Case Study: Durham University Electric Motorsport achieves major weight reduction and improved performance with Altair OptiStruct

Reducing Weight and Maximising Fuel Efficiency of a Formula Student Car with OptiStruct

Durham University Electric Motorsport (DUEM) is a student-run team that designs and races electric Formula Student cars. Faced with the challenge of reducing mass while maintaining or improving stiffness and safety—particularly for a critical upright subject to multiple load cases (2g bump, 1.6g cornering/braking and combined loads)—the team turned to Altair and its HyperWorks suite, using OptiStruct for topology, shape and size optimisation.

Using Altair’s HyperWorks/OptiStruct tools, DUEM imported the design region, applied multi-load-case topology optimisation with manufacturing constraints (draw direction) and leveraged fast tetra-meshing and result visualisation to iterate quickly. Altair’s solution produced a lighter, stronger, manufacturable upright, vastly reduced CAE–CAD iteration time, cut the need for physical testing and saved material, enabling faster development and improved competition readiness.

Durham University Electric Motorsport

Joe Stallard

Durham University Electric Motorsport