DESIGN OF AN HYDROGEN POWERED ELECTRICAL RACE VEHICLE

The construction of a hydrogen powered electrical race vehicle is presented in this paper. This prototype has been developed to be used in the Shell Eco-Marathon competition. The main aim of this event is to reduce the fuel consumption. According to the technical regulations, the minimum space requirement has been estimated on the basis of the driver anthropometric dimensions. A high performance aerodynamic shape has been developed by starting from an axis-symmetric body which has been optimized for reducing the aerodynamic drag while running close to the ground. CFD analysis has been performed to refine the vehicle shape and to reach the final body geometry. With the help of the FEM analysis, a complex CFRP layout of a monocoque chassis has been defined in order to maximize the body stiffness and to reduce the mass. All the subsystems have been optimized both to reduce the resistance of the vehicle and to maximize the powertrain efficiency. Lab tests have been performed to validate the CFD and FEM analysis. The result of this work is the design of a vehicle, optimized in shape, mass and efficiency, to take part at Shell Eco-Marathon competition.