fsae formula one hybrid team conceptual/preliminary design

FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team Conceptual/Preliminary Design Report

Catherine Neely, Nick Steele, Dan Becker, Michael Rittmaster, Monserrat Mendez, Luc D’Andrea, Gabe Fagen, Zach Miller, Austin Ray, Tim LaGreca, Jack Mueller, and Carl

Doucette.

Advisor: Professor Jeffrey Helm

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ………………………………………………………………….………....……………..2

Introduction………………………………………………………….……..……………..……….2

1. Motivation…………………………………………………..………………………..……2

2. Current State of the Art……………..……….…………………………………….......…..4

2.1. Missing Products/Systems…………………………………………………....…4

2.2. Proposed State of the Art Contributions………………………………….……4

3. Planned Approach………..………………………………………………..………………4

3.1. Chassis………..………………………………………………...…………………4

3.2. Suspension………..…………………………………………….…………………6

3.3. Drivetrain………..…………………………………………...……………………7

3.4. Interconnect………..…………………………………....…………………………9

3.5. TSV (Battery Packs)………..……………………………………………………10

4. Roles and Responsibilities………..…………………………....……………………...…11

5. Team Schedule………..…………………………....……………………………....…….16

5.1. Internal Deliverables………………………………………………..………....…17

5.2. External Deliverables ……………………………………………....………....…18

6. Required Resources……………………………………………….……………………..20

7. Stakeholders and Partnership.………………………............................................………20

Conclusion.………………………………………………………………………....…....………21

FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team 1

ABSTRACT

This report will inform its respective readers about the current state, preliminary and conceptual design for the Lafayette College 2019-2020 FSAE Formula One Hybrid team. This is a combined effort by mechanical engineering majors and electrical and computer engineers.

The Team is in the initial design stages of developing an electric formula car to participate in the Spring 2020 competition. The major goals of the team is to develop a competition rules compliant car through the following critical points: 1) complete the rolling chassis by December 3, 2) begin system testing by February 7, and 3) take part in the 2020 FSAE competition in March.

The chassis subsystem will be focused on modifying the chassis design from previous years and fabricating the firewalls and mountings for other subsystems. The suspension team will be working to manufacture A-arms, pushrods, and several other parts to ensure the rolling chassis will be finished by the December deadline. The drivetrain subsystem is focused on finalizing the motor, motor mount, differential, chain, and half shafts by making subtle modifications to last year’s design. The interconnect subsystem’s main concerns include creating enclosures, mountings, and connections between the Tractive System Interface (TSI), Grounded Low Voltage (GLV) and motor controller systems by working with the GLV and SCADA teams. The battery (TSV) subsystem is working on a complete battery redesign to develop two battery packs that will power the formula car with high voltage. The steering/pedal subsystem will be focused on finalizing the human control of the formula car.

This report will focus on the motivation for the project, the state of the art,the teams planned approach, corresponding roles and responsibilities, the team breakdown, the team schedule, required resources, and stakeholders for the project. INTRODUCTION

In the report a reader should expect to learn about the Lafayette College Senior Design Project, for a combined mechanical and electrical engineering divisions, for the 2019-2020 FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team. This Senior Design is a two semester, 34 week, project. Our team is currently in the elementary stages. Our initial concepts and feelings towards the project will also be touched upon in this conceptual/preliminary design report.

Our goal, as the Lafayette Formula Electric Vehicle team is to deliver a fully functional, rules compliant, electric car that will compete in the Spring of 2020. The team is composed of 13 Electrical and Computer Engineers and 12 Mechanical Engineers. The schedule for this project is composed of only two semesters, and because of the extended interim break, getting as much done as possible before or by December is extremely important. Milestones for this project are included fully in the Work Breakdown section of the appendix, but significant dates for semesters end, include a finished prototype battery pack and rolling chassis. By the beginning of March, we intend on completing two new battery packs and integrating all closed systems into a new car. Each year, though it may seem repetitive, a new team takes this project over and starts from scratch. While the new team is able to expand upon previous years, attention to detail and critical design thinking, ensures the the car team and only improve as the years go on.

1. MOTIVATION FOR PROJECT The Formula Car has been a recurring senior design project for eight years at Lafayette

College. Lafayette recently switched from a combustion engine formula one car to a hybrid


formula; this change added a design challenge. Electrical and Computer Engineers are now thoroughly involved in the project, which models real-world work environments. Since then, the Motor Sports team has continuously been redesigning, refabricating, and improving different subsystems of the car.

Two years ago, the team was one of the only six teams to pass electrical inspection at the SAE hybrid competition, which was the main goal for that team. Unfortunately, last years team did not make it to the competition. However, this year our team plans on going to the competition. The Formula One Team plans to make this dream a reality by improving upon the different subsystems from all years past, all while remaining rules compliant.

The main motivation driving the completion of the Lafayette FSAE Formula One Electric Car is having a rolling chassis by December, being ready for testing by February, and be at competition in March of 2020. The formula one car is designed by 12 mechanical and 13 electrical engineering students. This group of 25 will compete against other undergraduate program vehicles. A combined project with Mechanical and Electrical engineers adds a level of complexity, which has been simplified into a visual in Chart One, that the team is motivated to undertake.

