involved fluid flow around a cylinder, which represents a tyre. The other is a simple wing or aerofoil. Starting with the cylinder, I applied a velocity of 100 m/s which is about 220mph at the cylinder. And as you can see, the flow is laminar before it comes into contact with the cylinder.

As the flow interacts with the surfaces, the flow remains attached to the surface of the cylinder, until a stage where the flow becomes detached, thus causing drag. This is one of the biggest factors to take into account when designing a race car.

The flow detachment is down to the boundary layer, where it can no longer run along the surface, and so causing turbulence in the form of a wake, as the lines demonstrate. 

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

For the second simulation, I performed the same, but on a fairly aggressive aerofoil geometry, as you can see. In the image above, you can see the velocity of the air, as it passes over/under the aerofoil. The red demonstrates the highest velocity speed, where the lowest is shown in blue. This speed and pressure difference is what causes downforce for race car wings.

Pic: Stefan Ruitenberg

Here is another screenshot, which shows the pressure plots in Pa. You can see the most pressure is caused by the air stalling, at the very tip of the aerofoil shape.

You can expect lots more CFD simulations from me in the near future too, both in Ansys and Solidworks. Take care guys!