Lap time simulator for a single-seater electric car

This thesis aims to develop a quasi steady-state lap time simulator for a Formula Student electric prototype developed by Squadra Corse PoliTO. The idea is to create a tool that helps the team to evaluate the influence of the main parameters of the vehicle on the performance and define the race strategy in terms of a trade-off between lap time and energy consumption. In the following chapters, a point-mass quasi steady-state simulator is developed. The vehicle is modelled as a point-mass with longitudinal and lateral friction coefficients, longitudinal and vertical aerodynamics, and with an electric powertrain composed of motors, inverters, and a battery pack. This model is adopted in the early stages of the design to find the balance between the primary input values of the car, such as mass, aerodynamic coefficients, and battery pack capacity. The simulation process is analyzed in detail phase by phase. The last part of this thesis is dedicated to the development of a simulation code used to obtain yaw moment diagrams, a useful tool to analyze the vehicle dynamics behavior and to create GGV diagrams that in future developments could be integrated into the simulator code.