With the end of the semester just around the corner we are proud to announce the completion of our new frame. We have made a few major changes from last year but the overall design still remains very similar. This year, we constructed the frame out of 4130 chromoly steel which improves rigidity and also decreases weight in comparison to the mild steel we used last year. We have also tig welded the frame this year; further strengthening every joint and with a much cleaner look. Now that the frame is complete we are ready to start manufacturing the suspension components.
Automotive Engineering Course in Full Swing
The Mechanical Engineering Department is offering (this semester) ME 3295, Automotive Engineering. The course has regular lectures on subjects including FEA, CAD, combustion, etc. However, the course is mainly project driven, grading students on the design and fabrication of their specific system of the car. This will help insure that the car is done well before the FSAE competition in May, giving us plenty of time to test and tune the car. This is also a great opportunity to transfer knowledge to our newer members so the same mistakes aren’t repeated year after year. With a car that has been better engineered, better fabricated, and driven extensively, our chances of performing well at competition are greatly improved.
New Sponsors: Global Steering Systems and Nucor Steel
UConn Formula SAE is excited to add Global steering Systems and Nucor Steel as sponsors of the 2011-2012 car. Both of these companies are new to Uconn FSAE and have made generous donations to fund what we hope to be our best car yet. As you know, we are entirely dependent on our sponsors and would be lost without them. We look forward to many great years ahead with you all.
Two New Competitions Added to Summer Schedule
In North America, the gold standard of student formula-style competition is the FSAE competition held at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) each May. It has always been, and continues to be, our goal to compete and succeed at MIS. But recently, we began considering other competitions as well. After all, an academic years worth of effort goes into designing and building this car, why stop at just one competition? And besides honing our racing skills, it also provides added visibility for our sponsors. So this year, for the first time, the UConn team plans to compete in three events: (i) FSAE in Michgan, May 9-12 2012, (ii) Formula North in Barrie, Onterio, May 24 - 27 2012, and (iii) FSAE in Nebraska, June 20 - 23 2012. And, depending on our funding situation next year, we’ve already thought about adding Formula Student in Munich, Germany (August 2013) to the docket.
Design Showcase: New and Improved Composites
One of the many new improvements to our team is a group of students devoted solely to composites. Last year, our main focus was to build a dependable baseline car from which we could continue to design in
subsequent years so, not much focus was put into a body. This year, we have a team of students researching everything there is to know about building a professional race body and seat. They are working with advanced composite technologies, running CFD tests for aerodynamics, and even
working with our drivers to build a custom race seat. The new body will also include two side pods that extend to the rear of the car. The full-length body will give the car an entirely new look and provide much more space for our sponsors. Here’s a look at the initial design they have come up with.
New Automotive Engineering Course Offered in Fall 2011
One challenge for any extra-curricular, project driven club is to maintain participation throughout the busy academic year. For example, on any given night a student might have to choose between studying for a fluid dynamics midterm or working on their FSAE subsystem. Since there’s a grade in the former and not the latter, it’s no surprise that FSAE periodically takes a backseat. But no more. ME 3295, Automotive Engineering, a new course designed to address this problem. The course has regular lectures on aspects of automotive engineering: combustion and timing, gearing and mechanisms, suspension, FEM and CAD, etc. But the class is project driven. Freshmen/sophomores will be teamed with juniors/seniors to engineer and fabricate a component or sub-system that will be incorporated into the FSAE car. Grades are based on bi-weekly, in-class project presentations – and an assessment of the final component or sub-system. The course should help us improve the
level of engineering in the car, keep us on a conservative timeline, improve communication among team members (via the presentations) and promote an engineering ethos in our younger SAE members.
Michigan International Speedway
UConn had its best showing yet at the Michigan International Speedway. The team finished 63rd overall at the competition (up 26 places from last year) and could have done better if not for a brake light faliure. Our scores improved across the board and the design judges were impressed with our knowledge and overall design. In terms of feedback, we heard from the judges that they want to see more validation. We were aware of this going in; our tight schedule in April limited these efforts. But armed with this feedback, we are going to revise our schedule to permit more validation time – as well as extra time to check, double check, and triple check our brake light connector! We plan to test this car during the summer and acquire valuable data to help us improve next year’s entry. With our entire team returning (we had no seniors on the team), the future is looking bright for UConn FSAE.
UConn Has Strong Showing at Lime Rock Park
On April 8, the New England chapters of FSAE were invited to participate in Lime Rock Park’s first ever University Formula Car Program’s Autocross Shootout. Out of the many teams invited only four universities participated: RPI, Brown, UConn, and Cornell. Despite a rainy morning UConn was fast on the track. This provided us valuable experience for our ultimate competition in Michigan.
UConn Car Show
This Saturday, April 9th starting at 9am the team will be attending the annual UConn Car Show hosted by the UConn Car Club.
Lime Rock Park will joining us at the show.
Design Report
The team recently submitted this year’s design report and spec sheet.
Even though it was submitted only 4 minutes before the deadline, it included a kick ass full car model in SolidWorks! We beleive it came out very well.
Differential
Recently, we have machined the mounts that will hold the differential in place at the rear of the car. Since we have already
received the Honda ATV differential that we will be using, we are now ready to align and install the differential. Once that is complete,
we will be able to look into the specific axles we will need and get the car one step closer to rolling.
Uprights
This year’s uprights are machined by Mastercam out of 6061 alumnium.
They will be ready this week for the wheel bearings to be pressed in.
The machines at Mastercam far exceed the machines in our shop. Having Mastercam do the machining freed up a lot of time for the team to work on other projects.
Every vehicle must be able to propel itself forward and, conversely, stop under its own power. This is where a brake system comes into play.
The design of a brake system requires system integration of multiple complex components. This must be done in a manner that fulfills the specification requirements of the official rules as well as the demands of our vehicle. The packaging of the brake system within the frame has been a challenge this year because the frame does not allow for longitudinal placement of the pedal/master cylinder assembly. This has been addressed by creating a subspace for reverse pivoting pedals.
