An ALGOR linear static stress analysis performed on this beam model of Vanderbilt University’s new Formula SAE racecar chassis showed student engineers where bracing members should be added in the design. (Model courtesy of David H. Livingston Jr., Vanderbilt University Formula SAE team.)

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY FORMULA SAE TEAM SELECTED ALGOR FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE FOR RACECAR DESIGN

The SAE Collegiate Design Series Formula SAE® Competition pits race teams from colleges and universities around the world against one another each spring at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Among the contenders participating in the 22^nd annual race from May 15 to 19, 2002, will be Vanderbilt University’s 16-member Formula SAE team. This is the third year the Vanderbilt team will compete, but in accordance with an SAE rule requiring teams to enter entirely new designs every two years, the team is building this year’s car from scratch. The students used AutoCAD 2000, Pro/ENGINEER and ALGOR finite element analysis (FEA) software for computer-based modeling and analysis prior to building the new car. The FEA software used by the Vanderbilt University Formula SAE team was granted to them as part of ALGOR’s ongoing program to support academic engineering competitions.

According to team member David H. Livingston Jr., a junior at Vanderbilt, the new car won’t look like any other Formula SAE car. He said the nose design is based on a professional Formula One racing design by Stohr Racing Cars for its Formula Ford, and "there’s no rear wing like some teams use." The new design, especially the nose, should provide better aerodynamic performance than realized with Vanderbilt’s previous car, Livingston said, adding "Making the car strong enough but keeping it lightweight has been a balancing act. Our design is a bit complicated, so fabricating it is our real challenge."

The large photograph shows part of the assembled chassis of the Vanderbilt University Formula SAE team’s 2002 racecar. The nose of the team’s racecar design is based on the Stohr Racing Cars Formula Ford nose design, which is shown in the inset photograph. (Large photograph courtesy of David H. Livingston Jr., Vanderbilt University Formula SAE team; inset photograph courtesy of Stohr Racing Cars.)

The first hurdle the team overcame was designing the chassis. "Overall, the chassis design is finished, but there’s a lot more analysis we want to do," Livingston said. "So far we’ve performed linear static stress analysis for frontal impact, applying a 200-lbf. nodal force in the X direction with constraints on the chassis joints, and we’ve also looked at where the larger deflections were and which bracing members were stressed the most." He said deflection was the main chassis analysis concern. "Where there was a large deflection, we’d add bracing members to the model for strength and also try different configurations. From analyses like that, we’ve been able to determine where to reinforce the chassis and ways to make it stronger." Once deflection results seemed reasonable, the student engineers considered stress results. "Our goal is to build a rigid, strong, safe car," Livingston said.

The Vanderbilt Formula SAE team started building the chassis as soon as analysis results indicated that the design was satisfactory. Then attention turned to designing and machining racecar components, including the power train, drive train, cooling, braking and suspension systems, as well as ordering parts like wheels and shocks. "One team member is working on modeling a fiberglass body for the car in Pro/ENGINEER and another is designing the uprights for the suspension in AutoCAD," Livingston said. "Then we’ll bring the designs into ALGOR for analysis, perform more linear static stress analyses on the chassis and possibly analyze the suspension control with Mechanical Event Simulation," software that combines motion with stress analysis for true virtual prototyping.

Members of Vanderbilt University’s Formula SAE team are shown here with the racecar they designed for the 2001 Formula SAE® Competition. In accordance with an SAE rule requiring teams to enter entirely new designs every two years, the Vanderbilt team is building its 2002 car from scratch. (Photograph courtesy of David H. Livingston Jr., Vanderbilt University Formula SAE team.)

Livingston explained that many engineering programs focus on teaching technical theory, but the Formula SAE team participation offers students a practical way to apply this knowledge, which benefits them when they graduate. In fact, Vanderbilt alumni at Futaba Corporation of America initiated a corporate sponsorship for the Vanderbilt Formula SAE team this year to show support for this experiential learning. "We’ve had several successful team alumni," Livingston said. "One former teammate now works for Kimberly-Clark [Corporation] in New Jersey, and another works in material research at Dell [Computer Corporation] in Texas." Livingston said designing Formula SAE racecars using CAD and FEA software helps students start successful engineering careers because, "It definitely makes you want to do more with technology – you see how important it will be in your career."