Post by Thomas Lepère

🏎️ Last September, I joined the EPFL Racing Team as the person in charge of validating the car’s aerodynamic simulations. My mission: to design, build, and then test a scale model of the car in a wind tunnel in order to compare the simulation results with experimental measurements. Last week, I had the opportunity to put this project into practice at Haute école du paysage, d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Genève - HEPIA’s subsonic wind tunnel. It was an extremely rewarding experience that allowed me to apply a wide range of skills: • Project management • Computer-aided design • 3D printing • Welding and brazing • Wind tunnel testing • Data processing Being able to combine so many different fields was a real opportunity for me. It is precisely this diversity that, in my view, represents the very essence of the engineering profession: designing, manufacturing, testing, analyzing, and improving. It is this practical, versatile, and field-oriented approach that I aim to pursue in my future professional life. I would like to thank Patrick Haas for providing access to the wind tunnel, Christian Pinas, who operated the wind tunnel, Stanley Igunbor for his work on the model mount, Gaël Vignau for recruiting me and supporting me throughout the year, @Davide for his help in designing certain parts, Imade B., Martin Cavoret, and Fathi Allababidi for the photos and their help this week, SPOT (Student Prototyping and Outreach Tank) for the facilities, as well as all the members of the EPFL Racing Team, especially the aerodynamics division, for their help throughout the year. #Engineering #Aerodynamics #Motorsport #WindTunnel #FormulaStudent #CAD #3DPrinting #DataAnalysis