The completed suspension includes hubs, spindles, uprights, control arms, push r ods, tie rods, rockers, and

shocks. Anti-dive A suspension parameter that affects the amount of suspension deflectio n when the brakes are applied. Anti-squat A suspension parameter that affects the amount of suspension deflecti on during acceleration. Ball Joint A spherical joint that allows three degrees of rotational freedom in at a joint. In an automotive context, this most often refers to the upper or lower ball joints on the uprights. Body Roll The leaning of a vehicle's body to one side when cornering due to late ral acceleration. Bump Steer Toe-in/out of a tire caused by the change in relative position of the tie rod as the suspension travels through its range of motion. Caster Angle The caster angle is defined by a line from the upper ball joint to the lower ball joint seen from the side view. This parameter affects the wheels ability to automatically re-center itself. By affecting the scrub radius , it can also make the wheels more difficult to turn. Figure 3. Caster and Kingpin Angle. Camber The tilting of the wheels about an axis parallel to the direction of vehi cle motion. The tilting of the wheel affects the shape of the tire patch and the tractive forces the tire can t ransmit. Reword Figure 4. Center of Gravity Imaginary location indicating where acceleration forces would act if the mass of the vehicle was assumed to be a point mass. Control Arms The suspension components that connect the front and rear uprights to the chassis and allow it to move up and down. Also known as A-arms. Cornering Force The lateral frictional force generated by a cornering tire, acti ng in opposition to the centrifugal force. Front/Rear Roll Center Point that the front/rear of the vehicle desires to roll about, determined by the front/rear suspension geometry . Hub The part of the suspension that the wheel mounts to. The hub is connected to the upright through one or two wheel bearings that allow the wheel-hub assembly to spin freely. Instant center When looking at the vehicle from the front, the instant center fo r a pair of control arms is the point at which the control arms would meet if they extended infinitely. Jacking When the tires skip as the vehicle turns.

Jounce/Rebound The motion of the suspension corresponding to positive/negative v ertical displacement of the wheels. Kingpin An imaginary line drawn from the center of the upper ball joint to the c enter of the lower ball joint. Push rod The rod linkage that connects the lower control arm to the rockers, tra

nsferring vertical loads from the wheels to the rocker. Ride height The distance between the lowest part of the chassis and the ground. Rocker The mechanism that transfers force from the pushrod to the shocks. Rod end A spherical joint set in a housing which can be screwed onto the ends of control arms, push rods, or tie rods to allow for spherical movement and adjustable length. Roll Axis The imaginary line that connects the front and the rear roll centers, about which the body will rotate or roll. Figure Shocks The shocks for this vehicle consist of a coil over type piston dampener e ncased in a spring. The shocks absorb energy from the motion of the vehicle and maintain the vehicle s ride height. Scrub radius axis. Spindle unted. The distance between the center of the tire patch and the steering

A cantilevered bar connected to the front upright on which the hub is mo

Steering rack A rack and pinion system that transmits steering wheel motion into horizontal displacement of the steering tie rod. Tie rod The simple rod linkage that connects the end of the steering rack with t he front uprights, transferring the horizontal motion to the wheels. Tire patch Area of tire in contact with the ground. Toe-in/out Toe-in is when the front of the tires angle in towards each other and toe-out is when they angle away from each other(Reword). Track width Distance between the centers of the tire contact areas when viewing the car from the front. Uprights The centerpiece of the suspension, the uprights connect the tie rod, th e upper and lower ball joints, the brake caliper (front only) and the hub. Wheel hop When the road excites the wheels at the suspension s natural frequency a nd the tires lose contact with the ground. Wheelbase Distance between the front and rear tire centers. The goal of the Formula SAE racecar is to maneuver around a racetrack as quickly as possible, therefore the suspension will be designed to offer maximum tractive force and optimize the vehicle s road handling. This is accompli shed by making a desirable camber angle, creating a low roll center height by the placement of the upper and lower control arms, avoiding whe el hop, and having short-long arm suspension. Control and handling are key factors in determining the performance of a race ve hicle. The tie rods must comply with the suspension geometry to prevent bump. The suspension and steering geometries must coincide to provide st able and consistent handling of the vehicle. Designing a suspension is an iterative process. The best performance is a compr omise between all performance parameters. The final design should take into consideration the conditions under which the vehicle will be traveling. B ecause the Formula SAE suspension must steer, travel over bumps, and provide other functions, maximum performance will be a combination of compromis es in order to maximize several functions.

