BAJA SAEINDIA 2011 Design Report

Team Registration ID: 25920

Author: Team mustangs Co-Author: Prof. D.B.jani
Author E-Mail: patel.pranav055@gmail.com
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Introduction
The designing considerations of our buggy were
dependent on, the actual task to be carried out
by the vehicle (i.e. its off road capability), the
rules to be followed during making it and the
most important point- it should be a competitive
product easily manufacturable, value for money
and pleasing to the costumers. As with any
engineering design project teams must also
place a large emphasis on gaining financial
support and managing that project within the
budget.

Technical Specifications
Engine LOMBARDINI LGA 340-11HP,
44Ah, four stroke air cooled,
1300+/- 100 RPM
Dimensions
Overall length,
width, height
105 in, 63 in, 60.5 in
Wheelbase &
Track
63 in, 58.26 in
Drive Train
Transmission Mahindra Alfa Champion
Gear Ratio High speed 7.35:1, Low
speed 31.48:1

Suspension
& Wheel
Front Rear
Suspension
Type
Double
wishbone
SLA type
Double
wishbone
SLA type
Rims 12 inch diameter
Tyre Size 5.00X12 5.00X12

Brakes Hydraulic
operated disc
brakes
Hydraulic
operated disc
brakes
Steering Rack and pinion type
Mass Sprung Unsprung
Approx. 280 kg 64 kg

Target Vehicle Performance
Max Speed 50.37 kmph
Gradiability 49.75%(26.45 deg)
Acceleration
1.38 m/s
2

Stopping dist. 21.32 m
Deceleration 5.89 m/s
2

Turning Radius 3.8 m
Ground Clearance 280 mm
Fuel Consumption 10 kmpl



3D View of the Complete Vehicle




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RollCage Design & Driver
Ergonomics:

The main points of our vehicle design on
which the whole concept is built are:
1) The ergonomic and safety considerations
of the rider
2) Ease of manufacturing
3) Total production cost
4) Net weight of the vehicle


From the two concepts thought by
our team, we selected the given design on
thinking about the above points and the
reliability of the structure. Also a preference
was given to all readily available parts in the
market to reduce the cost and a factor of
dependability also exists.

DESIGN ANALYSIS

We have completed our Finite
Element Analysis in static conditions using
ANSYS software. We have carried out test
on our model under various loading
conditions such as H-Beaming, Torsional
loading, Diagonal loading and Front collision
also.






Simulation

The participating teams of SAE
BAJA 2011 are provided with trial
versions of Adams Carmaker & IPG
Carmaker for simulation of their
models.
Both these softwares are highly
sophisticated and very accurate in
analysis. We have used IPG
Carmaker for simulation as it is
easy to use and gives fast results.
Some of the simulation photos are
attached here.
They show the buggy on the track
created with instrument panels
showing the performance at that
point of time.
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Driver Ergonomics

The cockpit so designed that a 95
percentile human can easily sit on the
seat with all the recesses available as
stated in the rule-book.
The driver cab is so designed that it is
spacious with all the driving controls
are easily accessible.
It also takes care of the safety of the
driver in case of roll-over and from the
debris & stones on a muddy track.
The seat which is used is a certified
drag racing bucket seat with a 4 point
harness belt for maximum safety of the
driver.
It is very necessary to have a
comfortable seat while the driver has
to complete 40 laps of rough, muddy
and bumpy roads specially created at
NATRIP.

These all points add up to the rider
comfort and are very important from
ergonomics point of view.

Suspension Design

In order to maintain proper contact with
the ground the suspension design is very
important in any off-road vehicle. The front
wheels must maintain contact as much as
possible into order to be able to steer the
vehicle. The rear wheels need to maintain
contact in order to accelerate the vehicle
forward. If one of the wheels is constantly
loosing contact from either a bump or
around a tight corner you could lose control
of the vehicle. At the same time the
suspension needs to protect both the
vehicle and driver from the impacts
experienced with off-road racing. A too stiff
of vehicle could result in parts cracking or
shearing. It would also result in the rider
becoming very uncomfortable or sore.

