Formula Student: Braunschweig engineering students opt for HSD®

The student Lions Racing Team from the Technische Universität Braunschweig has around 80 members and has been competing for points in the "Formula Student" international university design competition since 2002 with a racing car that it designs and manufactures itself. The team has used a 100% electric drive since 2012. A number of improvements were made to the predecessor model to produce the current racing car, the LR15.  The main objective was to reduce the weight in order to improve racing performance. The team also enhanced the passive safety for the driver and car body.  This included using a component made from the lightweight construction material HSD600^® (HSD = High Strength and Ductility) from Salzgitter Flachstahl for a reversing lever.
 
In the customized steel chassis with antiparallel double wishbone suspension, this reversing lever acts as a link between the wheel movement and the spring damper element. The component consists of two pieces of sheet steel that run parallel to each other.  These were cut to form a rod frame. This special form of construction allows a simple design by calculating the pull and push rods in the rod frame and also makes it possible for the reversing lever to work as a predetermined chassis break point in the event of an overload. This protects expensive and complex components from any damage.
 
In the search for a suitable material, a short-notice delivery of HSD600^® prototype material was able to convince the students: tensile strength of 1000 MPa and elongation at break of at least 50 percent ensure that the HSD600^® component  has a high energy absorption level in the event of a crash.  HSD600^® is therefore ideal for this scenario. The high manganese material's thinness furthermore ensures a 10% weight reduction over the same component in the previous year's vehicle. 
 
In addition to the reduced thickness, the HSD^® steels also deliver a lightweight construction advantage thanks to the combination of high strength and high formability. This makes it possible to manufacture components with complex geometries with a thickness that undercuts the dimensions of conventional higher-strength steel grades.
 
The reversing lever made of HSD600^® is the first product of the cooperation between Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH and the Lions Racing Team from the TU Braunschweig. The professionals at Salzgitter are sure that in the future they will continue to provide the Braunschweig engineers will further lightweight construction solutions with innovative steel grades.           
 
Salzgitter Flachstahl wishes the Lions Racing Team all the best for future races and hopes that they enjoy building the next models!