Health and Safety The suspension is sized to accommodate the weight of the drive r and all components without failure under anticipated race conditions. The location of the suspension components was determined such t hat they would not present a danger to the driver under normal operating conditions. Political A strong finish at competition will potentially create interest in the University of Alabama s Mechanical Engineering school to prospective students and professors. The design is a well working suspension consisting of control arms, rod ends, sh ocks, uprights, hubs, tie rods, push rods, and rockers. In order to begin the design process, some assumptions had to be made regarding the basic characteristics of the suspension. Chief among these is the center of gravity of the vehicle, which was assumed to be 15 inches above the g round based on research done on typical Formula SAE car characteristics. The wheelbase of the car was chosen to be 60 inches. A track width of 50 inc hes was chosen, but had to be modified to 52 inches for the front suspension due to space limitations for the driver. Based on the required suspen sion travel of one inch in jounce and one inch in rebound, the ride height of the car was chosen to be 2 inches. The total weight of the car inclu ding the driver was predicted to be 700 lbs, with a weight distribution of 40% in the front and 60% in the rear. Optimum K By using Optimum K, for suspension analysis, and Solid Works for stress analysis of the frame and other stressed parts, our initial designs will been completed.The next step will involve testing the suspension system and analyzing the stresses on our frame design with the help of these computer programs such as Patran. Once completed, we can then begin fabrication of the s uspension system and frame as install the other projects being competed at the same time. These other vehicle systems include the brakes, petal assembl y, steering assembly, and electrical system. The frame will be tested in Nastran as well as SolidWorks for parameters such as torsional rigidity, resonance, and deflection under normal loading. These guidelines are minimal and allow for many opportunities to optimize a desi gn for peak performance. Our goal is to keep the frame under 100 lbs. After some calculations for weight, it was decided that the frame would be manufactured from two different sizes of steel tubing, .095 inch wall thickness and .065 inch wall th ickness. All of the tubing for the frame structure will be made of 1 inch diameter 4130 c hromoly steel tubing. This type of steel was selected because of its ease of its low cost and relatively light weight. Using two different sizes of frame tubing will reduce the weight of the frame by roughly 20 pounds. The frame was also shortened in length by 14 inches by making the dri ver s legs bent rather than stretched underneath the front roll hoop. The front roll hoop was also tilted forward by 20 degrees to allow easier driver entry and exit from the cockpit. After the frame design was finished it was then modified in SolidWorks and transferred to Patran. Shown below is our frame design in SolidWorks. The static analysis of the frame consists of a torsional rigidity test as well a s testing the car for buckling in the event of a roll-over situation.