Chart 1: Breakdown of Major Systems. Mechanical Subsystems, Mechanical/Electrical Subsystems, and Electrical

Subsystems.

Each Formula One team is graded on a variety of factors; these include but are not limited to: performance, project management, safety, reliability, manufacturing and assembly, serviceability, rain test, autocross course, straight-line acceleration test, endurance test, and innovation design.

The broad scope and comprehensive nature of building a hybrid car will require each member to develop and use both skills in the field of engineering and critical thinking. The interdisciplinary nature of the hybrid vehicle ensures proper use of communication between electrical and mechanical engineers, to promote a productive, communication based, disciplined, and well-organized working environment.


Critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, communication, and creativity are some of the essential factors while working in the field of engineering, and this project requires all of those skills from each team member. Our project will help future cars teams. Our team plans to expand upon previous years, attention to detail and critical design thinking, ensures this car team will only improve as the years go on.

2. DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT STATE OF THE ART 2.1. Missing Products/Systems

2.1.1. Body panels on outside of car frame 2.1.2. TSV: battery housing and mounts 2.1.3. Chassis: GLV and TSI mounts 2.1.4. Chassis: Driver display mount 2.1.5. Chassis: Firewalls 2.1.6. Suspension: A-Arms 2.1.7. Suspension: Uprights 2.1.8. Drivetrain: Cooling system 2.1.9. Mechanical connections for wiring

2.2. Proposed State of the Art Contributions The TSV team has chosen to iterate upon the 2018 FSAE team’s accumulator design. The

2018 design was respected by each member of the group. The team thought it best to remain with the 2018 iteration, and to proceed with bringing the 2018 design to 2020 rule-compliance, along with smart innovations.

Innovations such as aligning the battery cells in “W” shape (figure 6, pg. 11), as to reduce the number of fuses and segment disconnectors required. The “W” method also allows for significant space reduction, as the cells now only need cabling on one end. This also helps immensely with GLV and TSV isolation, as they can now occupy different spaces with little overlap.

3. PLANNED APPROACH 3.1. Chassis

Figure 1: Main frame of chassis


The most significant aspect of the chassis is the main frame, shown in figure one above, which was manufactured over the summer of 2019. The chassis has been reviewed and checked for compliant rule issues, and it is now clear what necessary alterations must be made to ensure a rules compliant chassis. Four side impact members are being taken out and replaced with newly designed bent members, shown in figure 2 below, to widen the cockpit by 3 inches at the widest point, and four support members are being added to the frame to reinforce the bent members.

Figure 2: New Bent Side Impact Member

The steering column is also being moved forward one inch to make room for a

suspension mounting point. Moving the steering column forwards requires new drilled holes and pieces designed to hold it in place.

A primary design goal is the mountings for each system to the chassis. The suspension is an integral subsystem that determines many aspects of how to design the chassis. Suspension mountings are the most complicated aspect; there are many necessary attachments points, and the preciseness of those attachment points makes the job all the more difficult. The 16 total mounting points for the A-arms comprise the majority of them. These location of the mounting points are at nodes on the chassis frame (where different frame members connect).

Likewise, the seat mounting is a technical aspect of the chassis. Consideration of the position and angle with regards to comfort and rules compliance limit the variations of how the seat and be designed. The seat is connected to adjustable rails to make operating the pedals possible for people of different height. The seat position is going to be angled further back than initially intended to make more room for the driver’s legs in the relatively small front bulkhead.

Mountings for the TSV - Tractive System Voltage, have two components: flats for the battery housing to rest on, and locations for bolts to be inserted, securing the housing to the chassis frame. The flats have to be at an angle above the horizontal because the side housing spaces of the chassis were designed with a downwards slope. Bolts will be secured at the front and back of the motor housing to reduce front to back motion when the car accelerates, an important consideration given the TSV’s significant mass (an estimated 100 pounds each).

The firewalls are a major component for safety and rules compliance for the chassis. These protect the driver from potentially high temperature components, most notably the batteries. There are side and rear firewalls that enclose the cockpit. The side firewalls will be trickier than expected because of the bent side impact members and supports. One possible simplification would be to have each firewall be multiple pieces, broken up at the bent portion of the frame members and sealed with brackets or by welding. This approach eliminates the need for curved firewalls.

The chassis system is unique because it interacts with every other system. This means effective and consistent communications between other groups and the chassis group is essential for the chassis allow the other systems to operate at full functionality.

Our main goal is to have a chassis optimized for each subsystem’s needs and requirements to allow full functionality of those systems. Specifically, this goal targets spacial needs of systems and drivers, correct and easy to access mounting locations that provide


subsystems with the ability to fully operate, and safety requirements that make the chassis rules compliant and lower the risk of driving the car.

