Five students will take part in a day of private Formula 1 testing in early 2021. They won this prize thanks to the high-level work they carried out on their educational project proposed by Cyril Dumont, their class sponsor and Director of Operations and Facilities at Renault Sport Racing.
A challenge for students
Offered at the start of the 2019 academic year to all second-year Grande École Program students on the Metz campus, only four groups had the opportunity to work on the topic proposed by Renault Sport Racing. This was a great opportunity for the winning students, who look back on their choice of project: "I wanted to carry out a concrete project, and the fact that it was in partnership with a company was very important," explains Julien Bechtold.
This interest was shared by three other winning students: Erwann Bertrand, Jean Duchenet, and Guillaume Ducreux. The latter had even already completed his first-year work placement at Renault Sport Racing.
The challenge
The four groups of students were tasked with proposing an innovative solution for the engine drainage system of a Formula 1 Grand Prix single-seater. The purpose of the engine drainage system is to extract the oil/gas mixture found in several compartments of the engine. It mainly consists of a group of drain pumps and a deaerator that separates the oil from the gases in order to restore the oil's initial performance.
The aim of this study was to design the entire drain pump assembly and deaerator by performing functional analysis, dimensional calculations, design, simulation, and system validation. The winners devoted a great deal of time to this project during lockdown.
Hard skills and soft skills
"I learned a lot in terms of technical knowledge, but above all in terms of communication and organizational skills, which are difficult to teach in a lecture hall," explains Julien. "Throughout the project, we had to communicate with our contacts at Renault Sport Racing, present our progress to them, and convince them of our technical and organizational choices."
As for Erwann and Jean, they enjoyed being able to experiment with the design process based on a given set of specifications, as well as perfecting their mastery of professional software such as CATIA and Star CCM+.
"This very practical project required a wide range of skills, from organization and software expertise to hard work. It's an excellent complement to our training!" explains Guillaume.
"Truly beautiful engineering work"
On the Arts et Métiers side, the supervising teachers highlighted exceptional work and software skills that exceeded expectations.
On the Renault Sport Racing side, Cyril Dumont shared his thoughts: "They showed tremendous dedication and rigor in their work, and provided us with deliverables of the highest standard. The winning students worked together beautifully as a team, gave a presentation that was crystal clear and super smooth, and really showed the jury that they totally knew their stuff!
One student did particularly impressive work on drainage pumps. We were impressed by the product he delivered, which was very precise and very accomplished! It was a huge amount of work for one person. It was really great to see, truly beautiful engineering work."
A highly anticipated award
Although the teams knew there was a prize to be won, its value was not revealed until the results were announced. It was a big surprise for the winners.
The students are eagerly awaiting this experience, which will allow them to see the work of technicians and engineers in real time: "I can't wait to get into the Renault paddock to watch the engineers at work as they prepare and run a test on the car," explains Jean.
Guillaume is eager to "see a single-seater (the RS21) that we have been able to work on actually driving."
"It's an opportunity to discover a world I never thought I'd have access to, to work closely with engineers, technicians, and pilots, and to learn how their world works in real time," adds Erwann.
"It's an opportunity that doesn't come along often!" concludes Julien.
Congratulations to the five winners!
