Figure: (REA, 2012) - ME · PDF filePowered Race Car Resource Folio 1 ... Schools provide core subjects like Mathematics, ... progressing on time and offer additional help,

Figure: (REA, 2012)

The Living Toolbox CO2 Powered Race Car Resource Folio 1

This document has been developed in cooperation with Re-Engineering Australia. Re-Engineering

Australia Foundation was founded in 1998 by engineer, businessman and passionate Australian,

Dr Michael Myers OAM, in response to the drastic shortage of skilled young people wanting to

pursue engineering-technical-manufacturing career paths.

Dr Myers linked with forward-thinking companies, organisations, government departments,

educators and individuals who are passionate about enthusing, equipping and guiding our next

generation.

Many of the resources presented in this document have been developed by Re-Engineering

Australia and the authors of this document wish to acknowledge the fantastic contribution that

REA have had on the success of technology education throughout Australia.

The Technological Literacy Group through their Science of Speed web site also kindly allowed

the use of images and information for this document. The Technological literacy group is

dedicated to STEM education based in the USA it provides excellent resources for CO2 powered

racing.

Funding for the collation of this document has been provided by the ME program. This

program is about creating a path for high school students to experience and explore the

career opportunities that are possible in the manufacturing industry.

These opportunities are delivered through a school program tailored to students from

years 9-12. Schools provide core subjects like Mathematics, English, Science,

Information and Communication Technology and Engineering Studies to provide the

foundations for pursuing a career in manufacturing.

The ME program is sponsored by Regional Development Australia Hunter and the

Department of Defence, Defence Materiel Organisation.

The Living Toolbox is an initiative of the ME program which was developed

to provide hands-on resources to support teaching and learning of advance

manufacturing in our schools.

This document has been prepared by Mr Ces D’Amico and Mr Scott

Sleap from Maitland Grossmann High, East Maitland NSW, Australia.

Figure: (LAVC, 2012)


The Formula One Technology Challenge is an exciting, innovative and modern science, math and

engineering action learning activity. With hundreds of schools Australia-wide already active, the

F1inSchools program is ideal for all schools, being easy to integrate into a wide range of

curriculum areas, or as an extra curricula activity.

The competition revolves around teams designing making and racing C02 powered cars which

have been machined from a balsa block using Computer Aided Drafting and Computer Aided

Manufacturing techniques.

This resource is based on preparing students to compete in this competition through the delivery

of the NSW stage 5 Industrial Technology – Engineering syllabus. Although this is the aim of this

resource it is not necessary for the completion of this unit as a standalone engineering topic.

The Living Toolbox website has been developed in conjunction with the ME

program, to provide useful resources to assist teachers to effectively introduce

advanced manufacturing concepts in the classroom.

The ME program website has many resources for schools, industry and parents. It

has been designed to assist participants in the program to reach the objects of the

program.

Re-Engineering Foundation hold the Australian licence for the F1inScools program

and their web site and accompanying supportal has a vast array of resources which

support the F1inSchools Technology Challenge (REA, 2012).

The F1inSchool program is the world’s largest Science, Technology, Engineering &

Mathematics (STEM) Competition. It involves over nine million students from

17,000 schools in 31 nations.

The DMO is part of the Department of Defence. In 2011-12 the Australian

Government will spend more than $10 billion acquiring and sustaining military

equipment and services. The DMO are major sponsors of both the F1inSchools

and the ME programs.

http://www.meprogram.com.au/

http://www.meprogram.com.au/

http://rea.org.au/

http://rea.webexone.com/login.asp?loc=&link=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUoDXnrLoQk

http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/


Your Brief - You are the Formula One Team commissioned to design, construct and race the

fastest Formula One Car of the Future, driven by new compact compressed air power plants.

In order to complete this taks, you must work in a team of a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6

persons, allocating job roles to the members of your group. Ideally, one role should be allocated to

each person. However, you may have to double up on your role and responsibilities, depending on

the number of people you have available.

The following job roles should be covered by the members of your team:

Team Manager (maximum 1 person). This person will be responsible

for managing the team, ensuring that the primary and back-up cars are ready

for the finals. The team manager works closely with all members of the team,

offering assistance where necessary.

Resources Manager (maximum 1 person). This person organises time,

materials and equipment for design and making the cars. They are also

responsible for developing ideas regarding team marketing (presentation).

The resources manager will need to liaise with all members to check tasks are

progressing on time and offer additional help, if needed.

Manufacturing Engineer (maximum 2 persons). These people are responsible for advising

team members on the manufacture of the car and the constraints of the

machining process. Manufacturing engineers will need to liaise with

the design engineers to report and help solve any problems with

construction of the car.

Design Engineer (maximum 2 persons). These people are responsible

for the styling and aerodynamic performance of the car design. Design

engineers will need to liaise with the manufacturing engineers to

ensure their ideas can be realised.

Graphic Designer (maximum 1 person). This person will be

responsible for producing the colour schemes applied to the vehicle, including

any special sponsorship decals, together with the final graphic renderings and

any additional team marketing materials. The graphic designer will need to

liaise with the design engineer to ensure any schemes will fit the shape of the

vehicle and the resources manager for additional marketing development.