Springs are position sensitive while shocks are velocity sensitive, and are norm ally packaged together in one system, called coilovers, which are very common energy absorbing devices on performance based vehicles. As the wheel moves upwards, a push-rod or pull-rod is either pushed or pulled aw ay from either the wheel or the shock This movement compresses or stretches the spring and shock package, consequently absorbing the shock that the wheel sees. Different spring rates and shock compression and rebound rates will change the f orces seen within the suspension members. It is important to determine these factors so the wheel stays in contact with th e ground as much as possible so traction is not lost, which would cause the vehicle to become unstable. The upper a-arm supports are located one inch further from the center axis of th e upright than the bottom a-arm mount is. This causes the upper a-arms to be shorter than the bottom a-arms. In this situation, if a wheel rises due to a bump, the upper a-arm mounts move closer to the vehicle than the lower ones. This causes camber change to the vehicle, another aspect of the vehi cle that is very important to control. Camber is the angle that the wheel makes with the vertical axis. Negative angles are those that have the top of the wheels closer together than the bottom, and positive angles are those that have the bottom of the wheels further apart. We will not be able to control the rate of camber change but we can control the static camber angles prior to suspension loading so we see the correct amount of camber when the car is loaded during a turn. In practice, the misalignment is inconsequential for turns up to fifteen degrees , (Heisler 1997) and the vehicle will usually be traveling relatively slowly for sharper turns than this, so the misalignment is inconseque ntial. The pinion axis is usually tilted from the perpendicular to the rack, as this in creases the effective pinion pitch-radius allowing fewer and stronger pinion teeth to be used. This means larger gear-ratio reductions are possible f or a given rack travel. It also increases friction which helps reduce the amount of road shock which is transmitted back to the steering wheel and th erefore to the driver. In our case, this system is effective as our vehicle is a smaller and lighter vehicle, thus, without the need of a power ste ering system. Erjavec, Jack & Scharff, Robert. Automotive Technology: A Systems Approach. Delm ar Publishing. December 29, 1995. FSAE Online. 2012 Formula SAE Rules. SAE International, 2011. October 17, 2011. <http://www.fsaeonline.com/content/2012_FSAE_Rules_Version_90111K.pdf>. Heisler, H. Vehicle and Engine Technology, Vol. 1. Edward Arnold. London, Great Britain. October 30, 1998. Nice, K. (2004), How Car Steering Works, World Wide Web. <http://www.howstuffwor ks.com/How_Car_Steering_Works.htm>. October 16th, October 2010. Walker, James Jr. High-Performance Brake Systems: Design, Selection, and Install ation. S-A Design. February 1, 2007.

AUTOMOTIVE RACING SPORTS CAR CHASSIS DESIGN

On many production carS one of the only ways of improving roadholding is the fitting of stiffer springs or anti-roll bars-both of which have much the same effect. Increased roll stiffness-whether via the springs or the anti-roll bar-increases the adhesion of the front tyres and thus improves the car's roadholding by bringing the cornering power of the front wheels almost up to that of the back ones, which are kept almost upright on their live axle. With stiffer springs at the front the tyres frequently lose contact with the road on rough surfaces, while each rear wheel reacts to every movement of the other one. Care is necessary when joining tubes of differing diameters to avoid local failu re, and this is normally overcome by the use of gusset plates (as illustrated in fig. 10) to spread the load to the full diam eter of the tube. The twin tube type of chassis, although relatively heavy and lacking torsional s tiffness, is easy to make and very durable, due to the use of heavy gauge material. In designing a chassis of this type it is necessary first of all to locate suspe nsion, engine, gearbox, differential and seat mountings. Having decided these, it is fairly easy to find the optimum position for the cha ssis tubes. With a twin tube car this is not very critical, as torsional stiffness does not alter greatly with varying tube positions. Cruciform bracing helps by taking out torsional loads in bending. oval section tube would possibly prove better than round for secondary installat ions where only bending loads are encountered. Oval tube is not satisfactory for main members, however, because of its lack of torsional rigidity. For any given weight of tubing, the torsional stiffness of a cross section of twin tube frame could be improved by using a single tube of slightly greater diameter. With a twin tube chassis it is important to build up a front suspension frame wh ich gives adequate support to the suspension units and at the same time transmits suspension loads into the main chassis structure. In this in stance square or rectangular section tube may well be better than round tube from the design point of view. One heavy cross-frame, usually located at the scuttle on a front-engined car, sh ould provide support for such relatively heavy items as the battery, steering column, body, door hinges, flame-proof bulkhead and brake, clutch and a ccelerator pedals. For simplicity, cheapness and general ease of building, a twin tube type structu re is quite satisfactory for a low- or medium-powered road sports car, and in this particular application could possibly be more satisfactory than a high performance chassis structure.

