During my first year at UWTSD studying Motorsport Engineering, I have taken many modules such as:

·         Engineering Science 1

·         Engineering Science 2

·         Mathematics

·         Engineering Design

·         Vehicle Technology

·         Engineering Applications and Study Skills

 

Alongside these taught studies, I have been a part of TeamMCR, our university race team. Instead of doing Formula Student, we run in the Sports 2000 Championship against other teams at famous tracks like Silverstone and Donnington. This has helped me develop skills such as how to properly restore a vehicle after a crash, how to develop the aerodynamic efficiency of the vehicle by varying the splitter size along with gurney flap variations and how to use various different tools.

 

This year has taught me a lot about the basics of engineering and the applications of the theory we are taught in class. For example, we took part in the iMechE challenge to create a line launcher to spec. This made us use the knowledge we got from our maths and physics lessons to plan out different design aspects of the launcher. We also had to make the launcher, which had us use the skills we learned in our manufacturing centre at the campus.

 

We used SOLIDWORKS to 3D design our parts (see below, and the main figure above, which is my designed barrel and line management system for our launcher).

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We also had basic teaching into how to use MATLAB. Our assignment consisted of us coding a program the would find the roots of polynomials of any order of the users choosing. We were not allowed to use embedded functions which made this task more interesting and challenging.

 

One of my favourite parts of this year was taking apart and reassembling a Ford 1.25L Zetec engine after testing it on the dynamometer. We were able to tear down the engine to the cylinder block and separated all major components, including all the intake valves.