Dartmouth Formula Racing is a student-run organization that annually designs and builds an open-wheel racecar to compete in the Formula Hybrid International Competition. Every year DFR searches for innovative engineering students capable of pushing technological boundaries. Working on the racecar provides a blank canvas to develop unproven technologies and implement them. DFR provides an amazing opportunity to not only conceive and materialize new ideas, but it also offers unrivaled design verification through the Hybrid competition. There is no better learning experience or reward than watching something you built race around a track while competing against the top engineering schools in the world.
DFR’s plan for 2012 is to build upon last year’s successes and incorporate lessons learned. The team will keep the majority of the 2011 chassis and build on the parallel hybrid drivetrain, which won the Chrysler Award for Best Hybrid System Engineering. We will increase the reliability of the high-voltage system and install a low-voltage.
Consequently, DFR will be sponsoring three projects for Engineering 89/90, the Bachelor of Engineering culminating experience—Electric Powerplant, Drivetrain Design, and Control Electronics & Telemetry. All of these projects introduce new technologies to the team and thus will provide new members with the opportunity to be the experts on some portion of the racecar. Additionally, these projects are aimed at fixing the flaws of the previous year’s car, ensuring a competitive car for the 2012 season. It is DFR’s strong belief that with the successful completion of these three projects the team can achieve its goal of winning the 2012 Formula Hybrid competition.