FSAE VEHICLE DESIGN

Vehicle Structural Design & Materials Selection

(MECH 3314)
Section 1 SEM 1 (2018-19)

Group Members
1. Hasbullah bin Hassan 1528125
2. Muhammad Mursyid bin Mohd Kashfi 1527947
3. Abdul Hakeem bin Akbar 1524527
4. Iqbal Arif bin Abdul Rahman 1522401
5. Ibrahim bin Uzair 1529465
TABLE OF CONTENT

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2

2.1 Chassis Design 2

2.2 Powertrain System 3

2.3 Suspension System 3

2.4 Braking System 5

2.5 Steering System 6

3.0 VEHICLE DESIGN 9

3.1 Design Specification / Requirement 9

3.1.1 Dimension 9

3.1.2 Weight 10

3.1.3 Acceleration 10

3.1.4 Braking 11

3.1.5 Ride, handling and roll-over 12

3.1.6 Safety 12

3.1.7 Cost 13

3.2 Design of Body Frame 14

3.2.1 Static Shear 15

3.2.2 Static overall bending 16

3.2.3 Lateral Bending 18

3.2.4 Static torsional loading 19

3.2.5 Acceleration test 21

3.2.6 Frequency analysis 22

3.2.7 Crashworthiness analysis 26

3.2.8 Side impact analysis 28

3.3 Selection of Powertrain system 29

3.4 Selection of Braking System 32

3.5 Selection of Suspension System 36

3.6 Selection of Steering System 38

4.0 COST ANALYSIS 40

5.0 CONCLUSION 42

6.0 PROTOTYPE 43

7.0 REFERENCES 43
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Formula SAE (FSAE) is an automotive design competition to build a maximum engine

performance racing car with single seat to achieve high speed. It is organise by Society of
Automotive Engineer International since 1993. This competition makes its debut in Malaysia
last 2017. The main parts of this vehicle is chassis (body frame made from steel pipes),
powertrain system, brake system, suspension system, and etc. Go-kart is one of the example of
FSAE car.

One of the objective of FSAE is to engineer a high performance car. However, as stated
in the FSAE Rules and Regulations, there are several requirement needed. The engine must be
a four-stroke, Otto-cycle piston engine with a displacement no greater than 710cc. An air
restrictor of circular cross-section must be fitted downstream of the throttle and upstream of
any compressor, no greater than 20mm for gasoline engines or 19mm for ethanol-fuel engines.
The restrictor keeps power levels below 100 horsepower in the vast majority of FSAE cars.

Besides, for the suspension system, as stated from FSAE rules, it is unrestricted for
safety regulations. Most teams opt for four-wheel independent suspension, almost universally
double-wishbone. Active suspension is legal. According to the requirements of Japan student
formula race, the race car suspension needs to have the shock absorber. The suspension travel
should have more than 50 mm to ensure the vehicle stability and the ability to satisfy the needs
of manoeuvrability while competing through the events. There are few regulations or
requirements on aerodynamics. Most teams do not build aerodynamic packages as the speeds
involved in FSAE competition rarely exceed 60 mph (97 km/h), and design judging tends to
frown upon aerodynamic parts that do not have definite test data, usually in the form of wind
tunnel testing or at least computational fluid dynamics analysis.

For vehicle weight, there is no weight restriction. The weight of the average competitive
Formula SAE car is usually less than 440 lb (200 kg) in race trim. However, the lack of weight
regulation combined with the somewhat fixed power ceiling encourages teams to adopt
innovative weight-saving strategies, such as the use of composite materials, elaborate and
expensive machining projects, and rapid prototyping.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

A research based knowledge of existing models about the FSAE vehicle design were briefly
explained in this chapter. The report on FSAE design by other universities were studied and
deeply understood for us to have an exposure on this matter.

2.1 CHASSIS DESIGN

FIGURE 2.1

The design of a chassis for a formula SAE-A race car must contain all necessary
components to support the car and the driver. In order to produce a competitive vehicle with
optimum chassis performance, many areas need to be studied and tested. Chassis must be strong
enough to remain robust in every operational conditions for its expected life and also be as light
as possible to be fast.

Oregon State University’s teams employ the chassis design that is by using a carbon
fiber monocoque, because of its light weight and relative strength. A carbon fiber monocoque
is used by teams with extensive amounts of research and resources into the development of
carbon fiber structures. Carbon fiber is a composite that possesses twice the strength of steel,
yet is five times lighter, making it the perfect choice for a chassis.

The FSAE design report made by Tokai University said that they used A7N01
aluminium twin tube frame as the strongest point of their vehicle. Therefore, A7N01 has a
special characteristic used to avoid the problem when the welded points at the welded pipe
become weaker under the influence of welding heat that makes chassis rigidity lower. The
aluminium has great aging effect in normal temper and 1 month after welding, their strength
recovers themselves 90%. The vehicle has minus rear overhang and rear bulkhead is attached
at end of the twin tube to make the frame more compact and light,.

For University of Wisconsin-Platteville (2013),there is changed in four key

dimensional and material design from their previous design in 2012 such as they lengthened
the front nose for better driver ergonomics. The changes in the center section, front roll hoop
were made to aid in packaging the components and in driver egress. Finally, to reduce weight
and aid in packaging the radiator, the main roll hope was narrowed. Chromoly 4130 tube steel
is used as it ease of manufacturability, high tensile strength, and the cost is low.