There are so many tasks that must be mastered, in order to design, manufacture, prepare and

finally enter a car for racing, that teamwork will be vital to your success. A real F1 team

succeeds because all the people learn to work together and support each other. Remember, no

one person is more important than another (REA, 2012) .


One of the first tasks for this assessment task is to form into teams and assign roles. Firstly

you and your team members need to understand what their role is and what has to be

completed in each part of the process. HOWEVER, the best way to approach this project is

the team approach with all members assisting each other and some members leading the

work in the different areas. As you progress through the process, it will become apparent

that some team members have skills in different areas and roles can be allocated

accordingly.

TEAM MANAGER

Responsible for managing team to be ready for competitions.

Works closely with all members.

Checks all aspects of project.

Responsible for organising sponsorship for teams.

Spokesperson for team.

RESOURCES MANAGER

Liaises closely with team manager regarding team sponsorship.

Responsible for organising team pit display materials and set up.

Manages time, materials and equipment for team

Develops ideas for marketing and industry links.

MANUFACTURING ENGINEER

Responsible for the construction and machining of the cars.

Responsible for hand sanding, painting finish of car.

Applies stickers to race ready car.

Liaises closely with design engineer regarding design/manufacturing issues.

DESIGN ENGINEER

Responsible for the styling and aerodynamic performance of the car design.

Responsible for the CATIA drawings of the car for manufacture.

Evaluates, redesigns car to improve performance.

Realises whole team vision for car.

Understands and checks cars for compliance with rules.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Responsible for development of team emblem or logo.

Responsible for development of team colour schemes and stickers.

Produces additional marketing materials. Eg. shirts, caps, coasters etc

Liaises closely with resource manager to develop team display.

Responsible for final rendered graphics for project.

(REA, 2012)


Your team must comply with all the guidelines outlined below:

Your team must contain a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6

students.

Your team must use CAD (Computer Aided Design) software

to produce your ideas and model them in 3D.

Your team can use a CNC machine, such as a Denford Router

or can be manufactured by hand to a high level of quality.

Your car body must be manufactured from a single block of balsa wood.

Each car body must be completed with a high quality painted finish.

Each team must complete a design folder including initial ideas, design development and

evidence of testing.

Each team must supply (in the design folder) a dimensioned 3rd angle orthographic projection

and a graphic rendering of their final design, both produced using an appropriate 3D CAD

package.

1. All cars MUST be designed using CAD/CAM software.

2. The design of the completed car MUST resemble an actual race car, through the car being

“open wheeled” such that wheel profiles are 100% visible and unobstructed from the side and

above when the car is fully assembled.

3. The design MUST include a volume of virtual cargo positioned completely between the axles

and side pod extremities.

4. The overall length of the complete car measured between the front and rear extremes of the

car product, including all components with the exception of the CO2 cartridge, MUST be a

minimum of 150mm and a maximum of 215mm.

5. The minimum weight of the complete car product, without the CO2 cartridge fitted MUST be

55g.

6. All balsa components for a completed car MUST be made from a single standard balsa wood

blank as defined in these rules. Balsa is the default material for all non-rotating components of

the car including the body and side pods.

7. Paint and other foreign materials MUST NOT be present inside the CO2 cartridge chamber.

8. The cartridge MUST be able to be inserted and withdrawn without removal and replacement

of car parts.


As you go through the process of designing

your car, you will be using the same procedures

which are used by actual car manufacturers.

The basic process requires the designers to

come up with concept ideas which are

eventually refined over a series of steps in

order to produce a model which is called a

prototype. This prototype is then the car which

is tested and continually refined before it is

actually produced.

As a designer you will also need to go through a series of design steps in order to turn your F1 in

Schools racer ideas into reality.

Before you can design your super-fast CO2 powered car, however, it is imperative that you

understand important fundamentals which are applicable to all objects that move. The Science of

Speed website (PITSCO, 2002) is an excellent resource for learning about the science that

underpins CO2 racing.

The site is dedicated to the pursuit of designing and building

CO2-powered racecars and making them go fast. This is done

by employing an understanding of physical forces at

work. The authors of the web site have kindly given us

permission to use some of their resources to learn about The

Science of Going Fast. In this section we will learn about;

1. Expanding Gas

2. Aerodynamics

3. Thrust

4. Inertia

5. Friction

6. Mass

7. Speed

F

ig

F

FFigure: (PITSCO, 2002)

http://www.science-of-speed.com/default.asp




How does a CO2 cartridge propel a car down the track? The answer has to do

with Boyle’s Law.

Boyle’s Law:

Boyle's law was named after chemist and physicist Robert Boyle, who

published the original law in 1662. The law itself can be stated as follows:

Figure: (Creationtips, 2009)

For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a

fixed temperature, P [pressure] and V [volume]

are inversely proportional (while one doubles,

the other halves).

Figure: (PITSCO, 2002)

Stated another way, if you double the pressure, you reduce the volume by half. See Boyles Law

animation (Benson, 2007). This is exactly the case with CO2 cartridges. At the factory, they are

filled with pressurised carbon dioxide gas and then sealed. The CO2 is confined to a small

container; the volume of the gas would be much greater if it were released into the air. The large

volume of CO2 can fit inside the small cartridge because of the pressure that has been applied to it

(PITSCO, 2002).

