Problem Statement

The problem that our group is presented with is designing a complete assembly of an electric car that will accelerate over a ramp and land without breaking. This includes designing the chassis and body, deciding how to efficiently use the gears, and making the design easily manufacturable. Our goal is to design a vehicle that will travel the furthest through the air after it leaves the ramp. While designing a vehicle that maximizes this distance, the critical physical parameters that we have to consider are: Aerodynamics, weight reduction, proficient suspension, gear ratio, balance, durability, alignment, assembly, ramp angle, and acceleration. Aerodynamics is important because it relates to our acceleration, balance, and the distance the car will travel while in the air. The more aerodynamic our car is, the faster it will accelerate, and the greater chance we will have of reaching a further distance. In order to obtain the best aerodynamics, our car should not have too many rough edges that may create unnecessary drag. The vehicle needs to be as light as possible because by reducing weight we can increase our acceleration and the distance traveled. This can be shown by Newtons Second Law, F=MA. By rearranging this equation, we get A = F/M. The lighter the vehicle, the more acceleration we can obtain. We need to have a balanced car so it will not rotate after it leaves the ramp. If our car has more weight on one side then the other, when it launches off the ramp, it will want to rotate in the direction of the weight. This means that when it lands, the force will be distributed unevenly throughout the structure, which can cause damage. The angle of our ramp needs to be calculated for maximum distance. Most engineers know that in order to obtain maximum distance, the ramp angle would be 45 degrees. However, this is in a perfect world. In the real life situation we have, we need to take into account air resistance. Our group estimated that the best launch angle for this project would be 35 degrees. We need to have a proficient suspension so that the car lands as softly as possible. Since this car is going to be flying through the air, when it lands it will come down with some

amount of force. Again, we can look to Newtons Second Law (F=MA) in order to determine this force. The final product has to be easy to manufacture and assemble. If we create a product that is not easy to manufacture, we may run into problems down the road that would require us to redesign our products. Worst case scenario, we may realize this problem when it is already too late. All of these factors need to be taken into deep consideration while designing and constructing our vehicle. While we can figure out many of the problems we will encounter using logic and qualitative analysis, some of the problem we will encounter require the use of some equations. The first equation, and perhaps the most important one, is the equation to calculate the distance our vehicle will travel, shown below.

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Using the above equation, we will be able to calculate the estimated distance that the car will travel throughout the air. This equation depends on the launch angle, the velocity the car leaves the ramp with, gravity, as well as the initial X and Y distances. We will use 9.81 take intial X and Y values to be 0. Another important aspect of the vehicle that will involve mathematical equations is the gear ratio. The gear ratio is an important aspect of this vehicle because it plays a large role in the efficiency we can obtain. The equation for gear ratio is: for our gravity, and we will

Gear Ratio = Input : Output

The way this equation works can best be shown by example. In this example, we have a 3 : 1 gear ratio. This means that the output shaft spins one time each time the input shaft (in our case, the

motor) spins three times. This equation is also important because it directly affects torque and angular velocity. If we have a 3 : 1 gear ratio, that means that the torque will increase by 3 times but decrease the angular velocity by 3 times as well. It will be important for us to calculate a good compromise between these two factors. There are many other equations we will be able to use to our advantage, such as equations for torque, angular acceleration, pitch diameter, and force. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, our group should be able to solve the problem of building an electric car. Our group will maximize our travel distance by using the engineering skills and logic we have learned throughout college, all while making the vehicle easy to manufacture.

Design Alternatives
We have brainstormed four design alternatives. These are attached. We have also included a rough sketch of the chassis. This is subject to change.