2.2 POWER TRAIN SYSTEM

The powertrain of a FSAE vehicle is among the most important systems that
contribute to the forces that accelerate the vehicle. Many different aspects of the system need
to be considered when choosing the base concept, those including performance, efficiency,
reliability, cost, and manufacturability. A good compromise between all of the above aspects
of the design will lead to a successful powertrain.

University of Akron has evaluated many different options for the base of the
powertrain and has ultimately chosen the 2008 Yamaha WR450. The Yamaha WR450 was
selected because of it compromise between all of the selection criteria such as it has a single
cylinder, 449 stock displacement(cc), 95 mm bore, and 5 speed wide transition. The
performance of the engine will dictate the maximum amount of tractive force that can be
created to accelerate the car.

Furthermore, Tokai university used an engine of Yamaha’s enduro motorcycle

called WR450 just like engine used by University of Akron. Based on their report, it is said
that the engine has small weight, 5 titanium valves, 5 speed and dry sump system. Originally,
maximum horsepower is 44.1 kW (60.0PS) at 9000 rpm and maximum torque is 52.9N･m
(5.4kgf･m) at 6500 rpm. Besides, the engine has been modified which they changed fuel
delivery system into fuel injection system using Haltech E6X that will change amount of fuel
consumption and its angle. Thus, it could deliver enough fuel-air mixture to the combustion
chamber.

2.3 SUSPENSION SYSTEM

 From the American Institute of Physics (AIP) research. Most modern race cars use
some type of independent suspension system where each wheel can move independently from
the other wheels. By having an independent suspension on all wheels (as shown in Figure 2.3)
where the wheels move after a prescribed path allows for greater control over the wheel travel.
Most race cars use so-called double wishbone suspension or sometimes called double A-arm
suspension. The main advantage of this type of suspension system is camber gain can easily be
adjusted by using an unequal length of A-arms. To reduce unspring weight the spring and
damper are mounted inside the vehicle and connected to the suspension with the bell crank and
push rod. This configuration makes the suspension system more responsive as it has to move
less weight when it travels.

Figure 2.3: Independent suspension system.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville (2013) mentioned the designed car has 4-way

adjustable shocks. This mechanism will help rebound and suspension travel. In addition, it aids
a negative 1.5 degree camber angle at static ride height and maintain less than 1 degree change
through a 3 degree body roll. Laser cut tube ends were modelled so that spherical bearings can
be used which will rise variety motion and lessen the stress concentration. Single piece
components is the design for the uprights. This choice is to ensure less breaking of fasteners
and not depending on many pieces. For steering system, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
team (2013) uses a manual rank – and – pinion which is mounted to the base of the frame. Least
possible steering wheel input is guaranteed as the rack housing optimized the steering
responsiveness.
 According to SAE Baja MQP team (2016), double wishbone (or A-arm) suspension
systems (Figure 2.4) is chosen. It utilize two lateral control arms which are typically unequal
in length and connected to the spindle with two ball joints located at the upper and lower A-
arm spindle mount locations. By allowing one A-arm to be shorter than the other, it is easy to
induce a camber in the wheel. In this case, shortening the upper A-arm and decreasing the
vertical distance between the upper and lower A-arm chassis mount points induces a negative
camber thus improving stability and control. Overall this can improve a vehicle’s dynamic
characteristics and ability to handle larger vertical loads (Vivekanandan et.al, 2014). Another
benefit of the double wishbone suspension system is that it allows the designer of the vehicle
to place the reaction point of the wheel at almost any point in space. This system does have its
disadvantages which include higher weight, higher cost, and more complex components (Riley,
2005).

Figure 2.4: Double wishbone suspension system.

2.4 BRAKING SYSTEM

Brakes are one of the most important components of a vehicle with regards to accident
avoidance and must function under all possible operating conditions including various road
conditions, wear conditions, weight of the vehicle, and driver experience. Brake systems must
accomplish three primary tasks which are slowing and/or stopping, maintaining speed on a
downgrade, and holding stationary on a downgrade (Limpert, 2011).
 According to SAE Baja MQP team (2016), disk brakes (Figure 2.5) were selected by
the 2014-2015 MQP team due to their ability to maintain brake effectiveness at high
temperatures. With the possibility for repetitive braking during a competition and potential for
quick braking, the brake systems may experience sudden peaks in 17 temperature.
Additionally, due to their easier assembly and servicing, disk brakes are a far more desirable
option for the application of an SAE Baja competition (Crevoiserat et.al, 2015). Furthermore,
the reason that disk brakes are more sought after for applications similar to that of a SAE Baja
vehicle is that they are far less sensitive to temperature spikes during braking. See Figure 10
for a description of disk brakes. Disk brakes can operate with little fade at high temperatures
that reach approximately 1073 K to 1173 K. This is caused by the expansion of the brake rotor
as heat builds up which causes no loss in brake fluid. In contrast to this, drum brakes can only
operate up to approximately 673 K to 700 K before damage may occur (Limpert, 2011).

For University of Wisconsin-Platteville (2013), the rotor is used to quickly and

efficiently dissipate a huge amount of heat through drilled 6.35 mm thick mild carbon steel
rotors. Steel is used because it gives enough heat transfer properties and it is resistant to
warping. For callipers, Wilwood Dynalite callipers were used to supply enough braking power.
The material used is aluminium because of its lightweight and low profile. The system can
successfully stop 317 kg car as it supply the required braking force. For University of
Connecticut (2010), Wildwood tandem remote master cylinder is used as it is easy to install as
well as low cost. It has two independent brake circuit installed with 4- wheel disc brakes. For
the engine, an aluminium 599cc of 4 cylinder 4 stroke engine type 2003 Suzuki GSX-R600 is
used. The aluminium provides power to weight ratio and has multiport fuel injection.

