Frame team

The frame is the backbone of the car. It has several functions to fulfill, and thereby requirements of many kinds. Because of this, there are many materials, approaches and objectives possible for the frame. We do not necessarily want to make the stiffest, the strongest or even the cheapest frame. No, we want to make the frame that helps the car to have a minimal life cycle impact. Of course, we do have to take in mind that this frame has to be producible, affordable and reliable, but our main goal is the minimization of the life cycle impact.

Last year, the frame team focused on the conventional materials of steel and aluminum. We had to learn new software, solve complex engineering problems, and develop our ‘soft skills’. But after a year of hard work, we’ve had the chance to make our frame come to life at a company in Torino. What we accomplished last summer was really a once in a lifetime experience. It gives an amazing feeling to construct the frame you’ve conceptualized, designed and calculated for a whole year long.

We did a great job, but we can do better. This year we will design an aluminum frame more in detail and produce it for our next prototype. Beside this, we will investigate what the potential is for other materials and/or approaches. This feasibility study will be difficult because ,many parameters are uncertain, but we are making good progress. As a result of this study, we will be able to decide which direction we should take in the future. The central question of this research is: “With our design, which material in what kind of structure will result in the lowest life cycle impact, and what are the consequences?”

Mid summer of 2008, VDS produced the first VISION prototype in the Turin, Italy. Based on this experience, VDS GROEP T now develops a second prototype, the VISION GT. It will be assembled in spring 2009. The prototype will effectively be used for drive tests and endurance tests. The VISION GT will be a VDS GROEP T car: it will show the lightweight frame, electric motor and motor controller to the maximum. The power train, power steering, suspension and braking systems will be incorporated from another existing car. Our researchers won’t focus on these integration components; the innovative sub systems have our priority.

This academic year, the frame team will focus on composites in particular. They want to develop and build a 100% carbon composite frame. Our researchers also explore the possibilities of flax fibres, because they have an impressive low life cycle impact – which is the de facto target of VDS GROEP T. The frame will be produced in cooperation with several industrial partners.

The motor team finished the design of the PMSM motor in September 2008. This motor is obviously controller by the PMSM controller, which will be finished in Q2 2009. The production of the Switched Reluctance Motor is scheduled in Q1 2009. The VISION GT will be driven by a 30 KW SRM motor. The SRM motor has significantly better results in the life cycle analysis, compared to all other electric motors. Next to a cheap, fast and environment friendly production, it has a very high efficiency while in use.

The motor controller team will focus on two specific domains: the hardware implementation of the PMSM controller algorithm – both controller and high power electronics – and the first develop cycle of the SRM algorithm. In Q2 2009 VDS GROEP T will show their PMSM controller, and a first version of the SRM algorithm.

Pieter Jan Jordaens was born on the 18th of October 1986 and grew up in a little city called Zoersel. As a little kid he already got a large interest in science and engineering. It was quite evident to start a study industrial sciences at the Free Technical Institute located in Zandhoven. After finishing these studies he got a real passion for engineering. Therefore it was evident to start a study at the Groep T Leuven Engineering school.

Currently he’s finishing the 2-year Master in Engineering (at the Groep T Leuven Engineering school.

It was very evident to join the VDS network: working in team, innovation, working together with universities all over the world, a passion for engineering, building a large network and making important contacts,….

His focus isn’t only building an environment friendly and sustainable car, but also developing his qualities as a future engineer and pushing the limits on that, are important goals for him in this project.

Interests: Social club Zoezel, festivals & music, drinking a beer and having a chat, traveling, movies, …

www.linkedin.com/in/pieterjanjordaens

Stijn was born on the 6th of February 1986 in Geel. He is the second child of a series of four. As a young boy he grew up in a little village named Ham, where he still lives today. When he finished 6th grade, it was time to go to high school in the Free Technical Institute at Beringen, to study Industrial Science. There he got interested in mathematics and science. After 6 years he chose to go study at GroupT. In his first three bachelor years he did several projects. It began with the research of a surfboard and ended by making a small solar car. When he wanted to begin his master he got the opportunity to join VDS. Stijn was immediately interested and joined the frame team. His goals in this project are: to expand his knowledge, to improve his skills as an engineer and help to build for a better future.