Force:

A force is something which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity, i.e., to

accelerate. Force can also be described as a push or pull. A force has both magnitude and

direction, making it a vector quantity. Newton's second law relates to force, F = ma.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Pressure:

Pressure (the symbol: p) is the force (F) per unit area (A) applied. Its formula therefore;

Atmospheric Pressure:

The air around us is actually under pressure as well. Atmospheric pressure

is 10.2 tonnes per square meter at sea level. Imagine a one meter cube of

air. Now imagine a stack of one meter air cubes that reaches from the

ground all the way to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. That stack of air

cubes actually weighs 10.2 tonnes.

Figure: (uoregon, 2012)

The pressure inside a CO2 cartridge is far greater than atmospheric pressure. That’s why the gas

escapes so rapidly when the cartridge is punctured. The gas continues escaping until the pressure

inside the cartridge equals the atmospheric pressure outside the cartridge (PITSCO, 2002).

Push Pull

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/aboyle.html

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/aboyle.html


Aerodynamics is the study of moving air and the forces that it produces. People who design things

that move through the air, or have air move past them need to be familiar with aerodynamics. The

study of airflow and the forces involved when an object moves through the air, or when air moves

past an object is called aerodynamics.

It is a fascinating subject as the forces that are

generated can be large enough to enable

extremely heavy objects such as a jumbo jet

lift off the ground and to be supported by what

would seem to be only thin air.

The Wright brothers were the first people to

design what we would consider to be a plane.

Their designs on gliders and then for the first

motorised flight became possible not only

because of the experimentation they conducted

in trialling gliders but also because of their

experimentation that they carried out in the

first wind tunnels. Figure: (old-picture.com, 2006-2008)

These wind tunnels are a very effective way of testing

and predicting how objects will behave aerodynamically.

They are actually a simple device, consisting of a closed

type section through which air is forced by a fan. A scale

model of an object is supported in the middle of the

airflow and the flow of air can be measured by

instrumentation if required as shown in the diagram

below.

Figure: (Cislunar, 1997-1998)

In the early days of aerodynamic research, as we do today, we are able to gain an understanding of

how major factors of aerodynamics such as LIFT and DRAG affect and control objects which

pass through the air.

Through research using wind tunnels, scientists

were able to determine that at low angles of

incidence (which is the angle of a wing in relation to

the ground), the lift to drag ratio of test surfaces

could be very high. With this being the case, they

concluded that wings could support substantial loads

resulting in powered flight (OTEN, 2002).

Figure: (Cetin, 2005)


They also discovered that the shape of wings determined the

amount of lift that they could provide. Long narrow wings are

able to provide more lift than short stubby wings of the same

area.

In order to make all of this research worthwhile, researches had

to solve the problem of how all of this research of airflow in

scale models was related to full scale aircraft cars etc. Figure: (Illusionist, 2011)

Osborne Reynolds was one such researcher and he demonstrated that the airflow

pattern over a scale model would be the same as that on a full scale version if the

flow parameters were the same. Reynolds demonstrated that the motion of a fluid

may be either laminar or turbulent.

Figure: (Collier, 1904)

Aerodynamics is widely studied in motor sport and in particular Formula 1 Racing.

Projected Frontal Area

The first important thing to know about aerodynamics is “Projected

Frontal Area.” As your car rolls down the track and through the air

it moves air out of its way. Projected frontal area is a measurement

in square units that describes how much air an object moves as it

travels. Think of it as the size of the hole that your car pokes

through the air as it goes (REA, 2012).

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Types of Airflow

As Reynolds discovered there are two types of air flow; laminar and turbulent.

Laminar flow is when the air flowing around

an object remains relatively smooth. The air

flows in layers that never cross each other. In

a wind tunnel sometimes tracks of smoke-like

vapour are used to visualize the flow of air

over an object. Where the tracks of vapour

stay parallel to each other, there is laminar flow. Figure: (Barker, 2012)

Turbulent flow is airflow resulting from the breakup of laminar flow, resulting in tumbling,

swirling or violently agitated motion. In a

wind tunnel using the vapour tracks,

turbulence shows up when the smoke swirls

or dissipates. Turbulent flow is created when

the direction of laminar air flow is changed

too drastically, and/or flows past an edge or

corner of an object (Barker, 2012). Figure: (Barker, 2012)


See it in Action

Sometimes when engineers use a wind tunnel

they tape small lengths of ribbon at different

places on the object being tested. The ribbon is

taped down at the front end and left free at the

other end. If the ribbon stays straight when air

flows over the object, laminar flow is present at

that point. If the tape flaps around wildly, then

turbulent flow is present at that point. Click on

the "wind tunnel" link to view a video of a model

truck in a wind tunnel.

Aerodynamics in Racing

We now know that aerodynamics is the science that

studies objects moving through air. It is closely related

to fluid dynamics as air is considered a compressible

fluid. Nowadays, aerodynamics is the utmost important

factor in Formula 1 car performance. It has even nearly

become one of the only aspects of performance gain due

to the very marginal gains that can currently be made by

engine changes or other mechanic component development. This down force can be likened to a

"virtual" increase in weight, pressing the car down onto the road and increasing the available

frictional force between the car and the road, therefore enabling higher cornering speeds.