Figure 2.5: Disk brake.

2.5 STEERING SYSTEM

 A vehicle’s steering system comprises of several parts working together to create an
optimal path for the tires to follow. This takes into account factors such as the angle at which
the tires are contacting the surface of the ground and at what angle a tire’s turning is being
controlled from. Starting from the farthest point from the chassis, a vehicle’s turning is
dependent on the camber, castor, and kingpin (Figure 2.6) inclination angle of the tires. The
vertical alignment and angle of a tire compared to the vertical axis of suspension is what defines
the camber. Due to this, it is possible for a tire to either have positive or negative camber (Riley,
2005).

Based on SAE Baja MQP team (2016) camber (Figure 2.7) and caster (Figure 2.8)
settings, negative camber is generally preferred among Baja vehicles. Positive camber offers a
high risk of rollover in off-road situations and is unstable in high speed situations, whereas
negative camber provides added off-road stability and allows for more contact between the tire
and surface. Additionally, negative camber creates a camber thrust which helps to reduce lateral
movement and tire scrubbing (Riley, 2005). This improves stability and control. For caster
setting, the steering forks form a positive slope between their top connection point and where
they connect to the front wheel. This leads to the motorcycle having positive caster. Caster is
important when taking stability at high speeds into account by creating a self-centring force
(Riley, 2005). Additionally, caster helps to improve a car’s front end cornering effectiveness
and steering effort.

Figure 2.6: Steering system with kingpin.

Figure 2.7: Camber settings.

Figure 2.8: Caster settings.

3.0 VEHICLE DESIGN

3.1 Design specification / requirement

3.1.1 Dimension

There are some rules and regulations that need to be follow before started to design the chassis
or frame. Some of the parameters are wheel base, track width, tire diameter, ride height and
also some constraints that have to be follow. For example, in FSAE rules, the minimum
wheelbase must be 1525 mm, the smaller track width can be minimum 75% of larger track
width. Before starting to design, the parameters in table below are determined.

Wheelbase 1650 mm
Front track width 1260 mm
Rear track width 1220 mm
Diameter tyre 600 mm
Ride height 330 mm

Dimension of chasing design from top view

 Characteristics of AISI 4340 steel, normalized

For designing the chassis, we choose AISI 4340 steel, normalized because of its high yield
strength and also tensile strength which are 710 Mpa and 1 110 Mpa respectively.

3.1.2 Weight

FSAE competition has no minimum weight requirement, so the weight reduction

benefits essentially have no bound. However, the weight of the average competitive FSAE car
is below than 200 kg , to accommodate the weight of the driver. Cars must meet or exceed the
base weight in race. Overall, as long as the reduced mass does not pose any threats to the
integrity of the design, there are rarely any drawbacks associated with decreased vehicle
weight.

3.1.3 Acceleration

For the car to accomplish 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 1 second, the car should
have power to-weight ratio of 1,400 hp/t (1.05 kW/kg). Nonetheless, this huge power cannot
be changed movement at low speeds on account of traction loss and the time is 1.5 seconds to
accomplish 100 km/h (62 mph). After around 130 km/h (80 mph) traction loss is immaterial
due to the merged effect of the car moving speedier and the downward force, thusly continuing
to move the auto at a high rate. 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph): 1.5 seconds,

0 to 200 km/h (124 mph): 3.7 seconds, while 0 to 300 km/h (186 mph): 8.5 seconds

However, the acceleration event evaluates the car’s acceleration in a straight line on flat
pavement. The acceleration score is based upon the corrected elapsed time. Elapsed time will
be measured from the time the car crosses the starting line until it crosses the finish line.
ACCELERATION SCORE = 95.5 x ( Tmax / Tyour ) -1 + 4.5 ( Tmax / Tmin ) -1
Where: Tyour is the best corrected elapsed time for the team including penalties.

Tmin is the elapsed time of the fastest car.

Tmax is 150% of Tmin

3.1.4 Braking

Based on FSAE rules 2017/18 , the braking system on cars must acts on all four
wheels and is operated by a single control. Besides, it must have two (2) independent hydraulic
circuits such that in the case of a leak or failure at any point in the system, effective braking
power is maintained on at least two wheels. Each hydraulic circuit must have its own fluid
reserve, either by the use of separate reservoirs or by the use of a dammed, OEM-style
reservoir.

A single brake acting on a limited-slip differential is acceptable. The brake system

must be capable of locking all four wheels during the test specified below. There are cases that
prohibited by FSAE such as“Brake-by-wire” and unarmored plastic brake lines . The braking
systems must be protected with scatter shields from failure of the drive train or from minor
collisions.

In side view no portion of the brake system that is mounted on the spring part of the
car must project below the lower surface of the frame or the monocoque, whichever is
applicable. The brake pedal must be designed to withstand a force of 2000 N without any failure
of the brake system or pedal box. This may be tested by pressing the pedal with the maximum
force that can be exerted by any official when seated normally. The brake pedal must be
fabricated from steel or aluminum or machined from steel, aluminum or titanium.