The front and rear suspension are a
double wishbone unequal arm
arrangement.
Advantage of this kind of geometry is
that it has zero camber change rate
which is very likely to reduce the wear
of the tyre on rough tracks which can
eventually lead to a loss of friction
during a span of time.
Again manufacturing of such kind of
links makes it quite acceptable for mass
production.
Hence selection of this kind of
geometry was done.

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Generally in cars camber and toe
setting are adjustable.
But in our vehicle caster setting is also
adjustable including camber and toe in-
out.

Suspension Arm Analysis:

We have completed the static stress
analysis of the suspension arms and it
showed stresses within permissible limits
stating that the design of the arm is safe.

Shockers

The purpose of the shocker is to
reduce shock loads that act on the car while
providing optimum wheel contact while
operating under dynamic conditions. The
shocker must provide enough wheel travel
to damp the impacts imposed on the
vehicle.

The shockers included in the vehicle
are Ocardo shocks normally used on
moto-cross bikes and have a natural
off road capability.
They are adjustable in overall length
and spring travel hence they suit our
every need. The spring rate of rear
shocker spring is calculated to 256
N/mm and the front shocker spring
is 158 N/mm.
Hence we came to a conclusion that
less stiff shockers are used on the
front wheels while comparatively
stiffer shockers are placed on the
rear.


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Steering Design

The objective of the steering
components is to accurately control
the direction of the vehicle.
This can prove to be very difficult in
an off-road vehicle due to the loss of
contact between the front wheels
and the ground caused by jumps and
bounces.
To have minimum turning force and
weight reduction use of a rack &
pinion type steering is advisable and
the same is to be installed in the
vehicle.
It also has a good reliability with less
maintenance problems.
We have used maruti 800s steering
assembly as it is reliable and easily
available also.
But as such cars are right hand drive
type. So we needed some
modification.
As a need of BAJA vehicle we made
a centre steering.
The steering geometry is of
Ackermann type.


Brake System Design

The main objective of any brake is to
statically and dynamically lock all the
wheels at the same time irrespective of
the track condition and the speed of
the vehicle.
To create an effective brake system the
vehicle includes all wheels with disc
brakes and individual circuits for front
& rear brakes actuated by individual
master cylinders but operated with a
single brake pedal.
The vehicle also includes an
innovation; we like to call MOIBS
(Manually Operated Independent brake
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system) that is steering brakes which
would help us to take sharp turns and
negotiate pin bends quite easily.
For actuation of MOIBS, controls are to
be provided on the gear knob for easy
operation.
Whichever button you press, the
respective break line of that side gets
blocked and the car takes a very sharp
turn on the other side, just like what
the students which make the robo-cars
use to steer their cars in college tech-
fests.

Powertrain Design

All the participants have to use
Lombardini LGA-340 engine given by
SAE-BAJA. There is no scope of engine
parts modification as this step could
lead to disqualification by the technical
inspectors.

This engine best suits with Mahindra
Alfa Champion gear-box because
commercially this pair is installed by
the manufacturers. Also the torque
capacity of the gear-box is enough for
up-climb event at NATRIP track, so the
gearbox is a sure thing.

The maximum calculated speed of our
vehicle is to be around 50 kmph.

The gear-box has a progressive gear
changing system which is to be
modified into a floor mounted gear
knob which is quite easy for driver.

The clutch and accelerator are actuated
by wire only.

This arrangement does not need to be
changed because it is good as it is.


Body Panels

The body panels are to be made
from light aluminium sheets welded
to the roll-cage.
This in turn reduces the weight,
saves money and does the needful
quite successfully.
An overall paint on such a body
gives quite a pleasant appearance.


Safety Equipment

Due to the high risk potential of an
Off-road vehicle there is also several
pieces of safety equipment specified
by the client.
The vehicle is equipment with a five
point safety harness to secure the
driver within the seat.
The cockpit of the car also contains a
fire extinguisher with a UL rating of
5 B-C.
The vehicle will have two kill
switches, one on the dashboard that
is easily accessible to the driver
while he is seated on the seat & the
other accessible to the volunteer on
the track which he can push from
outside if the driver is not able to
stop the engine in case of a
mishappening.
It also should be SAE certified and
not older than 3 years from the date
of manufacturing.


