Abstract

Electrathon America is an organization that inspires interest in science, engineering and technology by involving participants in the design, construction, testing and development of competitive electric vehicles. A functional electric single-seater was developed by integrating a team of 10 students and 2 advisors, which was developed in 4 months, truly a quite challenging project. The design of the single-seater structure was based mainly on the protection of the driver and autonomy. The design was carried out in strict adherence to the Electrathon America 2021 manual. The 3D CAD modeling was done in CATIA V5 software. Aluminum profiles with diameters of ½ in and ¾ in with a thickness of 2.71 mm were used. The regulations specify that tests must be performed on the structure of the single-seater, mainly torsion, bending and torsion-bending tests to ensure its correct operation with a minimum safety factor of 1.78; the structural analyses were carried out in the Abaqus software. With the help of Adams software, kinematic and dynamic analyses of the suspension were obtained. Additionally, with strain gauges, measurements of the structural deformations were made to validate the stress analyses performed. A functional single-seater vehicle was obtained, with a safe structure, suspension and adequate steering. The vehicle participated in 3 races, highlighting the Formula E event in Mexico City 2025 and will soon participate in the 7th Alamo City Electrathon Race in San Antonio Texas.

Slide deck

Slide animations

Slide 28	Slide 31	Slide 36

Authors and Presenter Bio

Vignaud Granados Alejo, Full Professor, Alejandra Guzman Patiño, Master’s Student & Froilan Marquez, Student, Polytechnic University of Guanajuato 

Vignaud is a doctor in Science and Technology with a specialty in design and development of mechanical systems. Graduate in PICYT CIDESI Querétaro Mexico in 2021. He is professor in the robotics engineering department. He has worked on projects such as robot design, evaluation of residual stresses in thermally affected zones, mechanical validation of hip prostheses, powder metallurgy, implementation of industrial robots, conversion of an internal combustion vehicle to electric and development of an electric single-seater similar to formula one and Electrathon America. He collaborated in the installation and start-up of the laser technology laboratory for LSP applications at CIDESI. He performed simulation work of treatment LSP and has also worked with researchers from the University of Guadalajara, CIDESI and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. His research interests include advanced design mechanism, mechanical design, CAD-CAM-CAE technologies, fatigue and experimental mechanics.