The brake system will be dynamically tested and must demonstrate the
capability of locking all four wheels and stopping the vehicle in a straight line at the end of an
acceleration run specified by the brake inspectors. After accelerating the tractive system has to
be switched off by the driver and the driver has to lock all four wheels of the vehicle by braking.
The brake test is passed if all four wheels lock while the tractive system is shut down. It is
acceptable for the Tractive System Active Light to switch off shortly after the vehicle has come
to a complete stop as the reduction of the system voltage may take up to 5 seconds.
3.1.5 Ride, handling and roll-over

Ride quality depends on vehicle reaction when experienced bump. Suspension design
is often a compromise between ride quality and car handling, because cars with firm suspension
can result in greater control of body movements and quicker reactions. Similarly, a lower center
of gravity is more ideal for handling, but low ground clearance limits suspension travel,
requiring stiffer springs When vehicle experienced bump road the undamped suspension will
resist motion of natural frequency of the system. Normal frequency of car when experienced
bump road is from 60 to 90 cycles per minute (CPM) or around 1Hz to 1.5Hz while high
performance car have higher spring constant with frequency from 2Hz to 2.5Hz.. When
frequency approach 2Hz the car suspension cannot resist the bump effectively.

Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way a wheeled vehicle
responds and reacts to the inputs of a driver, as well as how it moves along a track or road. ...
The maximum lateral acceleration is sometimes discussed separately as "road holding".

Roll is defined as the moment resisting body roll per degree of body roll from the lateral
force. The resistance to body roll can be provided by anti-roll bars, track width and suspension
setup.The height of the center of gravity (CoG) and the distance to the roll center affects the
roll rate of the car, a car with a high CoG will require stiffer suspension or anti-roll bar to
compensate for the higher CoG. FSAE car usually have lower center of gravity compared with
normal car. Generally, in race a car, double wishbone suspension with either pullrod or pushrod
is used.

3.1.6 Safety regulations

Safety regulations that implies in FSAE includes the design on the structure of the
cars such as the front bulkhead as one of the primary structure should have a planar structure
that defines the forward plane of the Major Structure of the Frame and functions to provide
protection for the driver’s feet. Next, Impact attenuator must be fit to the nose and data of
impact testing must be submitted during competition. Vehicle also must have full five point
racing harnesses, two hydraulic brake, and driver location in the cockpit must meet geometric
templates. The tilt test that determine whether fluids spill or not when heavy cornering must be
done, and there is no line of sight between the driver and coolant or oil lines.

Besides, for the safety of the driver, the driver’s equipment specified must be
worn by the driver anytime he or she is in the cockpit with the engine running or with the
tractive system active for electric vehicles and anytime between starting a dynamic event and
either finishing or abandoning a dynamic event. Removal of any driver equipment during the
event will result in disqualification. Driver’s equipment including Helmet, Balaclava, eye
protection and suit. These equipment must be approved by the administration first so that they
are safe to be used.

3.1.7 Cost

Cost and budget are significant factors that must be considered in any engineering
exercise. . However, team’s ability to prepare accurate engineering and manufacturing cost
estimates are needed in this competition. Cost of every part on the prototype vehicle must be
listed. This includes any equipment fitted on the vehicle at any time during the competition. Be
based on the estimated costs of materials, fabrication, purchased parts, and assembly of the car.
The costs must be calculated as defined in these rules. There is no maximum cost. Meanwhile,
for the manufacturer cost, it depends on the material used. If the material used is aluminium
then the cost is low compared with if we using composite materials which has the higher cost.
3.2 DESIGN OF BODY FRAME

Chassis design

Four different view of chassis designed

3.2.1 STATIC SHEAR

Static shear test is a test that is being carried out to see the deformation of a material when
forces applied tangentially. This type of test usually being carried out on sheet materials, metals
and also composites structures. The simulation of static shear being done in solidwork. We
assume all the weldments as a big beam. Then, we fix one end of the chasis, with the other part
being applied force vertically downwards. Force of 2800 N being applied. The force of 2800
N is the force that being accounted based on the mass of our FSAE design car which is 200 kg
and also considering the mass of the normal driver wich in total result in 280 kg. From the mass
we convert it to force and result in 2800N downward force.

FIGURE 3.1 (shear stress distribution on the chasis)

FIGURE 3.2
( Factor of safety of the frame during static shear test)

From figure 3.1and figure 3.2 it shows stress distribution and also factor of safety for the entire
chassis when static shear test being carried out. In figure 3.1 the stress varies and reach
maximum to 185.2 Mpa wic occur at the side of front bulkhead. At different part of the chasis
frame from front hoop, roll hoop, main hoop and side impact structure the stress at the range
of -32.2 Mpa to 76.5Mpa. In figure 3.2 shows the factor of safety throughout the chassis. The
factor of safety varies from 0.04 to 44.61. Among the critical part is at the node 77 which is at
front bulkhead joint and also at the side impact. For the main hoop and front hoop the factor of
safety is greater than 1 which is consider safe and do not easily fail due to shear.

3.2.2 STATIC OVERALL BENDING

In static bending test, we will analyse the chasis due to bending load applied. The total bending
load will consists of the frame, driver, engine load and peripherals. In order to simulate this in
solidwork, we consider the chasis as a beam and we fix both end from the front bulkhead and
the rear side. Then, bending load of 2800N being applied on the chasis in downward direction.
FIGURE 3.3 (Normal stress distribution due to bending load)

FIGURE 3.4
( Factor of safety of the frame when bending load applied)
From figure 3.3 the the maximum stress occur at the bottom of the chasing which is 7946.8
Mpa. At the other part of the chasis it is in the range 17.5 Mpa to 1 008.7 Mpa. Whereas in
figure 3.4 the factor of safety when the bending load applied range from 0.09 to 195.8. The
front bulkhead factor of safety varies from 80.64 to 48.62. Thus, it shows that the front
bulkhead is strong to resists failure due to static vertical bending. The critical part is at the
bottom of mounting or weldment as the red colour indicate the critical part. The critical factor
of safety part is 0.09 to around 3

3.2.3 LATERAL BENDING

Lateral bending flexibility is a test that applied horizontal force on roll hop and on driver cabin.
In reality lateral bending is phenomenon that occur mainly due to the centrifugal forces caused
during cornering and wind forces to some extent. For the simulation in solidworks, in order to
test for the lateral bending, first we fixed or clamped the front chasis. Then we applied lateral
force of 2800 N.