Design Analysis and Evaluation

Our group has designed four different possibilities for the electric car. These four proposals include a racecar, a space shuttle, a 2014 Acura NSX, and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. As always, there are strengths and weaknesses to each vehicle. There are many different factors to consider when constructing the electric vehicle, including where each design will be most sensitive to failure. For the racecar, the most concerning aspect is the possibility that the motor would be difficult to case. This is a problem because there would be so little room inside the car, that the motor would barely have enough room. There would only be about 3 inches from the ground to the top of the car. This does not allow for much wiggle room for the motor to move when the force of the landing is exerted on it. This extra force of the landing is where the possibility of failure comes in for the racecar. The most sensitive point of failure of the space shuttle is

the long, skinny body of it. The body would be approximately 2 inches across at the skinniest portion. The shuttle, if not properly designed, has potential to fail at landing when extra force is exerted on it. Another problem with the shuttle is the distance between the two front wheels. Since the front two wheels of the shuttle are closer together then the back two wheels, this creates possible instability when landing. The biggest susceptibility of the NSX is that the bottom of the car would be roughly inch off the ground. This low clearance would cause problems with designing a capable suspension system, and therefore creating a greater chance of the car failing on landing. The biggest potential for failure in the wienermobile lies in the weight. The wienermobile is much taller than the racecar and NSX, at nearly 4 inches. This extra height creates a higher risk of rolling if the landing after the jump is not perfect. The height of the wienermobile is the point that is most sensitive to failure. The complexities of the vehicle designs differ from one another. The gear diameter will be calculated after multiple tests and calculations, and will not differ greatly from one vehicle to another. This will be the case because once the correct gear ratio is found, that gear ration will optimize performance no matter the vehicle. But, through speculation it can be assumed that the bigger designs, the shuttle and wienermobile, will need more torque to get up the ramp than the smaller designs, the NSX and the racecar. The wheel size and weight will also be a factor in the vehicles. If the racecar, NSX, or wienermobile is used, all four of the standard wheels will be used. If the shuttle is used, only three wheels will be used, and only two of the standard wheels. The third wheel will be placed in the front and be crafted in order to meet the needs of the shuttle. These needs include weight reduction and the need to have the shuttle land similarly to an actual shuttle when landing on the runway. The crafted wheel will not have a lot of traction, as the motor will be powering the back wheels. It is not necessary for much tread to be on the front tire for that reason.

The four different designs thought up by our group pose different manufacturing challenges. The racecar is an intricate design that would take a lot of care and time to perfect. The NSX is essentially one prominent curve, which would be harder to manufacture than basic shapes. The wienermobile is two pieces stuck together. This would cause a problem because the two pieces would either have to be made separately and fused together, or carefully made as one piece, either of which would be difficult. The space shuttle is made out of very basic shapes, but the wings would pose a problem in the manufacturing process. If the wings are not done carefully and a mistake is made, it is possible that the balance of the shuttle would be off and this would not bode well for the ultimate jump. The efficiency of each design is yet another element which must be analyzed before deciding on one design. The racecar and NSX are similar in design, and both would be light, stable on the landing, and fast. The wienermobile is likely the least stable on the landing and would not travel very fast. The shuttle is aerodynamic and the wings will help to get extra lift on the jump. The shuttle will have to have a near perfect jump in order to land in a stable position. Time needed and materials are both important to consider before deciding on a design and both time and raw materials are finite. The racecar would take approximately 12 hours in the lab in order to craft all of the curves. Since the NSX is only one curve instead of multiple, it would take approximately 9 hours to complete in the lab. The wienermobile would take about 12 hours to complete in order to either fuse the two parts together or create one piece that looks like two pieces. The shuttle would take roughly 7 hours in the lab. The time is less because the shuttle is made of very basic shapes, which would be easier to assemble than the curves on the other designs. After all of these factors are analyzed, the shuttle appears to be the best option. The shuttle is a fairly basic design, but could be very effective. If manufactured carefully the first time, time should be minimal. The wings also provide an advantage so that the shuttle receives lift when it goes off the ramp.

The concern of having only three wheels can be quickly eliminated by customizing a wheel, which provides plenty of stability all while reducing the weight of the vehicle by having only three wheels. The shuttle design also is original and will stand out from the rest of the crowd. Our group has made the determination that the space shuttle proposal is the best available option.