3.2. Suspension The main objectives for the suspension team have been to work through last years

designs, making adjustments and new designs as needed or manufacturing parts that will fit our needs. After initial investigations, we decided to redesign the a-arms and uprights, while adjusting the designs for any mounts or attachments accordingly. Throughout our redesign, we have to keep a few significant rules and constraints in mind. First, the confirmation that the wheels on all four corners protrude past the battery boxes. Second, evidence that the suspension has a travel (jounce and rebound) of 50.4mm. Lastly, evidence that there is 25.4 mm of ground clearance.

For the a-arms, the significant component we decided to redesign was the a-arm plate. In the past, spherical bearings were pressed into these plates, and plates were welded on top to avoid the bearings falling out. This design made bearing failures quite common, so for this year, we decided to design the plates for weld-cups. These cups (shown in the figure below) hold the bearings in via a machined lip and a c-clip. The a-arm plates were redesigned to hold this larger weld-cup while still maintaining the needed geometries for the arms. We also set out to redesign mounts for the uprights due to the larger diameter and height of the cups to allow for proper steering clearance and a-arm articulation.

Figure 3: New A-Arm Design

Additionally, our subsystem has been working to simplify the upright designs previously

implemented. The previous design, though functional, created several issues due to its complexity. We plan to achieve a more straightforward design by designing the uprights by removing the portions of the old upright that were designed to allow for the suspension to be tuned. The replacement of the corresponding plates will be updated in the event tuning is required. New designs are based around rapid prototyping ability. Our newly designed plates use ¼ inch thick steel, which can be used with waterjet cutting to quickly manufacture parts at low cost. This will significantly reduce the issues had in previous iterations of this design by removing the parts that have failed frequently.

The safety of the steering rack is also a primary concern, due to the exposed gear teeth to the bottom of the car. The cover design is extremely important as it will protect the driver’s legs


from being caught in addition to protecting the rack from track debris which could damage or jam the steering rack, putting the driver at risk of crashing. The design of this year’s chassis creates a unique challenge as space in the nose of the car is limited, requiring the cover to be minimalist in size while accomplishing its design metrics.

The brakes will remain largely unchanged from last year. Our primary goal is to replace broken parts and modify the current assembly to allow for easier disassembly at competition. The brakes that are currently attached to the car are more than effective for the speeds we will be traveling at.

The design of the pushrod and spring damper system is very similar to the design from last year. The main challenge is how different the nose of the chassis is compared to last years, this means that the main objective is fitting the old system to the new chassis. The mountings for the bell cranks and the dampers fit nicely on to the joins of the chassis in line with the centerline of the A-arms and the uprights. New bell cranks have been designed to fit the car and longer pushrods have been designed to reach from the new A-arm plates to the bell cranks. These new designs allow the system to fit the dampers to chassis and to the bell cranks without having to be adjusted to much since they are calibrated from last years car to fit the regulations. The min constraint with the pushrod system is making sure it is rule compliant with the 50.4mm motion requirement up and down stated in the rules through jounce and rebound. It is hard to measure the ability of the systems compliance with this especially since last years suspension had so much play in it without engaging the pushrod system at all. Since our updated system aims to remove this excess play our accordance to the rules becomes more strict. However since the springs and dampers have been well calibrated and fit well into the new design for the new chassis nicely, only minor adjustments should be needed to be rule compliant, if it needs any at all.

Our design will be tested by using finite element analysis and by on vehicle testing. We will be informing our design by frequently discussing our designs as a team, with Prof. Helm, and with Rob. Additionally, previous designs and reports will be used to educate ourselves on what has worked well for previous teams.

Our teams resective goals are to add a rear pushrod and bell crank mounting system to the car because that is something last years team didn’t quite get to in last years full assembly. So bell cranks are designed but don't exactly have a place to go and thus pushrod measurements are hard to determine. A new A-arm plate design was also a goal for suspension because last years design ran into problems and wouldn’t exactly fit or work well for this years car. This new plate allows for upgraded spherical bearings and for an easier to assemble A-arm, along with working well with the new mounting system design for the uprights. All of this should allow for an easier to assemble suspension system that fits the new chassis nicely and functions better than last years system. All of this along with much more attention to reducing play in the suspension through newly designed spacing systems for the spherical bearings and for the chassis mounting systems should bring us towards a much improved suspension system that is easier to assemble and is much more robust.

3.3. Drivetrain Our subsystem design objectives are to create a fully functional drivetrain with an

integrated cooling system that is both reliable and rules compliant.


Figure 4: Drivetrain Design

The integral parts of the drivetrain consist of the motor, motor mount, differential, chain,

and half shafts. Last years team already completed the motor mount, however, after initial inspection it appears that there will need to be alterations made in order to allow for easy integration with the motor’s power cables as well as the cooling system inlet and outlet hoses. In addition to correctly mounting the motor to the car, we need to improve and fix some decisions made by last years team. A differential adapter was incorrectly installed to the differential and became stuck. Rob Layng, our engineering technician, helped us to remove the adapter, but we needed to improve the design in order to meet the requirements for fasteners and to fix an issue with the clearances. A new design has been submitted and approved and we hope to have the differential installed soon so we can begin to attach the half-shafts.

