RAFTAR FORMULA RACING

CHASSIS

MM22B002

BARATH.S.D

Part 1: The Frame

A.

There are four main types of chassis used in cars that we drive around on a daily basis

Backbone Chassis

Ladder Chassis

Tubular Chassis

Monocoque Chassis

Advantages of a Backbone Chassis

The chassis provides good connectivity between the axles and the road surface.

The vehicle is stable with this chassis.

It is a good choice for off roading vehicles.

Since the chassis is rigid, it can handle twisting forces better than a ladder frame chassis.

Disadvantages of a Backbone Chassis

The cylindrical hollow tube houses the driveshaft which is difficult to access.

Backbone chassis are expensive and add to the cost of a car.

Advantages of Ladder on Frame Chassis

The chassis is easy to assemble.

Since the frame and body are separate, different types of body styles can be placed on the chassis

The chassis is very flexible and well suited for going off road.

The high ground clearance afforded by this setup provides quiet and comfortable driving.

Disadvantages of Ladder on Frame Chassis

Since the vehicle gains extra height, it requires more attention while driving.

The frame tends to be very heavy which is not suitable for hatchbacks and small sedans.
Advantages of Tubular Chassis

It offers a higher amount of rigidity than similar frames with the same weight.

The chassis has a high rigidity-to-weight ratio which gives the cars a strong and lightweight structure.

Disadvantages of Tubular Chassis

The design of the chassis is complicated and cannot be constructed using conventional methods.

The chassis is made on a one-off basis and cannot be mass produced due to its long construction
time.

Passenger cars usually don’t have this type of chassis due to feasibility issue.

The chassis creates a high ground clearance which makes cabin access a little difficult.

Advantages of Monocoque Chassis

Perfect choice for small cars because the chassis is lightweight and strong.

Dynamic forces are easily absorbed while the vehicle drives around corners

The chassis is considered very safe because of its single type construction.

Since the chassis is lightweight, it provides good fuel economy and budget friendly cars.

Disadvantages of Monocoque Chassis

The chassis is extremely stiff, which prevents off roading of the vehicle

Repairs can be difficult and expensive.

B.

Improving the torsional rigidity of a vehicle allows the suspension to work more efficiently and
predictably. Vehicles with high torsional rigidity will see more travel in the suspension, as the chassis
isn’t moving. Considering the suspension uses dampers and the chassis doesn’t, it makes sense why
you want the suspension to move and not the chassis.

The chassis and suspension of a vehicle can be thought of as five independent sets of springs. There
are the two front springs, the two rear springs and the chassis that acts as a fifth spring. If we cut a
car down the middle and only look at what happens to a single spring in the front and rear along
with the chassis, we are able to consider a three-spring model. When three springs are put in series,
the force or load across the springs is equal. The weakest spring in the series will still deflect the
most for a given load even if the other two springs are upgraded to a higher rate (stiffness). This is
why some vehicles do not respond favorably to high-rate springs unless the chassis rigidity is
improved first. Finally, increased torsional rigidity decreases rattles, squeaks and vibrations.

C.

Torsional rigidity of a vehicle is a measure of how much force needed to be applied to twist the
frame by one degree

D.

a)Force in the link ED is =7.07106

Force in the link BF is =0

b)
 c)Compared to standard steel construction, here are the most common materials used to
lightweight cars

Magnesium

Carbon Fiber

Aluminum/ Al Composites

Titanium

Glass Fiber

High Strength Steel

Part 2: Aerodynamics and Cooling

A.

a)
Aerodynamic drag is the force that opposes the direction of thrust of a car and is not a desirable
force

b)

i. The term "downforce", therefore, should always be implied as negative force, i.e., pushing the
vehicle to the road.

ii. Downforce helps to induce more tire grip, but more downforce usually induce more drag.

iii. An airfoil is like a slice of a wing and because of its shape it produces lift. A wing's top is curved
and its bottom is flat.Since its top is curved, air on top of a wing moves faster than air on bottom.
Bernoulli's Principle states that faster moving air has lower air pressure, or lower push, and slower
moving air has higher air pressure. This allows pressure on the bottom of the wing to become higher
than the pressure pushing down and causes the plane to lift off the ground.

c)

The rear wing is not as aerodynamically efficient as the front wing, yet it must generate more than
twice as much downforce to balance the car, thus the rear wing assembly is designed to produce
high downforce. To achieve this, large triple element wings are used.

d)

In fluid dynamics, a vortex(PL: vorticesor vortexes)is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves
around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be
observed in smoke rings, whirlpoolsin the wakeof a boat, and the winds surrounding a tropical
cyclone, tornadoor dust devil.A vortex generator (VG) is an aerodynamic device, consisting of a small
vane usually attached to a lifting surface (or airfoil, such as an aircraft wing)[1] or a rotor blade of a
wind turbine.[2] VGs may also be attached to some part of an aerodynamic vehicle such as an aircraft
fuselage or a car. When the airfoil or the body is in motion relative to the air, the VG creates a vortex,

B.
 a) Ground effect is the reduced aerodynamic drag that an aircraft's wings generate when they are
close to a fixed surface.WReduced drag when in ground effect during takeoff can cause the aircraft to
"float" while below the recommended climb speed. The pilot can then fly just above the runway
while the aircraft accelerates in ground effect until a safe climb speed is reached.

b) There are a few reasons why your car is bouncing up and down; It could be something as simple
as uneven tire pressure or poor wheel alignment to more complicated causes such as bad shock
absorbers, broken struts, suspension problems, or steering wheel faults

c)

i. Strakes

ii.

