Students Use Advanced Simulation Tools To Excel in STEM Racing

Huddled around a miniature version of a Formula One (F1) race car, not much bigger than a pencil case, is a team of three to six students whose ages range from 9 to 19. It's the final round of their very own Grand Prix, and the stage is a 20-meter-long tabletop track. With the press of a button, they launch a year's worth of engineering toward the finish line. In just over a second, a winner is declared to advance to the next round. That's the magic of miniature F1 racing - it turns physics into adrenaline and learning into sport for students around the world.

STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) is an innovative nonprofit program that set the groundwork for miniature F1 racing back in 1999. The year-long program challenges students to design, analyze, build, and race high-performance miniature F1 cars propelled by a single compressed air cylinder across a track. This competition is more than just a race: It's a hands-on opportunity for students to gain practical experience in engineering, design, and project management.

Teams compete in the 2024 Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals.

Call it a hobby, an extracurricular, or a career path - miniature F1 racing is a challenging task from start to finish line. From the moment a team is created, students are tasked with assigning team roles, allocating sponsors, compiling business plans, and preparing budgets in preparation for a regional competition. And that's all in just the preliminary stages. Students then get hands-on with designing, analyzing, and manufacturing their miniature F1 car.

Through the process, students hone critical skills in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element analysis (FEA), and computer-aided design (CAD), preparing them for future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Finally, teams are expected to generate a verbal presentation as well as two 10-page portfolios, one on business strategy and the other on engineering details. Learning to work as a team and comply with competition rules and regulations prepares students for real-life scenarios well before graduation.

Winning in STEM Racing

Teams must succeed through regional and national competitions to advance to the world finals. In 2024, the final STEM Racing competition - the Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals - was held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Student teams PiForce, Tachyon Racing, and Unity Racing excelled in the 2024 competition season, leveraging cutting-edge technology and innovative problem-solving approaches. With support from an Ansys Student Team Partnership, these teams - and many others worldwide - gain access to industry standard simulation tools that help turn their ideas into race-ready designs. The PiForce Racing team from Samos, Greece, won the Chair of Judges Recognition of Achievement Award. The Paris-based Tachyon Racing team took home the second-place prize in the 2024 French Nationals, followed by the Autodesk Pressure Challenge award in the world finals. And the Unity Racing team from Yorkshire, U.K., won the STEM Racing World's Best Digital Media Award and Pit Display Award in 2024.

The common denominator between these winning teams? Simulation tools from Ansys, part of Synopsys.

"Ansys is essential to designing a high-performing STEM racing car. Without it, we'd rely on intuition alone. With Ansys, we can simulate and validate concepts, turning abstract ideas into precise, real-world solutions," says Maxime Muller, a design and simulations engineer for Tachyon Racing.

Tackling Challenges On and Off the Track

Student teams competing in STEM Racing face a variety of challenges, ranging from logistical setbacks and technical hurdles. To tackle these complex engineering problems, they leveraged advanced simulation tools like Ansys Fluent fluid simulation software, Ansys Discovery 3D product simulation software, and Ansys Mechanical structural finite element analysis (FEA) software. These technologies provided the precision and insights needed to face challenges throughout the competition.

Aerodynamics

One of the most significant obstacles for teams designing any type of race car is optimizing aerodynamic performance. Even the slightest improvement in airflow efficiency can make the difference between winning and losing by a fraction of a second. That's where simulation comes in. Through precise simulations and data-driven adjustments, these teams pushed aerodynamic efficiency to new levels.

PiForce used Fluent software to model airflow around their car and identify areas of high drag or turbulence. After making adjustments based on the simulation results, they achieved a 12% increase in aerodynamic efficiency. The results were so accurate that they closely matched data from their physical wind tunnel tests, further validating their design changes.

For Tachyon Racing, the absence of a physical test track made simulation the game-changing element in exploring aerodynamic solutions. The team used Discovery software and Fluent software to test dozens of design variants. Using simulation in Fluent software, they learned that to improve the aerodynamics of their car, dimples in an elongated shape on the chassis outperformed shorter ones in reducing drag. They also learned that diverting air away from the tires using inward-sloped vent slits struck the best balance between mass savings and aerodynamic efficiency.

Unity Racing discovered early in their design process that their car's nose cone generated turbulence, which disrupted airflow over the rest of the car. By iterating the design and refining it through simulation, they were able to smooth out the airflow and improve their car's overall performance.

A simulation of the first prototype of the vents. Photo credit: Tachyon Racing.

Design Validation

It's common knowledge that design validation can quickly eat up valuable time and money without the proper tools. Extensive prototyping requires resources that many student teams do not have access to. This is when simulation tools become indispensable.