In theory the term "multi-tubular" could be used to describe all chassis other t han the twin tube type referred to in the previous section. The load capacity of a multi-tube frame in bending is generally quite adequate, provided there is sufficient diagonal bracing throughout the length of the chassis to prevent lozenging. Torsional capacity depends largely on the number of members and the diameter and section of tubing employed, but is very much inferior to that of a space frame. Accessibility is hardly likely to be as good as on a twin tube car, but this dep ends largely on the design. Durability depends mainly on weight, but even a heavily-constructed chassis of t his type is more liable to structural failure than a well-designed lightweight space frame becaus e of the bending loads taken by the welded joints. Chassis of this type can also be very difficult to repair after even quite sligh t impacts, owing to the fact that loads are transmitted throughout the frame rather than re stricted to a small area, as is often the case with a space frame. Construction costs are similar to those for a space frame, but unless the chassi s is made to wide manufacturing tolerances and the brackets are fitted afterwards, irrespective of their position, it is sometimes extremely dif ficult to make the chassis and the components fit together. Experience generally shows that it is very difficult to keep a chassis of this type dimensi onally accurate during manufacture. Of these, the cockpit of a sports car is usually the most critical area and the torsional stiffness of almost all space frames could be improved by as much as 100 per cent by running a diagonal across the top of this bay. In general, uniform stiffness is essential for a proper structure, and if one pa rt is too stiff the concentration of loads and deflection at one point may lead to fatigne failure. Although in some respects the multi-tubular frame is an advance on the twin tube chassis, it is not to be encouraged, as it is neither simple nor efficient. The Cooper racing car may be cited as the exception which proves the rule. However, the criterion of chassis design-and in fact the primary function of a h igh-performance chassis-is torsional rigidity. In a sports car chassis it is almost impossible to arrive at a true, complete st ructure because of the necessity to compromise. The best example of a space frame chassis from the point of view of torsional ri gidity would be a square-section rectangular box, with ends, sides, top and bottom trianl!lllated by diagonals running from one comer through the centre to the opposite comer. This would be the lightest, stiffest, simplest and cheapest In over-all car design, accessibility is almost as important a factor as chassis rigidity, because it is essential to be able to service the car and to get all components into or out of it with the minimum of delay.

In some cases the engine can be used as a chassis member but this is to be discouraged because of difficulty with engine vibration and the need for rigid mountings. Among other problems in this department are complication of the exhaust system, owing to the need to avoid chassis members, and the difficulty of accommodating carburettors. Impact resistance should be good in the case of minor bumps, as damage should be limited to the bay receiving the blow. Major impacts are absorbed progressively, each bay taking part of the strain unt il it can no longer accommodate the rapidly rising load. Thus in the case of a high-speed collision, although the car may be extensively damaged, the fact that it slows down progressively often minimises injuries to the driver. From the production point of view the space frame is probably the most expensive tubular chassis to make, because of the number of tubes used and the amount of welding involved. But it is undoubtedly the most efficient. Such a structure can be made very stiff and extremely light-an essential feature in aircraft design-and in a car of this type 30 gauge material would probably be quite adequate. It is perhaps not commonly known that the engines of the De Havilland Comet are hung in stabilised 26 gauge stainless steel. but some manufacturers use a material which approximates to aircraft T45 specifi cation, a manganese steel alloy which is particularly suitable for welding. Chrome molybdenum steel is generally used for twin tube chassis, but in this cas e manganese steel would possibly be even better, because it retains its physical properties during gas welding much better than do other steels. If the higher quality (60--65 ton) steels-chrome molybdenum and nickel chrome-are used, electric welding becomes almost essential. Whichever method of making joints is employed, the strength and life of the chas sis are largely dependent on the cleanliness of the parts to be joined and the general preparation which is carried out before each stage of the work is commenced.

THE PRINCIPLES OF A TRUE SPACE FRAME The simpler case is obviously the single-seater. For a car of this type, the starting point of design is the location of the pick-up points for all the various items of equipment which must be connected to the chassis. The most important of these are front and rear suspension, steering gear, engine and transmission, seat, gear lever and pedals-and other heavy items such as fuel and oil tanks, radiator and batteries (if carried). Having decided upon the wheelbase and front and rear track of the car, the approximate frontal area and over-all shape, the next step is to plan out as nearly as possible the exact positions of all the main chassis tubes, placing them so as to obtain the largest possible section through the structure while providing location for all the major

