Good morning, my name is Ygor and I’ll be presenting Chassis and Ergonomics for FEI Baja Team.
This presentation followed all the steps of the product development cycle and is sectioned between
Chassis on the left and Ergonomics on the right. From the data collection phase to the end, this
sectioning was done horizontally.
For starters. in order to fully grasp the team’s goals and requirements, we should first look at our priority
hierarchy, which gives us the necessary criteria for every decision regarding the project, aiming to
maximize the competition scores.
After that, the team was able to define its global goal: the overall top 10. To achieve that, a score analysis
system was developed for the previous competitions, giving the team the minimum necessary points for
each event.
With that in mind, it was possible to formulate the appropriate strategy for our 4x4 project, which led us
to these Chassis and Ergonomics subsystem specific goals, so: 20 hours of on-track testing; mass increase
of not over 14%; accommodate all 4x4 components, maintaining or improving the accommodation range
of the previous prototype’s ergonomics; provide easy controls and comfort studies with CAE tools and all
that with a cost increase of not over 10%.
For the Chassis R&D phase, decision matrixes were used to define the cage materials and geometrical
parameters. Following that, the necessary modifications were listed and studied regarding the balance
between the accommodation of the 4x4 systems and mass increase.
For the Chassis CAD phase, three modules can be highlighted, such as the engine and cardan shaft
bearing mount, the front suspension anchorage and the front differential mount.
Following that, on the data collection phase, the team used accelerometers to measure the critical
suspension loads and was also able to further determine the torsional stiffness acceptance range of the
cage.
Further, on the analysis stage, the front suspension anchorage showed a safety factor reduction of only
6.9%, reaching the team’s expectations. On the other side, the adaptations resulted on an average
torsional stiffness increase of 83,2%. This value, even if it meets the acceptance range, is way higher than
we need it to be, indicating that there’s probably room for improvement on the proposed solutions.
For the chassis testing and validation stage, the team used strain gauges, load cells and dial indicators to
measure the front anchorage micro deformation and torsional stiffness values.
After that, it was possible to correlate the analysis and testing for Chassis, getting 2% error for the front
anchorage micro deformation and a maximum of 9% error for the torsional stiffness analysis.
So now let’s just roll back for the beginning here and talk about ergonomics.
For the R&D phase, these are the standards used for the definition of manikin sizes, the eyelipses, the
hand control reach, driver’s positioning and driver’s field of view.
Now for the CAD phase, the team developed numerous solutions for the maximization of comfort and
ergonomic accommodation of different stature drivers, such as cushinons and adjustable pedal rests and
steering wheels.
So over here now, let’s see the following steps of the PDC.
For the data collection phase, the team based itself on the R&D Standards to collect the proper
parameters, such as weight, height, width and field of view of different stature drivers.
Following that, the accommodation angles analysis can be highlighted on the CAE phase, as it showed
some considerable differences over the 4x2 project.
Its validation was made possible with the aid of a Postural Analysis Software, which uses
photogrammetry to measure these accommodation angles shown in this table.
On the correlation phase, the highest percentage error was 12.82, which was considered acceptable by
the team.
At last, for serviceability and manufacturability we have the optical metrology used for maintenance
purposes on the chassis, the removable cushions for ergonomics, the 2D and 3D templates used for the
chassis manufacture and the lamination process for the custom seat.
With all that in mind, despite some exceptions, the subsystem specific goals were mostly achieved,
which shows us that the methods and solutions used were in alignment with the team’s priority
hierarchy.
FEI Baja thanks you all so much for your attention. I’m open for questions now.