Computational Fluid Dynamic Systems (CFD)

Furthermore, as Formula 1 teams have the greatest resources

to develop aero efficiency of its cars, the greatest strives are

made here. F1 teams have unrivalled CFD computing power

and at least one full time wind tunnel only for validating and

improving their designs.

Figure: (DENFORD, 2012)

While basic aerodynamic methods and formulas can be simply resolved, other properties are

verifiable with empirical formulas. More complex shapes such as airplanes or racing cars are,

however, impossible to calculate precisely, rendering computational fluid dynamic systems (CFD

applications on super computers) and wind tunnels an absolute requirement to validate designs.

Below is an example of the complex nature of airflow around an F1 car. This is mirrored in the

CO2 cars that are raced in the F1 in Schools competition and are determined by using the Virtual

Wind Tunnel Software available through the competition.

Figure: (Ryan, 2012)

http://www.nosecone.com/truck.html


Aerodynamic Forces

In order to effectively design CO2 cars which are aerodynamically sound, an understanding of the

aerodynamic forces involved is important.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Lift There are two main aerodynamic forces acting on

any object moving through the air. Lift is a force

that acts 90° to the direction of travel of an object.

Usually we think of lift when we think of an

airplane. The plane travels forward (horizontally),

and lifts acts 90° to that motion of travel – UP!

Race cars use wings too. They turn those wings

upside down so the “lift” becomes a downward

force. It actually helps keep the car on the ground

giving its tires much needed traction. Lift can only

exist where there is laminar flow present. Figure: (Flightlearnings, 2012)

Since the cars for our race will be propelled by the CO2 cartridges rather than wheels being turned

by an engine, and our cars will be controlled by being attached to a fish line, lift is of little

concern to us (OTEN, 2002).

Drag

Drag is a force that is parallel to the motion of an object and directly opposes its motion. In other

words, drag is a force that pushed back against an object in motion.

Drag is affected by:

• Shape

• Surface finish

• Body protrusions

• Projected frontal area

• Speed. Figure: (REA, 2012)

Anytime an object moves through the air, drag is generated. The more air that is turned and the

more that the air is turned (read that again slowly) the more drag is generated. This is because the

size and shape of the object affects drag (OTEN, 2002).


In the picture below, the moving air is turned as it hits the wing. Drag is generated.

However, as the air passes the object and is allowed to flow back together, keeping its laminar

flow, a pushing force occurs that counteracts some of the drag.

Figure: (Adamone, 2012)

To picture this push, think of pinching your fingers together on the back edge of a watermelon

seed. The seed shoots forward, often hitting a little brother or sister in the back of the head.

If laminar flow is broken, for instance if a wing has too high an angle, known as angle of attack,

then turbulence eliminates that push and the overall effect of drag increases.

Figure: (Adamone, 2012)

Reynolds Numbers

Osborne Reynolds was responsible for discovering many of the principles of fluid viscosity and

boundary layers. He discovered that the condition of the

boundary layer, laminar or turbulent, depend on the fluid

velocity, the distance downstream, and a characteristic of fluid

known as kinematic viscosity. Reynolds numbers are used to

measure the viscous (Having a thick, sticky consistency between

solid and liquid) qualities of a fluid. The symbol Re is used for

this number and can be expressed as the equation:

Re = V x s

√

Where V = Fluid velocity

d = distance downstream from leading edge

√ = kinematic viscosity of the fluid (these are standard

figures which are given with respect to air temperature) Figure: (Scott, 2005)

At low Reynolds numbers the flow is laminar, and at high Reynolds numbers it is turbulent.

Interested fact: Spheres are not a good shape for aerodynamics. A blade or fin or wing works

much better at controlling air flow for flight by maximizing lift and minimizing drag forces.

Dimples on a ball help reduce drag, while spin mostly promotes lift. Without dimples, golf balls

wouldn't fly half as far as they do.

Test

Test


Form Drag

The figure to the right shows how form drag (also known as

pressure drag) is affected by the streamlined shape of the

body. For a flat blocky shape, the form drag will be high and for

a streamlined low-profile body, the form drag will be

minimized. The separation of the fluid creates turbulence and

results in pockets of low and high pressure that leave a wake

behind the body, thus the term pressure drag. The pressure drag

opposes forward motion and is a component of the total drag.

Wake

A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a

moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of

surrounding fluid around the body.

The figure below shows the large wake generated behind the a

small boat. This wake is in essence "wasted" energy that the

ship generates. This wasted energy was not used to propel the

boat forward, but rather to generate waves. Figure: (Cortana, 2006)

Wake Turbulence

Wake turbulence forms behind an aircraft as it

passes through the air. This turbulence includes

various components, the most important of

which are wingtip vortices and jetwash. Jetwash

refers simply to the rapidly moving gases

expelled from a jet engine; it is extremely

turbulent, but of short duration. See image

below.

