TCR World and life

3 SPOTLIGHT Although the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the integration of the ETCR kits into the racing cars by six months; recently, Hyundai Motorsport were able to complete their first integration of a Veloster N ETCR car at Williams Advenced Engineering, under the supervision of WSC Group’s ETCR Technical Director Gergeli Bári. Activities included four days at the WAE workshop for the integration of the electrical systems and three days of shakedown and calibration testing at Great Tew circuit. The integration was performed with the help of an ETCR lab-car built by WAE that was used to replicate and resolve any issues that may possibly occur during the race car integration process. Static Integration was carried out in two phases: Mechanical and Electrical, and followed a bespoke test plan developed by WAE for ETCR. Mechanical activities included: installation of the battery into the chassis, connection and bleeding of the The first ETCR car completes systems integration cooling system, installation of the kit components (Vehicle Control Module, Charging Module, High Voltage cables and dielectric coolant) and connection of the equipotential bonding network. Electrical activities included: connection and testing of looms, loading of software and firmware onto the modules, full sensor and switch function checking, module calibration checking including vital testing of the E-Stop, functionality checks on the DCDC converter, first activation of inverters and initial running of the drive train culminating with a battery charge, all checks included detailed data logging ensuring the system’s safety. All the E-Kit components – MAGELEC propulsion power train, BrightLoop DCDC12L converter and Marelli Power Box – performed well, as expected. Following the completion of the static integration, with the support of WAE’s engineers and technicians, the team moved to Great Tew test track in the heart of Oxfordshire for a dynamic shakedown; during which the car was pushed to the limit; completing over 300km, proving itself to be both safe and reliable. Before wheels turned, the High Voltage system was signed-off and safety critical operation guidelines were established. On track test activities included: throttle pedal calibration, power arbitration, push to pass and pit limiter test, recharging using Enel X charger and Lauda chiller in different environments including the rapid recharge function from 9% to 98%, a baseline full speed run with Traction Control off , dynamic test of the E-stop safety system ensuring the running car comes to a controlled rapid stop, a dedicated day assigned to tyre testing with the use of the Speed over Ground sensor.