FIGURE 3.5 ( Normal stress distribution due to lateral bending

load )
FIGURE 3.6 ( Factor of safety of the chassis when lateral bending
applied)
From figure 3.5, the maximum stress is 817.9 Mpa and it occur at the side impact chassis. For
the front bulkhead, the stress is around -9.9 to 226.6 Mpa. For factor of safety, among the
critical part is at the node 412 which is at side impact and also at bottom mount or weldment
at node 364. Besides that the main hoop also among the critical part which is 2.16 factor of
safety. Even though they are among among critical parts, but since those critical parts are
greater than 1, so it still consider strong to resists failure due to lateral bending load.

3.2.4 STATIC TORSIONAL LOADING

Torsion test is among the crucial test in car testing in order to determine the behavior a material
or when twisted or under torsional forces. In reality the torsional force will applied on car when
a single wheel passes over a bump, but for FSAE design car, the torsional effect will occur
during the cornering. This happen because, on a real race car, there will be a difference between
roll stiffness of the front suspension and rear suspension. For the simulation in solidwork, we
clamped the rear chassis while torque of 400Nm is applied at the front chasis.
FIGURE 3.7 ( Shear stress distribution due to torsional loading )

FIGURE 3.8 ( Factor of safety of the chassis when torsional load is

applied)

According to figure 3.7, from the front bulkhead to the front hoop, the shear stress will be in
the region of 0.8 to 4 Mpa. The critical or the highest stress is on the main hoop bracing
supports which are around 7.8 to 11.2 Mpa. The colour in the figure 3.7 indicates maximum
stress is red in colour. For the factor of safety, across all part of the chasis it ranges from 7.04
to 100 except for node 441 and side of rear bulkhead which have higher factor of safety.

3.2.5 ACCELERATION TEST

The acceleration test being done to test how the performance of the car accelerate with air resistance.
The concept is that when the car accelerate, the forces tend to act in opposite direction from the
motion of the body. Forces from the acceleration were calculated based on the mass of average
normal driver which is 80 kg. Since in our design we are using YAMAHA WR 450 engine, it can
accelerate up to 100 km/h in 1.5 seconds. From that information, the acceleration was found to be
18.52 m/s2. Therefore the acceleration force can be calculated from equation of F=ma. From that, the
force of 1445N was applied on the structure in backward direction when doing the simulation in
solidwork. Whereas, load of 2800N being applied throughout driver cabin, engine bay and drive train
section for realistic simulation results.

FIGURE 3.9 ( Stress distribution )

FIGURE 3.10 ( Factor of safety )
The maximum stress occurs at the lower mounts which is 8 259.7 Mpa. Whereas for the other
part the highest stress is 695.3 Mpa. For factor of safety, the critical part is red in colour and
occur at side of lower mount front bulkhead. Among the highest factor of safety is at main
hoop, front hoop and front bulkhead which is in the region 30 to 40.69 FOS.

3.2.6 FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

Vibration in a car is mainly due to the engine component. For this analysis, we will analyse the
effect of mode of different frequencies on deformation and deflection of chassis. Below are the
figure of different modes of vibration and its effect on deformation of chassis. In doing the
simulation in solidwork, we treat the chassis as cantilever beam, we fix or clamp front bulkhead
and since we are interested in its natural frequency, the force of 1N is applied on the rear of the
chassis and simulate to see 5 different modes of vibration.
FIGURE 3.11( Mode 1 vibration)

FIGURE 3.12 ( Mode 2 vibration)

FIGURE 3.13 ( Mode 3 vibration )

FIGURE 3.14 ( Mode 4 vibration)

FIGURE 3.15 ( Mode 5 vibration )

FIGURE 3.16 ( List of mode of vibration )

To summarize all these modes, it can be seen in figure 3.15 that at mode 5 the frequency of
210.84 Hz will result in high deformation especially at the main hoop . The deflection at the
main hoop will be in the range of 3.995 x 102 to5.992 x 102 mm. Whereas in mode 4 vibration
it will give the most impact to lower mounts of front chassis as shown in figure 3.14. Therefore
the chassis will deform and break when being imposed to vibration of frequency greater than
210.84 Hz.

3.2.7 CRASHWORTHINESS ANALYSIS

Frontal crash analysis

Crashworthiness is the test to investigate the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during
an crash. This is commonly tested in aircraft and also vehicles. Several criteria are used to
assess crashworthiness prospectively, including the deformation patterns of the vehicle
structure, the acceleration during an impact, and the probability of injury predicted by human
body models. For this simulation using solidworks, first we fix or clamped the rear chassis.
Then we applied force of 1962 N because the mass of the car is 200 kg. From W=mg, the the
weight will be 1962 N and will be applied respectively to 4 nodes at the front bulkhead.