In order to develop a cooling system that allows our car to perform without overheating we need to calculate how much heat the motor and motor controller will create when being at max conditions. These calculations include heat transfer formulas for a heat exchanger as well as using the efficiency of the motor and motor controller to find heat outputted. In order to correctly use determine the amount of heat we need to remove from the motor and motor controller, we have been in contact with Professor Steffens, who specializes in Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics.

The cooling system will consist of a radiator, tubing, a water pump, and possibly fans to keep air flowing to the radiator at low speeds. The radiator will pose a challenge both technically and spatially. Motors in the past required air cooling which negated the need for a radiator directly connected to the motor, however, our new motor the Emrax 208 does not have openings in the external housing for cooling. Instead the Emrax 208 has and inlet and outlet opening for coolant that runs between the coils.

If we plan to run the Formula car in the rain we will have to pass a water test in order to simulate rainy conditions. The only part of the drivetrain that will be affected by rainy conditions are the cables connecting the motor controller to the motor. To prevent issues caused by possible grounding due to water we will have to implement a watertight housing to prevent water from touching the connections. The rules also require that all connections must have some sort of strain relief. We will implement this strain relief into the water tight cable housing.


The main constraints that are required for the drivetrain by the Formula SAE Electric judges are the use of rules compliant fasteners, the guarding that is required for the chain in the event of an ejection, and strain relief on all cables.

Our goals for the year include both new designs and improving on designs from last year's team. We will update the differential adapter to create a shelf for the sprocket to sit on, and add helicoils to reduce some clearance issues on the differential. First we want to make sure all fasteners are rules compliant and safe as possible. A new water-cooling system that cools both the motor and the motor controller will be installed. The motor is in need of a waterproof housing, which should also provide some strain relief for the cables going into the motor. Making sure all aspects of the drivetrain are rules compliant requires us to design and manufacture a guarding for the motor, chain drive, wiring, and sprocket. All parts from last years car will be tested to make sure they are rules compliant. After the motor housing meets our standards, we will install half shafts and hubs.

3.4. Interconnect The primary design objectives of the ME Interconnect team are to design, manufacture

and install an electrical enclosure for the Tractive System Interface (TSI), Grounded Low Voltage (GLV) and Motor Controller systems. In addition, the mechanical team will assist in the design and implementation of other low voltage electronics. Namely, buttons, light fixtures, keys dashboards and strain relief. These are secondary goals that the team will focus on after the enclosure is finished and the electrical systems are closer to being finished. Below is a list of Interconnect team goals for the short term:

- Finish overall enclosure

- Complete panel design with proper holes for connectors - Update and improve last year’s relay board

- Add horizontal bus bars - Add fuse holders to bus bar

- Design proper shelving location and structure - Manufacture isolation walls

- Check for proper material in rules - Potentially measure the real one for guidance

- Add DIN Rails for TSI relays - Confirm overall enclosure design with TSI, GLV and SCADA teams - Get professor approval and begin manufacture

In order to complete these goals in a timely, efficient and effective manor the team is

engaged in a rigorous brainstorming, design and revision process. This includes a series of design reviews with the TSI, GLV, and SCADA teams as well as the mechanical and electrical engineering professors. As of late September 2019, the Interconnect team has an approved preliminary design, as depicted in figure 5, and will continue to add detail and make revisions through October. The Goal is a finished enclosure by the start of November 2019. Once finished the team will focus on other interconnect projects like mounting low voltage electrical components.


Figure 5: Proposed Enclosure Design

The team has identified several engineering metrics and goals for the design of the

enclosure. Primarily, this is rules compliance. The enclosure contains both low voltage and high voltage zones and thus they must be separated appropriately. In addition, the design will focus on accessibility and ease of access to as much of the electronics as possible. In order to do this the team is implementing sliding shelves for the GLV and TSI systems. Lastly, the team would like to build the enclosure as water resistant as possible in order to pass the rain test.

3.5 TSV (Battery Packs)

The objective of the TSV team is to deliver a rules-compliant and logically developed accumulator. The previous year’s iteration of an accumulator is now obsolete and so it is the duty of this year’s team to design an entirely new enclosure.

There are two main objectives of design for this year’s team. First is a system that completely separates all high and low voltage systems. Second is an accumulator that is able to withstand 40G of acceleration horizontally and 20G of acceleration vertically without breakage of any component or mount.

To make a logically developed accumulator, the team intends to follow the design principle of working from the outside to the inside. Ergonomics and mindfulness of physical space are accounted for at the beginning of the design process. Through these restrictions due to pre-placed objects on the exterior, the team can simplify the interior.

To meet the isolation requirement for high and low voltage systems, the team has chosen one insulating material: garolite. In choosing garolite, its rigidity will allow the TSV unit to withstand the acceleration tests, while still insulating the differing voltage systems.

The accumulator unit should have a footprint that is not excessively large. As the real-estate in the side carriages is valued to other teams such as Drivetrain, who seek to install a cooling system, and need space for radiators and fans. TSV must also remember that many cables will be occupying the rear three-quarters, and the need for a firewall which shields them. Consciousness of space will always be valued.