brackets.It is also necessary to design all brackets to take their respective loads into the chassis in the most advantageous manner, as is shown in the accompanying drawings of suspension brackets there may well be some overriding factor considered more important by the designer, such as unjustifiable aerodynamic disturbance or undesirabie effects on suspension geometry, which would make it better to have an inferior structure for the sake of a superior mechanism. This is where compromise begins. Design actually starts as a series of forces, which are later made into chassis tubes. As a series of lines on paper, a chassis drawing shows the experienced designer the location of all chassis loads and gives him an idea of their magnitude. For the current highperformance sports or racing car the majority of needs are met by mild steel tube in the following dimensions: 1 inch diameter 16 gauge round, I inch 18 gauge round and 1 inch 18 gauge square. For comparatively lightly stressed members i inch 18 gauge tube might prove to be quite adequate. All these dimensions, however, are dependent on the chassis being designed on space frame principles. Ideally, to design a complete space frame starting from scratch, it is necessary to stress the whole chassis three-dimensionally. Whatever is done in this field the designer must think in terms of deflection rather than stress and strain.In practice, experienced designers are unlikely to attempt full stress calculations on any new chassis but rather to rely on experience and to put purity of structure second to convenience of construction. An experienced man can design a satisfactory space frame- and one which in practical terms may be superior to an ideal structure-without recourse to calculations. Even the most experienced designer will probably use a scale model to check his ideas on vital points before committing himself to the actual construction of the car. In view of the weight restrictions now imposed in almost every sphere of international racing, it must be emphasised that chassis and suspellsion components should always be designed to be as light as possible, any weight which must be added being in the form of useful parts. For ultimate performance it is still a good maxim to design light and add weight where experience dictates. Ideally no tubes should be loaded in bending, but in practice this is very difficult to achieve. In the case where an offset is required for mounting a vital component, the trend is to increase the diameter of the tube to give a greater section and avoid difficulty from compound loads. loads. It is also important to avoid using long unsupported members, that is to say members which have an excessively high length/section ratio. In all chassis, and particularly single-seaters, the provision of space for

the driver prevents full triangulation of the top frame of the driving bay. This consideration alone makes the design of an ideal chassis almost impossible.The principle in this case is to build up diagonally braced beams or .. torsion boxes" on either side of the car and to link them with fully triangulated bulkheads. It would also be possible to brace the top frame of the cockpit-at least on a single-seater-by means of a" perforated hoop" type structure as used for the scuttle bulkhead on some Lotus models. ANALYSISSPACE FRAMES AND UNIT AR Y CONSTRUCTION CHASSIS Structurally, the most nearly perfect sports car chassis yet made is that of the Lotus Mark 8. Very simple, extremely light and very stiff, this chassisthe only one of its type ever madee-is still giving good service after six years of use, and this despite the fact that it is made up of 20 and 18 gauge tube. From a practical viewpoint, however, this chassis is open to a great deal of criticism. It was designed as a pure structure, with little thought for the loads which were to be fed into it, and thus it was necessary to add to the ideal basic structure a number of less satisfactory secondary structures through which these loads could be engineered. chassis. In addition, practical experience soon showed that even the ideal basic layout had serious limitations from the point of view of maintenance. As an instance of this, it was necessary to dismantle the engine in order to get it into or out of the chassis. Cylinder head, manifolds, oil pump, water pump, distributor, front mounting, starter and dynamo, all had to be removed before the engine would pass through the narrow opening in the top frame. Because of the disturbance involved this almost inevitably meant that the engine produced less power in the car than when it was built up on the test bench.In addition, the use of stressed bodywork interfered seriously with the servicing of many smaller components. By contrast with the simplicity of the primary structure, the secondary structure necessary to feed suspension and other loads into the chassis is extremely complicated.

The whole design is based on providing stiffness at the mounting points for major items, and thus the frame is swept upwards towards the front to provide good mountings for the front suspension units. The front wishbones are all mounted on upright members, but in such a manner that the disadvantages of such a layout are largely overcome Square tubing has somewhat limited torsional rigidity, but in this case it seems likely that the bending loads involved are of more importance than induced torsional loading because of the offset of the wishbone pick-ups. Square tubing is, of course, superior to round section tube in respect of bending loads, and also provides a much better base for mounting ths wishbones.