FIGURE 3.17 ( Stress distribution across chasis during front crash

test)
FIGURE 3.18 ( Displacement for front crash test)

FIGURE 3.19 ( Factor of safety for front crash test )

To summarize all the three figure above, the maximum stress experienced at lower mount
which is around 26.4 Mpa, with the maximum deflection at front bulkhead is 1.61 x 10-1 mm.
The factor of safety shown at front bulk head also very high. Therefore this indicates that at
impact of 1962 N result in small deformation only on the chassis and thus people in the car will
result in minor injury only.
3.2.8 SIDE IMPACT ANALYSIS
For side impact analysis, the way we do the simulation in solidwork is by clamped or fix the
left side of the chassis and applied the force of 1962 N on the other side of the chassis at 4
nodes .

FIGURE 3.20 ( Stress distribution across the chassis during side

impact )

FIGURE 3.21 ( Displacement for side crash test)

FIGURE 3.22 ( Factor of safety during side impact )

In figure 3.20 the the maximum stress occur at the lower mount of the chassis which is 37.6
Mpa, whereas at different part the maximum is just about 3.2 Mpa .The deflection at the side
chassis also is about 4.25 x 10-2 mm. Besides that, the plot of factor of safety is minimum only
18.78 and mostly at the side chassis have really high factor of safety. Thus the analysis show
the material of AISI 4340 steel, normalized is good to apply in chassis.

3,3 SELECTION OF POWERTRAIN SYSTEM

Powertrain is one of the most important aspects in determining the power, acceleration and also
the transmission line of a system. The term power train describes the main components that
produce power and carry it to the transmission system for generating movement and rotation
in the wheel itself. A powertrain is a system of mechanical parts in vehicle that first produce
power or energy in engine, transferred to transmission, transmission takes power or output of
engine, slows it through specific gear ratios of the gearbox, and transmits it as torque through
the driveshaft to the wheels, to the road surface. It includes the engine, transmission, drive
shafts, differentials, and the final drive. According to 2019 FSAE rules, the engine(s) used to
power the vehicle must be piston engine(s) using a four-stroke primary heat cycle with a
displacement not exceeding 710 cc per cycle. Thus, for our project, we used Yamaha WR450
with 4-cylinders engine. 4 cylinders engine with total volume of 650 cc can guarantee balanced
and more power produced, which as a results give higher acceleration and torque to rotate the
flywheel better. Furthermore, the reason of 4 cylinder compare to use one cylinder is because
at high speed there will be higher amount of vibration and will result in poor driving of FSAE
car. The requirement and our design needs is that, the car have to accelerate from 0 to 100km/hr
within 1.5 seconds. Thus, Equation below shows the acceleration of the car:

𝑣 − 𝑢 27.78 − 0
𝑎= = = 18.52 𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑡 1.5

3.3.1 TORQUE
There is a lower limit of the torque required in order to move the car. Ignoring system
loss, the torque required by the wheels can be quantified from equation below, where a is the
acceleration of the car, mc is the mass of the car with a driver, and rw is the radius of the tire.
This is the torque for a high acceleration which tends to occur at lower speeds.

The mass, mc is around 280 kg, this mass is a total mass of the car and the driver which
are 200 kg and 80 kg respectively. The mass of 280 kg will be shared equally by two wheels.
The radius of the tire is 0.3 m and the team wants the car to be capable of 18.52m/s2
acceleration. This is at higher speeds where aerodynamic downward force allows a no-slip
assumption. Applying these numbers gives the below torque of the wheels.

𝑇 = (280) (18.52) ( 0.3) = 1555.68 𝑁𝑚

This means that each tire needs to be capable of exerting 777.84Nm of torque, if the car
is solely rear wheel drive *(type of powertrain selection will be discussed below) and other
losses are being ignored. This torque can be slightly altered with gear ratios. This torque would
just be the initial maximum acceleration, and would typically sit at a lower level for minor
adjustments while driving instead of maximum acceleration. Therefore, this only needs to
correlate with the maximum torque of the motors, and not the continuous torque.
 However, another note is that one can choose a lightweight driver for the events that
need the larger acceleration. The overall characteristics can change with the weight of the
driver; this is because the weight of the driver is a significant portion of the weight of the car
itself.

3.3.2 LOWEST GEAR RATIO

In order to achieve maximum acceleration, a car needs to achieve the highest torque, and this
can be obtained from a higher value of lowest gear ratio, nL.

Table 1 below shows some of the specifications of the car and the Yamaha WR450 engine.

Tire rolling radius rw = 0.30 m

Coefficient of rolling resistance fR = 0.02

Engine maximum torque @ 8000rpm T = 64 Nm

Mass of car with driver mc = 280 kg

Weight distribution F/R 58/42% - a/l=0.42, b/l=0.58

CG height to wheelbase ratio h/l = 0.20

Driveline efficiency nd = 90% = 0.90

Maximum road adhesion coefficient up = 0.88

Table 1
The calculation of the lowest gear ratio, nL is shown below for both front wheel drive (FWD)
and rear wheel drive (RWD) powertrain using the specifications in Table 1:

FWD

𝑟𝑤 𝑢𝑝 𝑊 (0.3) (0.88)(280)(9.81)
𝑛𝐿 = 𝑘𝐹 = (0.497) (0.9)(64)
= 6.3
𝑛𝑑 𝑇

RWD

𝑟𝑤 𝑢𝑝 𝑊 (0.3)(0.88)(280)(9.81)
𝑛𝐿 = 𝑘𝑅 = (0.505) (0.9)(64)
= 6.4
𝑛𝑑 𝑇

The result above shows that a rear wheel drive (RWD) powertrain gives a higher value of
lowest gear ratio, nL which is 6.4. Thus RWD is the best choice for powertrain drive.

