BINDT-sponsored Formula Student racing team gears up for Silverstone
04/04/2014
The British Institute of NDT (BINDT) is sponsoring a Formula Student racing team, which will be competing against students from around the world at Silverstone this year. The teams, featuring 3000 students from over 30 countries, will be descending on the world-famous racetrack on 9 July for five days of testing and racing.
BINDT is part-sponsoring a team made up of students from the University of Northampton’s Department of Engineering and Technology, who have created a partnership with Silverstone UTC to promote motorsports within Northamptonshire. The group features a mixture of all ages and specialisms, and is unique in the competition as it is the first team to feature secondary school pupils working alongside university students for a common goal.The programme is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and has the backing of industry and high-profile engineering companies across Europe. The teams are challenged to design and build a single-seat racing car in order to compete in static and dynamic events, which demonstrate their understanding of the vehicle and test its performance. The competition gives students real-world engineering experience as they conceive, design, build, cost, present and compete as a team, and pole position at Silverstone is likely to be hotly contested!
“Experience in teamwork, time and project management, combined with the development, construction and economic aspects of automotive engineering, greatly improve the skills of an engineer or technician in the making,” explained Seyed Mirhadizadeh, Senior Lecturer at the University of Northampton.
“The role of NDT and condition monitoring in the project is recognised as extremely important,” continued Seyed, “and we are thrilled to have BINDT as a sponsor over a three-year period. All chassis welds and joints will be tested non-destructively using phased array technology and the assembled car will be vibration tested. In addition, we would welcome ideas and suggestions for how the technologies can be applied to produce a high-performance yet efficient and sustainable vehicle.”
“In addition,” he explained, “Formula Student brings students closer to the business community, and sponsors have the opportunity to become acquainted with a new generation of enthusiastic technicians and engineers.”
At a ceremony to hand over the cheque from BINDT for £6000 – representing £2000 per year for three years – BINDT CEO, Cameron Sinclair, said: “We anticipate that various safety-critical and/or reliability-critical parts, joints, and so on will require NDT during initial construction, as part of routine maintenance activities and after any unplanned event, and it is expected that students will participate in those NDT activities as part of their learning. Furthermore, if the team wishes to engage an Associate Member of BINDT to undertake NDT, then further funding from BINDT may be made available.”
Team Principal Glen Adams, who is a third-year student at the university and is also employed by Cummins Engines as a Quality Engineer, explained the team’s progress so far: “Having been working and competing in motorsports for over 16 years, I am proud to say the team is on track with a car that is as close to the rulebook as possible. All members of the team have learned new skills, such as project management and designing automotive systems, which is useful for gaining employment in the East Midlands, where engine and vehicle building is booming currently. It’s also good to work with Silverstone UTC, giving back to the next generation of engineers and inspiring them to push the limits of innovation on certain areas of the car. It is all very exciting and we look forward to turning the engine over and seeing our efforts in action.”
Mesha Potton, Business Manager of FSN.Racing, added: “We’re proud to have BINDT working with the University of Northampton in Formula Student and we are sure that this will lead to positive outcomes, both for the students, like me, that participate in the project and also for BINDT and its members.”
Apart from BINDT, the team has secured sponsorship from companies including Santander, KB Railcare and ThyssenKrupp, and is currently in talks with Mahle and Cummins Engines.
Readers of NDT News will be kept up-to-date with how the project progresses and interested parties requiring further information should email info@bindt.org
www.formulastudent.com
www.northampton.ac.uk
