Name: Manvydas Pletkus
Subteam: Powertrain
Part: Fuel Tank
The biggest challenge was to design a tank that fits in this year’s chassis well while still being big enough and abiding by all the rules. I tried a few different geometries and ran Star-CCM+ simulations until I found one that seemed to work best both packaging and sloshing wise.
The most notable improvements over the old tank are improved packaging and reduced weight. The tank now utilises space better in the chassis, leaving more room for other components and/or a smaller and lighter car. Additionally, the capacity of the fuel tank has been reduced since it has been made clear that the old tank was bigger than necessary. The wall thickness has also been significantly reduced, going from 3mm aluminium walls all around to 2mm external and 1mm internal walls, thus reducing the mass of the tank itself by more than a third.
I’d like to thank G&M Radiator for manufacturing the tank and helping us source materials, who have been very helpful and did an excellent job.