3.4 SELECTION OF BRAKING SYSTEMS

Braking system is designed to convert the kinetic energy of the vehicle into thermal energy,
thus allowing the vehicle to decelerate. The braking system mechanisms is as follows: First,
the driver exerts a force on the brake pedal. Next, the brake pedal channels that force to the
master cylinders, thus displacing the braking fluid in the master cylinders. Then, The displaced
fluid exerts a pressure on each of the calipers allowing the caliper pistons to exert a clamping
force on the rotors.

COMPONENTS

Brake Pedal
 The pedal is what the driver push with his/her foot to activate the brakes. It causes brake
fluid to flow through the system to put pressure on the brake pads. Brake pedal must be
fabricated from steel, aluminum, machined steel, or machined aluminum. Brake pedal must be
able to withstand 2000N force without failure. Therefore, 6061 aluminum is chosen because it
has high strength to weight ratio, good machinability and has a yield strength of 40000 psi.

Brake Pedal

Master Cylinder

The master cylinder is basically a plunger that is activated by the brake pedal. It is what
holds the brake fluid and forces it through the brake lines when activated. It converts the force
exerted on the brake pedal into hydraulic pressure to apply the brakes. This device also controls
slave cylinders located at the other end of the hydraulic system. The best material for this
master cylinder is aluminium alloy as it is light in weight.

Master Cylinder

Fluid Reservoir

Fluid Reservoir is the tank which contains brake fluid. Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic
fluid used in hydraulic brake. It is used to transfer force into pressure, and to amplify braking
force. It works because liquid is incompressible. Medium diameter plastic reservoir midway
between CP4709 and CP2293-141/143 types is the suitable material for this fluid reservoir.
 Brake Lines

Fluid Reservoir

Brake lines carry the brake fluid from the master cylinder reservoir to the wheels where
pressure is applied to stop the car. It is made of steel.

Brake Lines

Disc Brake

A disc brake is a type of brake which uses calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or
"rotor" to create friction. This action impedes the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle,
either to lower its rotational speed or to stop it. The energy of motion is converted into waste
heat which must be dispersed. For automotive use, disc brake discs are generally made of grey
iron. In racing and very-high-performance road cars, reinforced carbon discs materials have
been used.

Disc Brake
Brake Calipers

The brake caliper is the assembly which houses the brake pads and pistons. The pistons
are commonly made of plastic, aluminum or chrome-plated steel. There are two types of brake
calipers, namely fixed and floating calipers.

A fixed caliper does not move with respect to the disc. It applies one or more pairs of
opposing pistons to clamp from each side of the disc. Thus, it is more complex and expensive
than a floating caliper.

A floating caliper moves relative to the disc, along a line parallel to the axis of rotation
of the disc. The working mechanism is as follow. A piston on one side of the disc pushes the
inner brake pad until it makes contact with the braking surface. It then pulls the caliper body
with the outer brake pad. Thus, pressure is applied to both sides of the disc.

Brake Calipers

Brake Pads

The brake pads are the part which actually rub against the rotors. They are made of composite
materials and designed to last for many, many thousands of miles. Brake pads are designed for
high friction with brake pad material embedded in the disc in the process of bedding while
wearing evenly.

Brake Pads
3.5 SELECTION OF SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that
connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension
systems must support both handling and ride quality. It is important for the suspension to
keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible regardless of the
condition of the road. The suspension also must be able to protect the vehicle and the luggage
in it from damage and wear. The design of the suspension system is an essential part of the
overall vehicle design, which determines the performance of the racing car.

In FSAE car, The suspension is designed mainly to satisfy usable wheel travel of at least
50.8 mm, 25.4 mm jounce and 25.4 mm rebound. Thus, double wishbone suspension with
either pullrod or pushrod is used. For the front suspension, double A-arm pushrod is used
while pullrod is used for the rear suspension. Pull-rods are used to actuate the springs and
control the geometry characteristic of anti-dive.

For the design specifications, height of the roll centre was decided to be 50mm from
the ground. Basically race car prefers negative camber in order to have lateral force and toe
out due to ease while turning. The values of camber, caster and toe angles were decided to
be -1o, 5o and 1o. These values would be attained when the vehicle is in a standstill position
with a 75 kg person seated inside.

The best material for the suspension is 6061-T6 aluminium because of its lightweight
and strength and also easier machining process. As a result, less torque is required for
acceleration. For the shock absorber, mountain bike dampers are used for the suspension
design due to its inexpensive cost and it has independent damping circuits for rebound and
compression. The mass and force imposed in this type of car makes it suitable to use the bike
damper.
Double Wishbone Suspension

Pushrod and Pullrod Suspension Mountain Bike Shock Absorber

3.6 SELECTION OF STEERING SYSTEM

The steering system of a Formula SAE car is important as it has to have a good reaction to
all turns and corners at the event. Thus, it is responsible for overall handling and stability of
the car.

The steering system should be designed to meet the following requirements:

● The driver can sense what is happening at the front tires.

● The steering system should be responsive enough to high speed as well as low speed
turns and also possess some self-returning action.

There are three possible geometries that can be used for the steering system. They are
Ackermann, anti-Ackermann and parallel steer geometry. For FSAE car, Ackermann steering
geometry is the most suitable one because the inner tire turns more as compared to the outer
tire thus giving an added advantage for tracks with low speed turns. This compensate the
Formula SAE event which consists of more low speed corners.

Important Considerations:

1. Ackermann steering geometry.

● A geometric arrangement of linkages in the steering of vehicles designed to solve the

problem of wheels on the inside and outside of a turn which need to trace
out circles of different radii.
● To avoid the need for tyres to slip sideways when following the path around a curve.
● The geometrical solution : All wheels must have their axles arranged as radii of circles
with a common centre point.