PiForce refined their designs iteratively and validated their computational predictions against real-world wind tunnel data using Fluent software capabilities. "By integrating Ansys simulation tools into our engineering process, we unlocked a new level of innovation and validation for our STEM Racing project," says Aisas Tatsis, team lead and engineer for PiForce. The alignment between virtual and physical results enabled them to rely heavily on simulations while preserving valuable time and resources.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and visualization using pressure path lines and surface pressure indication on the front wing (red: high pressure; blue: low pressure). Photo credit: PiForce.

Tachyon Racing used simulation to run unlimited virtual wind tunnel tests across seven major design revisions, helping the team fine-tune everything from pressure zones to the Magnus effect of wheel interactions.

And Unity Racing faced a significant discrepancy between their simulation results and wind tunnel tests early in the process. By adjusting critical input parameters like ambient conditions, they resolved these inconsistencies and ensured their models were accurate. They then used FEA to confirm structural performance under racing conditions.

In every case, simulation tools proved to be more than just a substitute for physical testing - they became essential for achieving precision and consistency in design validation.

Structural Integrity

But building a miniature F1 car is not just about design, it also involves ensuring that every component is manufactured with precision and making sure it can withstand the forces of high-speed racing.

PiForce took an ambitious approach by designing and constructing a custom four-axis CNC machine for manufacturing precision parts. They used Mechanical software to perform structural analysis on the machine, ensuring it could handle operational stresses while maintaining accuracy.

Meanwhile, Unity Racing focused on ensuring their car's structural integrity under race conditions. Using FEA capabilities within Mechanical software, they calculated pressure loads and ensured their car could withstand race forces with a safety factor of 1.5 - meaning it could undergo about 50% more force than expected before failure - all while staying in compliance with competition regulations.

Both teams demonstrated that structural stability is just as critical as aerodynamic performance. By blending simulation with advanced manufacturing methods, they delivered race-ready cars capable of enduring the stresses of high-speed competition.

Racing Against the Clock

Tight deadlines and limited resources are nothing new in student competitions, and miniature F1 racing is no exception. Teams had to find ways to iterate quickly while working within these constraints, ultimately proving that with the right tools and workflows, it's possible to overcome time and resource restrictions without compromising quality or innovation. Their individual successes demonstrate how simulation not only supports design but also changes how student teams engineer performance under pressure.

PiForce reduced their design cycle time by 40%, thanks to their ability to integrate simulation data directly into the decision-making process. This approach enabled them to test and refine designs without the need for time-consuming physical prototypes.

Tachyon Racing faced a three-month manufacturing delay, forcing them to rely exclusively on simulations. By running virtual tests across multiple design iterations using Ansys software, they turned what could have been a setback into an opportunity for deeper refinement.

Unity Racing streamlined their development process by addressing simulation discrepancies early on by focusing on realigning digital and physical results. This helped them avoid unnecessary delays while achieving substantial improvements in their car's performance.

"Ansys CFD simulation allowed our team to push our design and iteration skills to a whole new level. With simulation, we were quickly able to evaluate designs across a wide range of metrics. We often used features in Ansys that allowed us to evaluate flow turbulence intensity early on in the development instead of evaluating designs based on drag to help facilitate long-term performance gains," says Jack Metcalfe, a design engineer for Unity Racing.

2024 STEM Racing World Finals pit display. Photo credit: Unity Racing.

Enhancing Team Performance

From reducing development time to enhancing aerodynamic performance, simulation has proven to be an invaluable resource for these aspiring engineers. Beyond performance improvements, simulation provides students with industry-relevant skills that will serve them well in their future careers. Tachyon Racing, for instance, used simulation as a teaching tool to mentor new team members, ensuring that the next generation of students would benefit from their expertise.

STEM Racing is much more than a competition. It's a platform for students to develop technical skills, explore innovative ideas, and prepare for future careers in engineering and technology. The challenges faced by teams like PiForce, Tachyon Racing, and Unity Racing showcased their determination and resourcefulness in overcoming engineering challenges.

The impact of STEM Racing extends far beyond the competition itself. By engaging in this challenging and rewarding process, students gain confidence, critical thinking skills, and a passion for innovation. As they move forward in their academic and professional journeys, they carry with them the knowledge and experiences gained through STEM Racing - proof that the engineers of tomorrow are already making their mark today. We eagerly anticipate the outstanding performances of teams from across the globe at the 2025 World Finals in Singapore this September. It's sure to be an exciting event!

Explore free student resources and software through an Ansys Student Team Partnership and see how the next generation of engineers is already designing the future.

Learn more about how each team harnessed simulation to reach the finish line by reading the following case studies:

• Tachyon Racing: "Bridging Simulation and Reality: How Tachyon Racing Leverages Ansys Tools"
• Unity Racing: "Unity Racing Pushes the Limits With Ansys Simulation in STEM Racing"
• PiForce: "Driving Innovation at STEM Racing: How Ansys Powered Advanced Design, Aerodynamic Analysis, and Performance Simulation"

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"Ansys is essential to designing a high-performing STEM racing car. Without it, we'd rely on intuition alone."

- Maxime Muller, design and simulations engineer, Tachyon Racing