Spring 2022
Body Team
Shell Redesign Senior Design
Description: The Shell Redesign Senior Design Team is creating a design for the vehicle shell of our next iteration of competition vehicle. This will allow the team to make significant improvements in aerodynamics, weight, and overall vehicle performance.
Goals: The goal of the project is to design a shell that is more lightweight, safe, and aerodynamic than the current vehicle shell. The team will validate this design through physical material testing, FEA, and CFD. The team will also create a manufacturing plan to pass off to the team at the completion of the project.
Members: Leif Olson, Michaela Fung, Valerie Lynch
Supermileage Vehicle Steering and Driver Control Redesign SD
Description: The objective of the Steering and Driver Control Redesign Project is to research, design, analyze, build, and validate a new steering system while incorporating more user-friendly driver controls and eliminating unnecessary components to be used in the Supermileage Systems Enterprise (SSE) vehicle (figure 1). This project will help the team obtain a more robust and lightweight steering system, which results in increased fatigue resistance, improved user interfaces, and increased fuel mileage of the SSE vehicle.
Goals: To create reduce the weight and complexity of the steering system of the new shell redesign compared to our current vehicle.
Members: Jack Block, Sean Smith, Weston Stroming
Internal Body Structures Senior Design
Description: The Internal Body Structures Senior Design is a project that is working closely with the Shell Redesign Senior Design team to complete crucial internal structures necessary to complete an entirely new vehicle design. While the Shell Redesign team is focused on designing the exterior geometry and the belly pan for the new vehicle, the Internal Body Structures team is focused on designing three separate structures: the safety roll bar, the wheel guards, and the seam design for removable cockpit portion of the external shell. The roll bar will be manufactured using a carbon fiber construction. There are currently two carbon fiber processes under consideration: a resin vacuum infusion of tube carbon fiber set around a lightweight internal structure (balsa wood or structural foam), or a prepreg carbon fiber layup using a negative mold to create a perfectly hollow and the theoretically lightest roll bar option. The internal wheel guards will be created out of a carbon fiber resin infusion process or a structural wire mesh to ensure minimum weight is added to the vehicle. To maintain the aerodynamics of the newly designed shell, the seam will be designed using inset magnets or a similarly autolocking mechanism to ensure a low profile seam.
Goals: To design and manufacture the lightest and strongest possible roll bar and wheel guards and to maintain optimal aerodynamics of the newly designed shell by designing a low profile seam.
Members: Luke Reich
Engine Team
Advanced Motorsports (AMS) Combustion Analysis System (CAS) Cart
Description: A&D Technology Inc (A&D) has sponsored a cart-based combustion analysis system (CAS) for the advanced motorsports (AMS) dynamometer test cells. The team will construct a movable standalone CAS cart that can be interfaced with each AMS team’s dynamometer test cell. The cart will utilize A&D CAS components.
Goals: The goal of this project is to work alongside project sponsor to design the cart system and then to purchase, build, and implement the design. Another goal is to perform basic combustion analysis on AMS engines. Lastly, to provide documentation and a detailed user guide for future students.
Members: Charles Hazel (Supermileage Systems Enterprise), Jacob Chizek (Supermileage Systems Enterprise), Daniel Prada (Clean Snowmobile Challenge), Robby Pause (Formula SAE), Adam Zyrowski (Formula SAE)
Timing Chain Cover
Description: The chain is currently exposed on the vehicle and there is a possibility that wires will get caught or the chain will get damaged. The team is working to create a protective cover over the chain that drives the overhead cams on one of our engines.
Goals: To make a lightweight guard for the timing chain.
Members: Jacob Chizek, Leif Olson, Noah Simone
Rear Sub Frame Senior Design
Description: The objective of the Rear Subframe senior design is to design and implement a new assembly that will attach the rear wheel, one-way clutch, drivetrain, and engine to the new Supermileage Systems Enterprise (SSE) vehicle body, which is currently being created by another senior design team.
Goals: Mount the engine more centrally to the car and implement a jackshaft or driveshaft.
Members: Cas Mankowski and Chandler Vincent
Electrical Team
Vehicle Position Tracking (VPT)
Description: The goal of the Vehicle Position Tracking Project(VPT) is to integrate a GPS module with our current Heads-Up Display. The VPT will improve different aspects of the HUD like lap count and position. Data gathered will also be printed to an SD card to for later analysis. Adding a more accurate position tracking system will provide the driver with better data. It allows for more precise feedback to the driver about when to burn and coast while on the course. Burning and coasting allows the driver to use less fuel by not running the engine the entire time; the proper timing of each burn is necessary to achieve maximum efficiency.
Goals: Integrate GPS module with current HUD, Print gathered data to SD card for later analysis, Analyze error percent of printed data, Implement VPT into vehicle
Members: Jake Hosey, Aaron Jacobsen
Vehicle Wiring Re-Vamp
Description: Since the pandemic began, focus was centered on improving the vehicle in many different areas since different modifications have been made to the electrical system, that have led to issue during testing. The team wants to create their own standard for the vehicle and engine harness to allow for an easier troubleshooting process and a cleaner look within the vehicle.
Goals: Adjust the vehicle schematics to fit the current system, and replace poorly connected wires and implement the teams new wiring standard.
Members: Olivia Zinser, Jhenna Gamache