UofT SuperMileage

At University of Toronto SuperMileage (UTSM), we design fuel efficient vehicles that race in a yearly competition, the Shell Eco Marathon. As a part of the Aerostructural Division, our job is to design, develop, and manufacture our vehicle's aerobody. This includes shape and material selection, conducting physical simulation analyses, and hands-on fabrication involving a lot of teamwork. I have really enjoyed working with my teammates and seeing our vehicle come to life!

Structural Analyses (FEA)

To find the maximum weight of inner body components, such as the electrical shelves, steering system, and driver, I used Ansys Mechanical and set up a static simulation to identify maximum loads across the monocoque. The first video shows the maximum weight from the driver's position the monocoque can endure before deforming.

Aerodynamic Analyses

In order to create a fuel efficient and mobile vehicle, we must create a car shape that is aerodynamic. I used Ansys Fluent to conduct CFD simulations on the vehicle to identify aerodynamically-flawed components. Once identified, these surfaces were made flush with surrounding areas or edited to reduce air accumulation.

Plug Fabrication

In order to make the monocoque of the vehicle, we must first make a plug body to base the monocoque from. This was done by using a CNC mill to cut foam pieces into smaller segments of the plug, which were then epoxied together and sanded. This is a very long process that lasted ~2 months, however it was worth it as our team was able to ensure a perfectly smooth aerobody.

Monocoque Fabrication

The last part of creating the monocoque is laying up carbon fiber across the foam plug and fibreglass layers. This creates the strong and lightweight aerobody used in competition. As of Jan 2025, this process is still ongoing however the start of layups are shown below.