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Cost & Bill of Materials

This contains information regarding part
name, part no., level, quantity, cost of
procurement, operation carried out for
manufacturing, no. of operations done, cost
of those operations and the total cost.
Manufacturing Cost 23458.89
Procurement Cost 144408.28
Total Cost 167867.17
Total no. of Parts 131
Bill of Material is divided into six parts:
Engine
Transmission
Body
Electricals and Instruments
Accessories
The total cost of the vehicle comes out to
be Rs 1.67 lakhs which is near to our
previously assumed cost.

Innovations
Competition demands Changes.
To cope up with changing demands
we are planning to adopt an
innovation we call as Manually
Operated Independent Brake
System(MOIBS)
What is independent brake system?
Braking on individual wheel at any
instant can be done to help us in
drifting the vehicle on sharp turns
without compromising on speed.
For which we will use an additional
Solenoid valves to actuate the
system.
Solenoid valve is normally closed
valve and placed between the
master cylinder and caliper on each
brake fluid pipeline.
For circuit diagram refer page no. 10


Go Green Compliance

Keeping in mind the concern of the
BAJA event for the global carbon
emissions, we also would like to play
a small part in such a noble cause.
To reduce the exhaust emissions,
vehicle will have fitment of catalytic
converter in the exhaust system as
per BS-3.
To reduce fuel vapour losses vehicle
will also have fitment of charcoal
canister system.
The vehicle, if not very effective in
reducing emissions to very low
extents would be obviously fit to be
certified as a non-polluting vehicle
by any P.U.C analyzer.

IMPROVISATION OVER PREVIOUS
YEAR VEHICLE
1. In previous year vehicle, the innovation was
DRIBS (DRIFT Braking System) which was
failed due to unavailability of various types
of parts such as valves, etc. and also the
manufacturing cost of innovation was
unaffordable.

This year we come with the new
modified innovation known as MOIBS
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(Manually Operated Independent Brake
System) which is successfully mounted on
our vehicle and works accurately and the
most exciting thing is that it is easily
available in the market with affordable
price.

2. In previous year vehicle, the wheel
alignment parameters were fixed and after
some experiment we concluded that it must
be adjustable to enhance the performance
of steering geometry.
This time these parameter are fully
adjustable (including caster adjustment) to
increase the stability, direction control
consideration of a vehicle.

3. In the previous year vehicle, there was
some problem with top gear, it was not
working because our tyre selection was not
good and as well as loss of more power in
the engine.
This year we completely change the
gear shifting mechanism as well as choice of
proper tyre size which suits the torque-
speed curve of the engine considering
transmission ratio. So, the trouble with the
fourth gear is eliminated.

4. In the last year, the output shaft angle with
the horizontal axis was greater than 20,
this caused a lot of power loss of the engine.
Thus, its overall efficiency was reduced.
Here, we achieved an angle less than
20(app 17) with the horizontal axis. Thus
overall power loss is reduced and we
obtained a desired output.

5. In previous year vehicle, we used 2
different dimensions for tyres in front and
rear. The configuration of wheel tyres were
21 7-10 and 22 11-10 for front & rear
respectively and it was imported from China
that increased the overall cost of the
vehicle and the most important thing is that
the configuration of tyre was not suitable to
the brake disc-caliper assembly and also its
modification was quite tough.
This year we come with the MRF
SHAKTI-TF type that does not require any
modification on it and it successfully fitted
to the wheel. The dimensions of our type
are 22 5-12 here the dimension of all the
four wheels is analogous.

6. In previous year vehicle, the placement of
the cables of clutch and acceleration was
not proper. So, cables got broke on the
track due to shearing failure.
This time we have done proper
placement of these cables.
7. In previous year vehicle, the band radius
exhaust pipe was quite large, it caused
more heating to the surface and made the
exhaust pipe broke.
This year we modified the bend radius of
exhaust pipe as per the requirement. Hence,
it is under the factor of safety.

References & Acknowledgment

Vehicle Dynamics, By Thomas D.
Gillespie
Race Car Vehicle Dynamics , By
Milliken & Milliken
SAE lecture notes, by Richard B.
Hathaway
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