Figure: (Edmont, 2009)

Figure: (NASA, 1990)


Drag Coefficient

The amount of drag on an object is proportional to

the dynamic pressure times the area and will vary

with the shape of the body, the roughness of the

surface, and other factors. Drag, like lift, is

proportional to the dynamic pressure of the air and

to the area on which it is acting. Therefore, a drag

coefficient is used to describe how much of the

dynamic pressure is converted into drag. The

equation looks a lot like the lift equation, except

that it measures the force in a stream wise

direction, which is parallel to the airflow.

Drag=C

d x (1/2 p V2) x A

Where: Figure: (Aquaphoenix, 2012)

- Cd= Drag coefficient

- P= Density

- V= Velocity

- A= Area

The term ½ p V2

, remember, is the dynamic pressure, referred

to by the symbol q. Thus, using this notation:

Drag= C

d x q x A

There is a similarity between lift coefficient and drag

coefficient in that the lift coefficient, C

L , is a measure of how

much of the dynamic pressure gets converted into lift, and the

drag coefficient is a measure of how well a wing (or other

body) converts dynamic pressure force into drag.

Both are an indication of efficiency. When generating lift,

however, we want as much as possible, but, when generating

drag, we want the least possible.

A low drag coefficient, then, is what we want. The efficiency

is determined by how little of the pressure force is turned into

drag.

The drag coefficient can also be expressed as the ratio of drag

force to dynamic pressure force, or:

C

d= Drag/q x A

This is the formula that is used to calculate C

D from wind

tunnel tests. The drag force is measured using some sort of

scale or balance. The force is then divided by q x A which is

determined from a measurement of the air speed, density, and

the area of the body. Figure: (Magda, 2006)


Testing the Racer Shapes in a Wind Tunnel

Using a wind tunnel to test different shapes and designs of our

racer is a fantastic way to predict how our racer is likely to behave

in an F1inSchools race. If we test our models in our wind tunnel

and determine the different racer’s Reynolds numbers we can

determine the designs which create the least turbulence and

therefore move with the best laminar airflow.


Obviously the designs with the lowest Reynolds numbers will then potentially be the fastest cars.

Of course all other contributing factors between cars would have to be equal. We can use the

Pitsco Scout, to test our racer designs. We can read the Reynolds number directly from the digital

readout which makes this very useful for determining which of our designs is the best

aerodynmically.

Bernoulli's principle

The production of the lift force by an aerofoil

is explained by Bernoulli's principle. Daniel

Bernoulli (1700-82) was a Swiss scientist who

discovered that the total pressure in a fluid

remained constant. This total pressure consists

of:

• static pressure (the weight of the molecules) •

dynamic pressure (due to motion) Figure: (OTEN, 2002)

If air was accelerated through a shaped tube called a `venturi', then at the narrowest point, where

the speed of the flow was fastest, the static pressure was least. The relationship between the

velocity and pressure exerted by a moving fluid is described by Bernoulli's principle (OTEN,

2002):

as the velocity of a fluid increases, the pressure exerted by that fluid decreases.

See Bernoullis’s Principle Experiments YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-xNXrELCmU&feature=related

Air foils and Lift

Air foils are the wings on aeroplanes and the spoiler type sections on cars. In planes we all know

that the wings allow the plane to be supported in the air, however on cars they are not just for

show they have a very important purpose.

In the diagram to the left differences in shape and

the direction of the force produced is shown when

the wing is inverted in powered car racing where

the aim is to produce down force (so that the cars

can “stick “ to the road and grip so that the power

produced by the engine can be transferred to the

track). This is the direct opposite to a plane wing

where the aim is to create lift to keep the plane in

the air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-xNXrELCmU&feature=related


Angle of Attack

If a thin plate is introduced into an airflow such that

it was parallel to the air flow, it causes virtually no

alteration to the airflow. As there is no deviation of

the airflow, there is no force placed on the plate, and

thus no reaction.

If the plate is now inclined at an angle to the airflow (it

is said to have an angle of attack), it will experience a

reaction force on it. This reaction tends to lift it as well

as drag it back.

Due to the angle of attack, the straight-line streamline

flow will be altered. The air below the plate will be

compressed by the lower surface of the plate, whereas

the air above the plate experiences a reduced pressure.

The static pressure above the plate is now lower than

the static pressure below the plate. This causes a net

upwards reaction. After passing the plate, there is a

downwash of the air stream.

If the angle of attack is too steep, then the airflow will experience more disturbed air behind the

plate and less lift will be evident.

You can experience this when you hold your hand out of the window of a moving car. Change the

angle of attack and your hand will experience different lift and drag reactions. These will depend

on the speed of the car (or airflow) and the angle of your hand to the airflow (angle of attack).

The total reaction on the plate caused by altering the airflow pattern has two components:

• lift - at right angles to the relative airflow

• drag - parallel to the relative airflow, and opposing the relative motion (OTEN, 2002).


Parts of an Air Foil

The straight line connecting

the leading edge to the trailing

edge is called the chord line,

and the distance between the

leading edge and the trailing

edge is called the chord. The

angle of attack is measured

between the chord line and the

relative wind.

Cambered air foils are usually to provide lift in a

specific direction, usually upward on a

conventional wing when the aim is to develop lift.