Figure 6: Proposed Accumulator Design

The TSV team has completed initial design concepts and is working towards creating a prototype accumulator. This accumulator prototype will serve as the first iteration of the battery pack design and is expected to be and assembled and completed by November 1, 2019. Design reviews for the prototype will repeatedly take place throughout this process, starting the week of September 30, 2019.

Once assembled, the prototype will be evaluated for performance, functionality, and rules compliance. Any needed revisions will be made and two mirroring battery packs will be fabricated by January 24, 2020. These two battery packs are expected to be the final battery packs used for competition and will be modified as needed throughout later testing.

Engineering metrics and specifications for TSV design largely come from the FSAE 2020 competition rules. The majority of these rules relate to safely insulating high voltage circuitry, isolating high voltage and low voltage battery pack components, having the battery packs be weather resistant, and withstanding 40 and 20 Gs of force in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively. Other design metrics relate to ease of use when it comes to activities relating to opening the battery packs, such as replacing parts and troubleshooting.

Outside of normally scheduled class time, the TSV team meets up to 3 times per week to discuss these design metrics, ensure they are being met, and communicate with other teams to ensure rules outside of the TSV team’s scope, but still related to its responsibilities, are being met (i.e. discussing the firewall and battery pack mounting with the chassis team).

The team is working toward delivering the prototype for the accumulator on November 1st, 2019. By setting the delivery date much earlier than needed, the team hopes to obtain feedback and criticism. An early prototype delivery allows for the final iteration to be fundamentally better.

4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES In order to meet project objectives and to stay time efficient team members have been

assigned appropriate and relevant roles. The roles are referenced in Chart 2 include: a Project


Manager, System Engineers, a Financial Officer, and an Inventory Officer. Further, respective subsystems and the corresponding breakdown, referenced in Chart 3, were created and are held responsible for the design, development, manufacture and implementation of that subsystem. The team has been broken down as follows:

Chart 2: Relevant Roles Breakdown

Chart 3: Mechanical Team Breakdown, Respective System Engineers and Corresponding Subsystems

System Engineers: Dan Becker and Nick Steele

The overall job of the system engineers is to oversee all systems on the car and aid each of the subsystems listed below in completing all their technical requirements. Any technical questions or concerns can be brought to the system engineers for review to ensure they will meet requirements and fit in with all other systems in the car. Suspension: Dan Becker, Carl Doucette, and Zach Miller

The suspension team is in charge of designing and assembling all necessary suspension parts for the car. These parts include but are not limited to a-arms, pushrods, dampers, uprights,


hubs, brakes, and control rods. The team must ensure that all parts and dimensions meet requirements set out by the rules and that the suspension will allow the car to perform well at competition. Goals:

● Rear push-rod/bell crank mounting system ● New A-arm plate design ● Simplification of upright mounting system ● Better spherical bearings ● Eliminate play in mounts ● Rules compliance

TSV: Tim LeGreca and Jack Mueller -

The team is responsible for delivering electrical energy to the motor. The enclosure responsible for housing the governing electrical equipment is also under the team’s jurisdiction. The team must safely and efficiently deliver the electrical current to the motor controller. Goals:

● GLV/TSV Simplification ○ Minimize interfaces between GLV and TSV inside the pack

● Fastener and Part Standardization ● Rapid Cell Replacement ● Sophisticated State of Charge (SoC) algorithm

○ Acquisition of vital cell parameters ○ Accurate Cell Model ○ Implementation of algorithm on MicroController

● Robust Charging Interconnect: Monserrat Mendez and Nick Steele -The primary design objectives of the ME Interconnect team are to design, manufacture and install an electrical enclosure for the Tractive System Interface (TSI), Grounded Low Voltage (GLV) and Motor Controller systems. Goals:

● Cable Test ● System Integration

○ Lights, buttons, dashboards, etc. ○ Strain Relief

● To complete panels with proper holes for connectors ● Fix the Relay Board

○ Have horizontal bus bars ○ New design for fuse holders

● Design proper shelving location and structure ○ Includes hinges and sliders

● Update isolation walls ○ Check for proper material in rules ○ Potentially measure the real one for guidance

● Include a Din rail mount to have the CAN BUS horizontal instead of vertical to allow for more space

● Update Lid ○ Make decisions on how lid will be opening


○ Potentially include holes for connectors ● Finish Final Design ● Get Approval ● Start working on drawings to get part manufactured if necessary

Chassis: Gabe Fagen and Austin Ray - The chassis is the heart of the Formula One. The chassis is the central part of the formula one car that everything is bolted and attached to. Our biggest goal is to maintain a lightweight car that can withstand the downward forces that are produced as the vehicle moves. Goals:

● Widen cockpit to be rules compliant ○ cutout top two side impact frame members and weld in bent ones, giving 1-inch

of extra space on each side ● Mount seat to give driver comfort and ease of access to controls ● Design and install side and rear firewalls ● Design and weld mountings onto chassis for other systems ● Confirm impact attenuator testing

Drivetrain: Luc D’Andrea and Michael Rittmaster - The drivetrain is the part of the formula car that supplies the torque from the motor to the wheels. In our car that consists of the motor, motor mount, chain, sprockets, differential, and half shafts. Goals:

● Install rule compliant fasteners ● Develop a fully functional cooling system for the motor and motor controller ● Develop a waterproof housing for motor cables that also achieves strain relief ● Design and manufacture appropriate guarding for the motor, wiring, chain drive, and

sprocket ● Test all parts built last year to make sure they meet rules compliance as well as if they are

as efficient as possible ● Install half shafts and hubs ● Redesign differential adapter to create shelf for sprocket, and add helicoils to remove the

need for fasteners (Fasteners cause clearance issues) Steering: Zach Miller

Steering’s primary requirement is to implement a secure steering system that prevents bump steer. This will include an enclosure that prevents on-track debris from clogging the steering rack gear system. Last year’s team purchased and attached a steering rack to the car and this will be used. Goals:

● Steering rack enclosure. ● Aligned steering rack.

Pedals: Dan Becker

The overall requirement of the pedals is to provide the driver with control over the throttle and brakes. Each pedal must be designed and manufactured to fit within a designated


area in the chassis that is easy to reach and allow for adequate control without straining for any driver. The pedal cluster will include a dead pedal, a brake pedal with dual-actuated master cylinders, and an accelerator pedal that sends signals to the motor controller. Goals:

● New pedal design for brake and accelerator ● Better positioning and ergonomics for driver control and comfort

The Project Managers have constructed a list of six major team goals and objectives for

the Lafayette College FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team Members and Management to follow to promote the highest level of success. These goals and objectives will be further utilized to quantify the respective measurements of success, communication and team effort. The quantification is measured both individually and project wide. Weekly individual progress reports (IPR) and combined weekly project status letters (PSL) help to quantify the whole teams current standing, each subsystems current progress, and show where each individual team member is at per his or her respective responsibilities.

Individual Progress Reports are due each Sunday night to both project managers, and all three professors. From there the two Project Managers, Cat and Jordyn create the weekly Project Status Letter report that is displayed and talked through in the combined mechanical and electrical meeting on Monday afternoons. The following list is the list of team goals and objectives:

Goal One: Plan and manage an engineering design project:

Creating a plan of how to manage an engineering design project, allows you to be incontrol of the project instead of the project being in control of you. The project plan won’t spell out every exact thing that might happen, but it will explain the large majority of tasks that need to be completed, as well as provide detail to bring the team to the competition.

Goal Two: Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of teamwork in terms of leadership, team orientation, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, and adaptability:

Establishing roles and responsibility is another key to success. Understanding and gaining agreement on project objectives and deliverables, will ensure the project team, system engineers, and project management team agree on the work that is required.

Goal Three: Demonstrate strong technical communication skills:

Communications skills forces individuals to interact with project team members, decision makers, as well as other stakeholders. The improvement of communication skills will help this team, and is the key to success for this project.

Goal Four: Solve engineering problems and create engineering designs:

Solving engineering problems is not a step by step process. In fact, there truthfully is not process. In order to solve an engineering problem and create engineering designs, each member of a team must think about each of the important component that makes up the end goal of the project. Each player on the team must utilize and play to his or her strengths individually. Then as a team all these ideas combine and mesh together to create possible solutions to the engineering design.


Goal Five: Create a test plan based on a solid understanding of measurement and quality assurance methodology:

A testing plan was created in order to turn these written project goals and objectives into a reality. Goals and objectives require set and stone dates, or deadlines. From a scheduling and milestone perspective, dates will create a solid understanding of completing tasks on time in order to make deadlines. The Project Management Team believes deadlines will be a crucial part to keep the project on schedule.

Goal Six: Engage in professional and responsible behavior during project work and demonstrate the capacity to grow professionally:

These attributes allow our team to work as efficiently as possible. Task priorities can be assigned and the allocation of resources during project execution can be conducted smoothly.

If a team proposes a change, which is approved by Managers and Advisors in the Monday Meeting it will be told to all affected parties by Spoken Word and Email in order to record it officially and Slack (This team’s Professional Messaging Software) in the case someone is unavailable

5. TEAM SCHEDULE Major internal deliverables are displayed in a defined timeline as communicated in

Figure 7. This Gantt Chart displays the defined timeline for major goals for the major mechanical subsystems, chassis, drivetrain, suspension, pedals, interconnect, and TSV.

Major external deliverables are displayed in a defined timeline as communicated in Figure 8. This Gantt Chart displays the defined timeline pertaining to common deliverables, mechanical department deliverables, and required documents for submission.

The goals for internal and external deliverables are being measured based on making deadlines, staying on schedule, communicating to team members via the work breakdown structure master schedule what percentage of completion a subsystem has completed based on progress.


