Potenza’s Hybrid racer boosted with layer-based manufactured battery boxes
Published 05 October 2010
Posted by Al Dean
Stephen Lambert holding one of the laser-sintered plastic battery box modules that has helped to cut the 0 – 60 mph acceleration of the Westfield racing car from 5.5 to 3.5 seconds.
A plastic laser-sintering machine from EOS has solved the problem of how to extract maximum thrust from battery-powered motors driving the front wheels of a Westfield hybrid racing car. The project is being funded jointly by Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre and Potenza Technology, a specialist in hybrid and electric vehicle systems and owners of Westfield Sportscars based just a short 5 miles from where I live.
Doctor of Engineering postgraduate student, Stephen Lambert, a research engineer at Warwick Manufacturing Group, was asked by Westfield Sportscars to design a hybrid car that would accelerate faster. During consultations, this was what owner-drivers said they wanted above all other improvements. So a 1.6 litre / 200 brake horsepower petrol engine driving the rear wheels of a Westfield Sport Turbo 1600 was supplemented by fitting two electric motors, each rated at 75 kW / 100 BHP, to give the vehicle a four wheel drive boost for up to three minutes during a race. F1-style inboard suspension was added to drive the front wheels independently. The motors are brought into play by the driver pulling a pair of ‘push to pass’ paddles behind the steering wheel, the torque being blended in according to the throttle position.
To maximise both the power and the time that the electric drive is available to the front wheels, it is important to prevent excessive heating of the 396 lithium ion phosphate cells that supply the axial-flux motors. This was a challenge, as the only space available for the batteries was in the enclosure under the driver’s seat.
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