All air foils are either cambered or symmetrical.

These designs are shown below.

Lift on cambered angles

Notice that the cambered air foil above is at a zero

angle of attack. A cambered air foil like this will

produce some lift at this angle, because there is

more area above the chord line than below, which

causes a greater for the air flow.

Figure: (MSulka, 2007)


Newton's Third Law of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action (or force) there is an equal

reaction (or opposing force) in the opposite direction.

Force Acceleration


Action: CO2 cars are propelled by carbon dioxide rapidly escaping from a small container. The

CO2 cartridge is positioned in the car so that the escaping gas moves in a rearward direction. The

rearward force of the escaping gas is the initial action described by Newton.

Reaction: The reaction part of Newton’s law is fulfilled by the car’s forward movement.

Remember that the reaction occurs in the opposite direction: when gas escapes in a rearward

direction, the car moves forward. As the car begins to move, its resting inertia is overcome.

Newton's First Law of Motion

"An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in

the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Objects tend to "keep on doing

what they're doing." In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of

motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia.

As our F1 racers begin from rest. There is no motion and it will remain without motion unless it is

acted upon by an external force.


When we use the starting gates to launch our F1 Racer, we puncture the CO2 canister in the rear of

the car and this sets the car moving as the gas escapes from the canister. The force of the gas

escaping in one direction causes an equal force in the exact opposite direction to move the car.

With any outside forces the CO2 car will never stop!



The tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia.

Inertia

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the

tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. In other words the greater the mass of

your CO2 car, the more energy required to get the car moving. If two cars use the same amount of

propulsive energy, the car with the lower mass will accelerate faster.

CO2 racers through the eyes of

Newton

In a CO2 car race, the dragster begins at

rest. There is no motion. According to

Newtons first law, it will remain at rest

until and outside force acts upon it. Figure: (Holden, 2011)

When the starting mechanism is activated the CO2 cartridge is punctured, many types of outside

forces will begin working on the car.

First of all, when the cartridge is punctured, the pressurized gas inside begins to escape from the

hole in the cartridge. The action of the CO2 gas escaping out the back of the cartridge (according

to Newton’s third law) causes an equal and opposite reaction – which is to move the dragster in

the opposite (forward) direction.

Figure: (Holden, 2011)

This equal and opposite reaction creates a force that pushes the car forward. The force continues

acting until the CO2 gas in the cartridge has been exhausted. According to Newton’s second law,

the acceleration of an object is inversely proportional to its mass when force is constant. That

means that if the amount of force is equal for each cartridge (which it is), then the more mass the

dragster has, the less acceleration.

The greatest determining factor for the success of a CO2 car is its mass. It is critical that the mass

of the car be as close to the minimum mass as possible. That will provide the greatest amount of

acceleration.

There are forces at work besides that of the racer being propelled forward, constantly trying to

slow the racer down. These are FRICTION and AERODYNAMIC DRAG. The sum of all of

these forces acting on the racer is termed the “net force” (Holden, 2011).


Energy

The subject of friction is a terrific way to illustrate

that energy cannot be created or destroyed. As a CO2

dragster travels down the track it has mechanical

energy, that is the energy of a moving object. Heat

energy is a form of energy that comes from the

random movement of its particles i.e. atoms and or

molecules. Think of it as energy related to an

object's temperature. Figure: (PITSCO, 2002)

Friction

Friction is a force that is generated when two or more surfaces come in contact with each other.

The force resists the movement of the surfaces and converts mechanical energy into heat energy.

In practical terms, it steals speed and turns it into heat.

Friction Acceleration


We do not want CO2 cars that are hot (in terms of temperature). We want CO2 cars that are fast.

Therefore, we want to reduce friction in our CO2 cars as much as possible.

Two types of friction come into play with CO2 cars: surface friction and fluid friction. Both of

these are inversely proportional to speed!

Surface Friction

Depending on a CO2 car’s design, friction may occur between the wheel and axle, the axle, and

body material. An often overlooked fact: Smaller diameter wheels rotate more times as they travel

a given distance than larger diameter wheels do. Therefore, friction is more prevalent with smaller

diameter wheels.

Friction also occurs between the wheel and the track surface. In a passenger car, friction between

the tire and road surface gives you traction, which is a good thing. The wheels, however, do not

propel a CO2 car, so the less wheel/road surface friction, the better. While friction may be reduced

for better performance, it cannot be totally eliminated.

Figure: (Glimmerveen, 2009)


Fluid Friction

As the CO2 car travels down the track, it moves through a

fluid. Most people do not think of air as a fluid, but it is.

While in motion, the CO2 car’s surface contacts air molecules.

Because there is relative motion between the car and air

molecules (the car is in motion while the air is stationary),

friction occurs.

Fluid friction contributes to drag, which is a resistance to the

forward motion of a body through a fluid (the air).

Figure: (PITSCO, 2002) Automotive engineers test their designs in wind tunnels. A wind tunnel simulates road airflow

conditions by moving a stream of air around a stationary car. The speed of the moving air can be

varied from very slow speeds to fast highway speeds.