2. Caster angle

● The angular displacement of the steering axis from the vertical axis of a
steered wheel in a car, motorcycle, bicycle, other vehicle or a vessel, measured in the
longitudinal direction.
● It is the angle between the pivot line and vertical. In automobile racing, the caster
angle may be adjusted to optimize handling characteristics for a particular venue.
3. Kingpin inclination

The kingpin is the main pivot in the steering mechanism of a car or other vehicle. The
kingpin angle has an important effect on steering, making it tend to return to the straight
ahead or centre position because the straight ahead position is where the suspended body of
the vehicle is at its lowest point. Thus, the weight of the vehicle tends to rotate the wheel
about the kingpin back to this position. The kingpin inclination also contributes to the scrub
radius of the steered wheel, the distance between the centre of the tyre contact patch and
where the kingpin axis intersects the ground. If these points coincide, the scrub radius is zero.

Ackermann Steering Geometry

4.0 COST ANALYSIS

The tables below shows the costing for parts for the FSAE car. This cost calculation consist
of frame, suspension, powertrain, brake and steering components. The cost calculated included
the small part, quantity and accessories needed to be attach with the components. The
calculation is based on the available market online price in the internet. It can be said that most
of the costing will be used on suspension and frame.

Table 1: Frame Costing

Frame RM 2650

Body RM 150

Shifter Cable RM 120

Linkage RM 220

Brackets RM 110

Tube Cuts RM 850

Tube End RM 1050

Shifter RM 160

TOTAL RM 5310

Table 2: Powertrain Costing

Yamaha WR450 RM 1950

TOTAL RM 1950

Table 3: Brake Costing

Brake Pad RM 190

Master Cylinder RM 120

Disc Brake RM 170

 Brake Caliper RM 150

Brake Pedal RM 80

Plastic reservoir midway RM 180

TOTAL RM 890

Table 4: Suspension Costing

A-arms and pushrods double wishbone RM 3772

suspension

Mountain Bike Shock Absorber RM 2230

TOTAL RM 6002

Table 5: Steering Costing

Ackermann Steering RM 151

Steering Wheel RM 129

Steering Shaft RM 190

TOTAL RM 470

Table 6: Total Costing

Frame RM 5310

Powertrain RM 1950

Brake RM 890

Suspension RM 6002

Steering RM 470

TOTAL RM 14622
5.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, FSAE is an elite engineering venture which is esteemed by universities

as a piece of degree-level undertaking; it meets the motorsport business principles for
engineering graduates and its main goal is to urge young students to take up a vocation in
engineering and somehow give opportunity for automotive engineering to enhance their skills
and creativity in producing best performance designated vehicle.

By doing this project, our team successfully increase our understanding

comprehensively on Vehicle Structure Design and Material Selection Course. It is important
to meet one of the main objective of this project which is to experience and understand the
Vehicle Structure Design process from analysing the design element which are bending (static
overall bending and lateral bending), static torsional loading and static shear test analysis until
selecting perfect material for good performance with cheap price up to maintenance. Indeed,
this project gives us a wide exposure to various avenues of Mechanical-Automotive
Engineering. Researches and literature reviews were done on FSAE to get the general idea of
FSAE vehicle.

From that understanding, we managed to design a prototype and build a small single-
seated racing car. Even though the prototype design only showing the shape of chassis we plan
for, it may suites with a maximum engine capacity of 710cc, which we used a Yamaha WR450
with single cylinder engine in real. Furthermore, instead of designing the car directly from real
calculations and simulations, this FSAE project allow students to gain opportunity to
understand the standard and safety measures taken in producing high performance car.

During the design process, we must achieve a compromise between material costs,
manufacturing, performance, and design specifications so that the car will be competitive in
all aspects of the FSAE competition. Thus, to conclude our project, we have achieved almost
best performance of each design of the FSAE vehicle as we complete the project.
6.0 PROTOTYPES

7.0 REFERENCES

1- 2017/18 FSAE Rules

https://www.fsaeonline.com/content/2017-18%20FSAE

2- Goals, D. (2013). 2012-2013 University of Wisconsin-Platteville Formula SAE Design

Report, 1–8.

3- Design of a suspension system for a formula student race car (2018) p.15

https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/31391/1/MSc_Ingi_Niels_Karlsson_2018.pdf

4- Julian Wisnu Wirawan (2018) Design Analysis of Formula Student Race Car Suspension
System,

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.5024110

5- Adriano Schommer (2015) Analysis of a Formula SAE Vehicle Suspension: Chassis Tuning,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315542611_Analysis_of_a_Formula_SAE_Vehicle
_Suspension_Chassis_Tuning

6- Saurabh, Y. S., Kumar, S., Jain, K. K., Behera, S. K., Gandhi, D., Raghavendra, S., & Kalita,
K. (2016). Design of suspension system for formula student race car. Procedia Engineering,
144, 1138-1149.

7- Gustavo Ovies, Andres Magana, Alejandro Burgas, Ivan Pulido, Ivan Williams, Bernardo
Valadez (2007), CETYS Universidad Baja SAE Design Report, SAE International, 1-14
8- Donald E. Malen (2011), Fundamentals of Automobile Body Structure Design, SAE
International, Volume 394 of R.:Society of Automotive Engineers.

9- Michael Bowler, Giuseppe Guzzardi, Enzo Rizzo (2003),The Big Book of Automobiles
From Technique to Adventure Series, White Star Publisher, Inc.