C.

D.

a) i.55 C

ii. 3.26 Kg/s

 b)speed of airflow required =425.9m/s

Prandtl number =.69

heat transfer coefficient =68.48 W/m^2K

Part 3: Composite

A.

a)Composite is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials.These

constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to
create a material with properties unlike the individual elements. Within the finished structure, the
individual elements remain separate and distinct, distinguishing composites from mixtures and solid
solutions.The matrix binds the fiber reinforcement, transfers loads between fibers, gives the
composite component its net shape and determines its surface quality. A composite matrix may be a
polymer, ceramic, metal or carbon.

An alloy is a mixture of a metal along with other metallic or non-metallic substances whereas a
composite is a mixture of two or more elements that are non-metallic.

b)

i.Lamina is a thin layer, plate, or scale of sedimentary rock, organic tissue, or other material.

ii.Laminate ia any material that is made by sticking several layers of the same material together

iii.A sandwich panel is any structure made of three layers: a low-density core, and a thin skin-layer
bonded to each side

iv.

v.Volume fraction of a composite is the percentage of fiber volume in the entire volume of a fiber-
reinforced composite material.
B.

a)
Part 4: Controls, Set-up, and Tuning

A. A vehicle’s track, or track width, is the distance between the center line of each of the two wheels
on the same axle on any given vehicle.

Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles of a vehicle:

a)Load transfer is a term used to describe the transfer (or distribution) load across discontinuities
such as joints or cracks

i.Two main types of load transfer exist; lateral load transfer and longitudinal load transfer.Lateral
load transfer occurs during cornering and is the shift of mass across the wheels due to the centrifugal
force and the lateral acceleration.Longitudinal Load Transfer is when a car is accelerating or braking,
a reaction force is generated similar to the centrifugal force generated when cornering.

ii.Having a larger diameter rear wheel increases the amount of rubber that contacts the road along
the axis of the vehicle which increases your acceleration potential.

iii. yes

B. While viewing from the side of the vehicle, the angle made by the axis of the kingpin (steering
axis) with a vertical axis of the wheel is known as Caster.

Camber is the angle between the vertical axis of the road and the centerline passing through the tire

Toe is the angle between each wheel with relation to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

When the top of the steering axis (kingpin axis) is tilted behind the vertical wheel axis then the angle
made by them is known as a Positive caster.The positive caster angle helps to create directional
stability while moving onto the straight road.
When the top of the steering axis is tilted ahead of the vertical axis then the angle w\formed
between them is known as the Negative caster angle.Negative caster makes steering easier but it
doesn’t provide stability while moving straight.

If the upper part of the wheel is tilted outward, then the angle made by the wheel axis (red dotted
line) and road axis (green dotted line) is known as the Positive camber angle.Thus the centerline of
the tire becomes perpendicular to the road and the maximum surface of the tire comes in contact
with the road.

When the upper part of the wheel is tilted inward, then the angle made by the wheel axis (red
dotted line) and road axis (green dotted line) is considered as a Negative camber angle.The negative
camber is set to increase the stability of vehicles while moving on a curved road.

Toe in is where the front edge of the front two tyres is closer together than the rear edge of the
same tyres; giving the image of the wheels pointing towards the centre line of the car.Toe out is
where the back edge of the front two tyres is closer together than the front edge of the same tyres;
giving the image of the wheels pointing out, away from the centre line of the car.Toe in increases
straight line stability.Toe out decreases straight line stability.

C.Push rod and pull rod suspension systems in F1 both allow the car to remain stable on an uneven
track surface or when going over kerbs. Push rod suspension has a rod going from the bottom of the
wheel to the top of the nose, while a pull rod goes from the top of the wheel to the bottom of the
nose.

The advantages of push rod suspension are:

Easy to access

May be lighter than pull rod

Can provide an aerodynamic advantage

The disadvantages of push rod suspension are:

Higher center of gravity

The advantages of pull rod suspension are:

Lower center of gravity

Can fit into a smoother, lower nose design

The disadvantages of pull rod suspension are:

Harder to access

Often heavier overall

Various aerodynamic implications

D.

a)Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a
vehicle to steering. Oversteer is what occurs when a car turns (steers) by more than the amount
commanded by the driver. Conversely, understeer is what occurs when a car steers less than the
amount commanded by the driver.

b)Common measures to prevent oversteer and understeer:

1. Always ensure the tyre pressure is optimum and the tyre tread is deep enough

2. Rotate tyres on all sides at regular intervals