Wind tunnels produce a laminar airflow. Laminar flow is a straight, layered flow of air without

turbulent air pockets known as eddies. It is desirable for a car in the tunnel to disturb the laminar

flow of air as little as possible. The presence of turbulence increases the aerodynamic drag, which

resists the car’s forward motion.


Surface friction and fluid friction also come into play as the inertia of the stationary car is

overcome. If the masses of two cars are equal, then the winner will likely be the car with the least

friction (PITSCO, 2002).

Wind Tunnels

A wind tunnel is a tool used in aerodynamic research

to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.

A wind tunnel consists of a closed tubular passage

with the object under test mounted in the middle. A

powerful fan system moves air past the object. CO2

racers can also test their cars in wind tunnel which

measures the frontal drag force.



Smoke Tunnels

Smoke tunnels introduce a visible vapour into a test chamber, clearly

indicating any turbulence generated around the car body. Below is a

smoke Flow Visualisation test undertaken by AC Racing for the

F1inSchools competition.


Figure: (REA, 2012)

Reducing Friction in a CO2 Car

There are a number of ways to reduce friction between rubbing surfaces, below is a summary of

the main methods.

Reduce

If friction is created by rubbing surfaces, simply get rid of rubbing surfaces. Of course you cannot

eliminate all rubbing surfaces, but you might be able to eliminate some or reduce the amount of

surface-to-surface contact.

Figure: (REA, 2012)


Material Selection

Some materials generate more friction than others. For instance a piece of

wood rubbing against a piece of metal may cause more friction than plastic

against wood, or metal against metal. Choose materials wisely when parts will

rub against each other.

Material Preparation Figure: (REA, 2012)

Even smooth looking surfaces have microscopic roughness.

Sometimes preparing a surface by polishing it can smooth out a lot

of microscopic roughness and reduce friction.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Lubrication

Lubrication means that a slippery substance, like oil or grease, is placed between rubbing surfaces

to make them slippery. Some lubrication can be dry like powdered graphite, which is often used in

pinewood derby cars to lubricate the wheels around their axles.

Bearings

Bearings are parts that support moving parts while allowing their free

motion. Many times this will involve small balls or rods (ball bearing or

roller bearings) that roll between two

surfaces. Sometimes they are just parts that

keep a small coating of lubricant between

the rubbing surfaces.

Bearings are made very precisely, so they tend to be expensive.

So friction isn't such a bad thing if you are trying to stop a car,

but we're racers! We are not interested in stopping but GOING!

Click for bearing animation.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Mass and Weight

The mass is a measure of the amount of matter in the object. The usual symbol for mass is m and

its SI unit is the kilogram. While the mass is normally considered to be an unchanging property of

an object, at speeds approaching the speed of light one must consider the increase in the

relativistic mass.

The weight of an object is the force of gravity on the object and may

be defined as the mass times the acceleration of gravity,

If an object has a mass of 1 kg on

earth, it would have a mass of 1 kg

on the moon, even though it would

weigh only one-sixth as much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BallBearing.gif


What Do We Need to Know About Mass to Design Fast CO2 Car?

The first important thing to remember about mass when designing dragsters is that it is easier to

push a smaller mass than a larger one, remember the work on inertia.

All CO2 cars will be powered with an identical force. Basically you all will be using the same

engine a CO2 canister. You will gain an advantage over your competitors by concentrating on

streamlining, reducing friction and reducing mass. There is an equation that expresses how mass,

force and acceleration are related. The amount of Force is equal to the mass of an object times its

acceleration. Or...

F M a

Acceleration means how fast the CO2 car increases its speed. If your CO2 car increases its speed

by 10 meters per second every second, you would say that its acceleration is 10 meters per second

per second. You would write that as 10m/s2. If you want to see how mass affects your dragster's

acceleration we can change the equation to this:

mF

a

If the CO2 is propelled with a force of 20 Newtons (20N) and the dragster's mass is 2kg, then the

dragsters acceleration will be 10m/s2.

Fa

m

22010 /

2

Nm s

kg

If you cut more wood away from your CO2 car and reduced your mass to 1kg look at what would

happen to your acceleration.

22020 /

1

Nm s

kg

By cutting your mass in half, you double the acceleration

If less mass was always faster and always better, then why not tape a CO2 cartridge to a

toothpick? A toothpick is pretty tiny in diameter. What do you think would happen to it when it

hits the finish line, which is a block of wood?

Eliminating too much mass makes your CO2 car weaker. If your

CO2 car breaks at the finish of its first race, it won't be able to race

in the next round. In other words; you lose. This is where the art of

trade off comes into play. Mass should be reduced as much as

possible without sacrificing the strength the CO2 car needs to keep

from breaking. A good designer (you) will determine how much

mass should be eliminated and where on your dragster you should

eliminate it. Figure: (REA, 2012)

In a nut shell, less mass will accelerate faster than more mass. Too little mass will break too

easily. It is your job as a designer to make the trade-offs that you think are right to get a dragster

that will accelerate quickly without breaking at the end. All of these factors must be considered

when designing a CO2 car in order to achieve the best possible result.


