The announcement of the winner of VI-grade Virtual Formula 2013:
Team Genesis from the Advanced Computational and Applied Mechanics Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with the Center of Transportation Research, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, competed in the the VI-grade Virtual Formula 2013 competition, which was held from 16 September 2013 to 28 February 2014. The competition – involving 72 registered teams from around the world – aims to bridge the gap between real world testing and technical simulation. All teams have the opportunity to access and optimise the setup for their virtual racing car using a commercial interactive simulation for motorsport vehicle modelling and dynamic analysis. The competition was developed based on the rules and regulations of the Formula SAE and Formula Student. Virtual Formula 2013 was realised and endorsed by leading organizations in the automotive industries such as Lamborghini, Fiat do Brasil, MSC Software, 888 and PSA do Brasil.
Team Genesis was represented by a PhD student, Mr Tey Jing Yuen, under the supervision of Dr Rahizar Ramli. Mr Tey Jing Yuen, a scholarship recipient from the University of Malaya Fellowship scheme, was working on a research project entitled “Passive Suspension Optimisation using Evolutionary Algorithms”. His study has significantly contributed to the automotive industries in the aspect of suspension designs in ascertaining optimum settings for passive suspension systems using selected evolutionary algorithms. His involvement in a multi-institutional collaborative research project funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology has enhanced his knowledge and skills in vehicle dynamics, engineering optimization and computational mechanics.
With the knowledge and skills developed from the research project, Team Genesis employed a novel technique based on a patent filed in 2013 (PI 2013003632; “An Improved Suspension System for Vehicle and Method of Fabricating Thereof”), in optimising and setting up the virtual racing car. The optimisation process involved subsystem level (suspension design, transmission design, and brake design) and system level optimisation (vehicle design and driving path). The optimised virtual racing car was evaluated based on the fastest lap time for track event, fastest acceleration event, and vehicle lateral acceleration in steering pad event.
Full information about the results of the competition can be found in the VI-Grade Official website at: http://www.vi-grade.com/index.php?pagid=event_det&eid=26