Figure 7: Internal Deliverables: Major Mechanical Milestones


DLV Common Deliverables Cat & Jordyn 0.00

D000 Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Cat & Jordyn 8/29/19 9/10/19 12.00

D000.1 PDR Report Cat & Jordyn 9/1/19 9/9/19 8.00

D000.2 PDR Presentation Cat & Jordyn 9/1/19 9/9/19 8.00

D001 Ongoing Critical Design Reviews 10/4/19 10/28/19 24.00

D001.1 Fall CDR #1 Project Management Review

9/23/19 9/27/19 4.00

D001.2 Fall CDR #2 Project Management Review

11/11/19 11/15/19 4.00

D001.3 Spring CDR #1 Project Management Review

1/26/20 1/31/20 5.00

D001.4 Spring CDR #2 Project Management Review

2/10/20 3/3/20 22.00

D002 Project Web Site ongoing

D003 Competition and Final Delivery 0.00

D003.1 Competition dat per FH schedule 0.00

D003.2 Final Presentation/disposition per GPR012 0.00

D004 Project Posters 11/17/19 5/8/20 173.00

D004.1 Fall 0.00

D004.2 Spring 0.00

D005 Purchasing Report weekly 9/9/19 5/8/20 242.00

D005.1 Fall weekly 9/9/19 12/21/19 103.00

D005.2 Spring weekly 12/21/19 4/17/20 118.00

D006 Projectment Management and Individual Status Letters

1/23/20 3/10/20 47.00

D006.1 Project Status Letter (PSL) weekly 9/9/19 5/8/20 242.00

D006.2 Individual Progress Report (IPR) weekly 9/9/19 5/8/20 242.00

M ME Deliverables Cat 0.00

M000 Conceptual/Preliminary Design Report Cat 9/26/19 10/2/19 6.00

M000.1 Motivation for Project Cat 9/26/19 9/30/19 4.00

M000.2 Description of Current State of the Art Cat 9/26/19 10/1/19 5.00

M000.3 Planned Approach Cat 9/26/19 9/30/19 4.00

M000.4 Roles and Responsibilities Each Team 9/26/19 9/30/19 4.00

M000.5 Team Schedule Cat 9/26/19 9/30/19 4.00

M000.6 Required Resources Cat 9/26/19 10/1/19 5.00

M000.7 Stakeholders or External Partnerships Cat 9/26/19 10/1/19 5.00

M001 Mechanical Design Review (MDR) Report Cat 10/2/19 10/11/19 9.00

M002 Statement of Individual Goals Cat to condense & send 10/4/19 10/28/19 24.00

M002.1 Chassis Austin Ray 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.2 Chassis Gabe Fagen 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00


M002.3 Suspension Dan Becker 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.4 Suspension Carl Doucette 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.5 Suspension Zach Miller 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.6 Drivetrain Michael Rittmaster 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.7 Drivetrain Luc D'Andrea 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.8 Interconnect Monserrat Mendez 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.9 Interconnect Nick Steele 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.10 Finance Monserrat Mendez 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.11 TSI Monserrat Mendez 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.12 TSI Nick Steele 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.13 TSV Tim LaGreca 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M002.14 TSV Jack Mueller 10/4/19 10/21/19 17.00

M003 Five Minute Presentations 9/30/19 3/16/20 168.00

M003.1 Presentation One Cat Neely 9/21/19 9/30/19 9.00

M003.2 Presentation Two 10/19/19 10/28/19 9.00

M003.3 Presentation Three 11/16/19 11/25/19 9.00

M003.4 Presentation Four 2/8/20 2/17/20 9.00

M003.5 Presentation Five 3/7/20 3/16/20 9.00

M004 Midyear Progress Report 11/1/19 12/4/19 33.00

M005 Spring Update 1/16/20 2/6/20 21.00

M006 Dynamic Test Plan 11/5/19 12/1/19 26.00

M007 Dynamic Test Report 1/23/20 3/10/20 47.00

DS Documents for Submission 0.00

DS000 Structural Equivalency Spreadsheet (SES) – bonus points available

11/15/19 11/16/19 1.00

20 Bonus Points if approved 30 days before the due date

10/15/19 10/16/19 1.00

10 Bonus points in approved 15 days before the due date

10/31/19 11/1/19 1.00

DS001 Project Management Plan 11/15/19 11/16/19 1.00

DS002 Electrical System Form 1 (ESF-1) – bonus points available

11/22/19 11/23/19 1.00

10 Bonus points if submitted and approved at least 30 days or more before the deadline.

10/22/19 10/23/19 1.00

5 Bonus points if submitted and approved at least 15 days or more before deadline

11/7/19 11/8/19 1.00

DS003 Program Information Sheet 12/5/19 12/6/19 1.00

DS004 Team Photo 12/5/19 12/6/19 1.00

DS005 Interim Project Report 1/30/20 1/31/20 1.00

DS006 Impact Attenuator Data 2/6/20 2/7/20 1.00

DS007 Site Pre-Registration 2/13/20 2/14/20 1.00


DS008 Electrical System Form 2 (ESF-2) – bonus points available

2/20/20 2/21/20 1.00

10 Bonus points if submitted and approved at least 15 days before deadline

2/5/20 2/6/20 1.00

DS009 Design Report 3/19/20 3/20/20 1.00

DS010 Sustainability Report 3/19/20 3/20/20 1.00

DS011 Design Specifications Sheet 3/19/20 3/20/20 1.00

DS012 Rolling Chassis Date (RCD) 1/10/20 2/25/20 46.00

DS013 Electrical Completion Date (ECD) 2/2/20 3/3/20 30.00

DS014 Final Delivery Date (FDD) 3/22/20 5/1/20 40.00 Figure 8: External Deliverables

6. REQUIRED RESOURCES

Numerous resources are necessary and will be required In order to achieve the team’s

goal of creating an improved electric car that will make it to the competition. While many tools and parts are readily available to our team, many must be ordered or designed. This situation works to the teams advantage, as it allows us to design custom made parts. Furthermore, the team is excited to use the resources available to us by working closely with the Mechanical Engineering Department, specifically Serena, to order parts and materials from the necessary suppliers.

