01-06-2012, 05:26 PM
BAJASAEINDIA 2012 DESIGN REPORT
BAJASAEINDIA 2012.pdf (Size: 1.84 MB / Downloads: 659)
INTRODUCTION
The design process of the vehicle is iterative and is based on various engineering & reverse engineering processes depending upon the availability, cost & other such factors. So, the design process focuses on:
Safety, Serviceability, Cost, Standardization, Strength & Ruggedness, Driving feel and Ergonomics, Aesthetics
As a group we started by researching the internet to study upon the best designs available and what worked well in the competition. Since most of the research work in this area is copyright of participating teams, we followed the procedure of benchmarking our design against past winning vehicles and then modified our design keeping in view our constraints in processing, materials and other manufacturing facilities. We kept the design simple and also very easy for mass production.
SUSPENSION DESIGN
Objective
Designing a suspension which will influence significantly on comfort, safety and maneuverability.
Contributing to vehicles road holding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure.
Protect the vehicle from damage and wear from force of impact with obstacles(including landing after jumping)
Maintaining correct wheel alignment.
BRAKES
The goals for the design of braking system were:
Brake system must be capable of locking all four wheels in a static condition and dynamically on pavement and on an unpaved surface.
Provide at least two (2) independent hydraulic systems such that in case of a leak or failure at any point in the system, effective braking power shall be maintained on at least two wheels.
The bleed point location must lie on top of the caliper cylinders
POWERTRAIN
As all the teams are provided with same B&S engine, so lots of emphasis was done over the design of powertrain. We had to determine which type of transmission we were going to use: manual transmission (MT) or automatic transmission (AT). For BAJA vehicle we would have to utilize CVT.
CVT provides us better driver comfortability (no gear shifting), infinite gear ratio, easy installation. Moreover most MTs that would fit our application are found in motorcycles and in 4-wheelers.These vehicles have very high RPM range. A MT on these vehicles are beneficial because the operator can shift into a high gear with the RPM at a higher value. Since our engine has a small range between 1750-3600rpm, the performance gained by incorporating a MT is minimal. We felt that since CVT allows the engine to run near its max torque, it would give us the ability to obtain the max power, both at low and high ranges. Performance gain of MT happens only if the operator shifts the gear at optimal RPM otherwise there is a significant loss of performance.