Hobbies: Cycling, Fitness, Music and Books

stijn.de.l.arbre

Since 11 februari 1986 this guy is rooting in the small city of borgloon. Thanks to the local fertile soil, he was able to successfully grow as far as Leuven. A technical direction was the obvious choice, so GROUP T suited him perfectly. And because of a youth in the green, he could only choose this ecological project. The international character, the motivated team and the ambitious challenge, are a nice surplus he wants to take advantage off.

Interests: scouting, urban exploring, hiking, cars, a good pint

April 3th, 1985, a year no longer only known for it’s good wines. 5h48 in the morning somewhere in Hasselt. For the first time ever, he left the mother ship for a first short reconnaissance trip across the planet. He saw that it was good and decided to stay. Not in Hasselt, but in Cologne for the first 5 years of his young and inexperienced life. Afterwards he returned to his roots and after living in Wilsele for some years he moved to Heverlee, hometown of all that is good and pure. At the moment he enjoys the beauty of life, living in a student house in the centre of Leuven.

As a little boy, he started rebuilding lawnmowers into turbo-meadow-pirate-ships. In between these rebuilding projects this rascal also finished secondary school at the Heilige-Drievuldigheidscollege, a school located on the Oude Markt in the centre of Leuven. He then decided to take a higher education in Industrial Engineering at GROUP T University College. At GROUP T, yet again, he got the chance to build a turbo-high-tech-lawnmower. But this time it had to be a model capable of transporting 4 passengers, it had to be lightweighted and yet superstrong, with a minimum mileage of 200 mpg and fully recyclable. Another major requirement was crashworthiness, so being able to withstand the bumpy night rides through the meadows like in the good ol’days was not sufficient for this vehicle.

Designing, developing and building your own car, having ambitious goals laying ahead, coming up with inventive solutions to complex problems, facing huge challenges and working in team on the car of the future, building up international relations and making business trips to foreign countries… reasons enough for Pieter to give the VDS-project his full devotion and to spent all of his energy on the project (and of course on the fight for world peace as well).

Interests: Chatting with people, making noise, practising swimming pool sports and parties, bar tending and bar sitting, solving IT-problems (for a living), travelling, ...

www.linkedin.com/pub/4/432/388 pieter.roels

It was January 20 1986, when Jan made his first steps into this world. After graduating high school in 2004, he decided to study for Master of Industrial Science in Electromechanical Engineering. When the time came to decide what to do as master thesis, he noticed the opportunity to implement it in a big project, this project.

A technical challenge with a clear goal you can work towards, coupled to the factor of teamwork is what this guy needs.

Hobbies: Football (Am: soccer)

www.linkedin.com/in/jannolens jan.nolens

Pieter Wante was born in Mechelen. With a graduate degree in automotive mechanics he already had a background in the automobile sector. The hunger for to my knowledge convinced him to study industrial engineering at GROEP T.

After the completion of a crashcourse, he followed the electromechanics course, with a focus on intelligent manufacturing.

In the search for a thesis topic, it was soon clear to him that it should be car related. Therefore he stepped in the VDS team. He is a member of the frame team, and focussing on the frame dynamics and vibrations.

Interests: Beside school my life contains tennis, skiing and going out with friends…

Thijs was born at the 29th of April 1985. After a couple of years he started at the music school to take trumpet lessons. Because he had time enough after school, Thijs started also successfully the percussion courses. For trumpet as well as percussion, he graduated at the music school in Gooik and participated in many concerts with the orchestra and a brass band.

Beside this, Thijs was also very active in the youth movement ‘Chiro’ and later the ‘KAJ’. Because of the lack of sports, he trained many hours in the judo-club at Leerbeek.

At the age of 16, the technical prickles became too big, and he started the courses to become private pilot at the airbase of Grimbergen near Brussels. When he was 17 years and 8 months old, he accomplished his official first solo flight with a Cessna 152.

After one year at the university of Leuven, Thijs arrived at the GroupT Leuven Engineering College and he was from the beginning evolved with VDS. He confirmed to take the lead of the frameteam and the year after he decided his Thesis: Investigate the potential of bio-composites in a structural element, and compare the Life Cycle Impact compared to other materials.