This team of Mechanical Engineers are quite knowledgeable in programs such as ANSYS, Autodesk Inventor, and AutoCAD, which will be useful for aspects of the mechanical design of the car. Many team members have already become close with the Machine Shop Technicians, specifically Rob, and are receiving the proper training for welding, machining, and are in the process of or have become certified in the stated specializations, along with other tools. This team considers itself lucky for having the presence of Shop Technicians who are extremely experienced and who provide constructive criticism.

Physical assembling of the car will be conducted on the first floor of Acopian Engineering Center, across from the Machine Shop, this pertains to the Mechanical Engineers on the project. The Electrical Engineers, respectively, conduct more of their work on the 4th floor of Acopian Engineering Center.

As the car is an electrical system that makes use of high voltages and is potentially dangerous, insulated tools will be used to work on the car to minimize risk. Multimeters are available to take measurements of voltage, current and resistance throughout parts of the car as needed.

It is imperative that our team to have access to a trailer in order to transport the car to and from Metzgar. Our goal is to begin testing a month before our March competition.

7. STAKEHOLDERS OR EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS Throughout the design process the team will consult a variety of individuals for advice

and assistance to realize success in the March competition. Perhaps some of the most important of these individuals are those with prior FSAE experience, including Lafayette College professors and alumni. The team already has established channels of communication with both


these groups of individuals and have already used them to seek advice during initial design stages.

Professor Helm (Mechanical Engineering Department), Professor Sajadian (Electrical and Computer Engineering Department) and Professor Nadovich (Electrical and Computer Engineering Department) will be consulted for advice throughout the entirety of the project, especially relating to questions about adhering to the rules, designing for effectiveness, and performing for success during competition. In addition, other Lafayette Professors have been, and will continue to be, consulted for their knowledge of specific engineering topics as well, such as heat transfer through the battery pack or aerodynamics of the completed chassis.

Along with Lafayette College professors, Lafayette College alumni will also be contacted using the team’s network to engineering students who have graduated in years prior. Lafayette College’s FSAE team of 2019 has been and will continue to be contacted for resources from the previous year and questions about design decisions, as the current team is further developing the car they have designed. The 2018 team has also been contacted and will be utilized more as spring approaches, as they are the last team from Lafayette College with experience from the FSAE competition.

Using this network of partnerships, the team will be supported by experienced advisors with robust backgrounds in electrical and mechanical engineering as well as the FSAE competition. In this way, the Lafayette College FSAE Team of 2020 will be supported in every step of design and performance in competition to ensure success come spring. CONCLUSION

The Lafayette College 2019-2020 FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team is in the initial

design stages of developing an electric formula car to participate in the Spring 2020 competition. The major goals of the team is to develop a competition rules compliant car through the following critical points: 1) complete the rolling chassis by December 3, 2019, begin system testing by February 7, 2020, and take part in the 2020 FSAE competition on March 10th, 2020.

The team will be engineering the formula car by dividing itself into eight subsystems. These subsystems consist of: suspension, drivetrain, chassis, steering/pedals, battery, interconnect, SCADA, and grounded low voltage. While members of each subsystem will be responsible for the development of the majority of each subsystem’s electronics/mechanics, there will be a large amount of coordination between subsystems to ensure the team’s success (i.e. both the chassis and the battery team will work together to create the firewall to cover the batteries and mounting that will attach the batteries to the chassis itself).

The chassis subsystem will be focused on modifying the chassis design from previous years and fabricating the firewalls and mountings for other subsystems. The suspension team will be working to manufacture A-arms, pushrods, and several other parts to ensure the rolling chassis will be finished by the December deadline. The drivetrain subsystem is focused on finalizing the motor, motor mount, differential, chain, and half shafts by making subtle modifications to last year’s design. The interconnect subsystem’s main concerns include creating enclosures, mountings, and connections between the Tractive System Interface (TSI), Grounded Low Voltage (GLV) and motor controller systems by working with the GLV and SCADA teams. The battery (TSV) subsystem is working on a complete battery redesign to develop two battery packs that will power the formula car with high voltage. The steering/pedal subsystem will be focused on finalizing the human control of the formula car.


The 2019-2020 team will be led by the following leadership structure: Faculty Advisor - Professor Helm, System Engineers - Nick Steele and Dan Becker, Project Manager - Cat Neely, Financial Officer - Monserrat Mendez, and Inventory Officer - Zach Miller. Utilizing this leadership, as well as the network of other Lafayette College professors and FSAE team alumni, the 2019-2020 FSAE Formula One Hybrid Team will ensure success at the 2020 March competition.