How fast is your CO2 car going? Calculating the speed (average speed) of a CO2 car is pretty

simple. The formula is:

Average Speed = Distance/Time

Figure: (REA, 2012)

To plug in some numbers, our distance will be 25 Meters (m) (official distance) and our time will

be 1.11 seconds (s) (a pretty fast race time).

25 m/1.11 s = 22.52 m/s

To convert your speed to kilometres per hour (kph) we have to know a few things. There are:

1000 metres in a kilometre

3600 seconds in an hour

Plug in those numbers and we can figure out the speed in kph.

22.52 m/s x 3600 s/1000m = 81 kph

Our CO2 car is roughly 1/20th the size of a F1 racing car.

If it were full size, it would be going almost 1620 kph! (20 x 81 kph)

Figure: (REA, 2012)


An excellent way to start any design work is to see what has already been produced. As a

starting point for your racer, research various CO2 cars using the F1inSchools website,

Google images, Flickr, etc. From the F1inSchools resources provided look at a number of

sample folios to gain a better appreciation of good CO2 car design.

Once you have completed this research, copy and paste two car designs which your team are

interested in the spaces provided on the next page. Complete an analysis of these two cars in

the same fashion as shown below.

Aerodynamics

The car appears to be very

aerodynamic, with smooth lines

which would easily cut through the

air as it speed down the track. The

centre barrel is pointed in the shape

of a bullet.

Aesthetics

This particular car has a very

distinctive look. The red and white

colour scheme provides clean sleek

lines. The shape is pleasing to look

at and the decals make the car look

like a racing car.

Engineering

This car demonstrates a high level of

engineering, from it futuristic front

and rear wings to it purpose built,

light weight wheels. This car appears

to be an engineering marvel.

Manufacture

The redline racer has been

manufactured using a Denford CNC

mill, using 3D CAM/CAM

technologies. The car has been

sprayed with soft putty before being

painted.


Thumbnail Scaling

The object of this section is to learn how to resize or scale thumbnail sketches so that you can

attain a full size sketch of your CO2 car designs.

First though we need to learn a little about what scale is. Scale is a method that is used to resize

objects to make them larger or smaller both as drawings and in reality. For example when we

draw houses they are obviously too large to fit on a page so we can accurately resize them to

include all the details using scale.

When we use scale the great advantage is that all things that are to scale remain in proportion. In

the drawing below, as you can see the car on the right is much larger than the one on the left even

though they are the exact same drawing. However, the proportions are the same. The wheels are

as far apart on both drawings as an example.

A drawing of a real car cannot be of the same size as the car it represents. So, the measurements

are scaled down to make the drawing of a size that can be conveniently used by users such as car

manufacturer. A scale drawing of a car (or building) has the same shape as the real car (as above )

that it represents but a different size.

A ratio is used in scale drawings of maps, buildings and cars.

That is:

The scale of a drawing = Drawing Length : Actual Length

A scale is usually expressed in one of two ways:

using units as in 1 cm to 1 km

without explicitly mentioning units as in 1 : 100.

A scale of 1:100 means that the real distance is 100 times the length of 1 unit on the drawing

(Holden, 2011).


Since it is not always possible to draw on paper the actual size of real-life objects such as the real

size of a car, an airplane, we need scale drawings to represent the size like the one you see below

of a F1 car.

Length

In real-life, the length of this van may measure 4800 mm. However, the length of a copy or print

paper that you could use to draw this van is a little bit less than 300mm Since 4800/300 = 16, you

will need about 16 sheets of copy paper to draw the length of the actual size of the F1 car.

In order to use just one sheet, you could then use 1 mm on your drawing to represent 20 mm on

the real-life object. You can write this situation as 1:20 or 1/20 or 1 to 20.

Notice: The first number always refers to the length of the drawing on paper and the second

number refers to the length of real-life object

Suppose a problem tells you that the length of a vehicle is drawn to scale. The scale of the

drawing is 1:20. If the length of the drawing of the vehicle on paper is 240mm, how long is the

vehicle in real life?

Set up a proportion that will look like this:

Do a cross product by multiplying the numerator of one fraction by the denominator of the other

fraction.

We get :

Length of drawing × 20 = Real length × 1

Since length of drawing = 240, we get:

240 × 20 = Real length × 1

4800mm = Real length


The scale drawing of this tree is 1:500. If the height of the tree on paper is 50mm, what is the

height of the tree in real life?

Set up a proportion like this:

Do a cross product by multiplying the numerator of one fraction by the denominator of the other

fraction

We get :

Height of drawing × 500 = Real height × 1

Since height of drawing = 50, we get:

50 × 500 = Real length × 1

25000 mm ( 25metres ) = Real height

(Holden, 2011)

To be able to effectively draw your

CO2 racer, you first need to understand

that in drawing we use a type of

projection called orthogonal to draw

how things look from the top, front

and side.

To the right is an object drawn in

Orthogonal on the left and the same

object drawn in a 3D type projection

called Isometric on the right.

Orthogonal drawings are great for showing details and Isometric drawings are great for showing

the overall shape of an object.


The Balsa blank which we are going to use make your

racer is shown to the left. We are going to use Orthogonal Projection

to draw the CO2 racer which you have designed, however, as there is

not much detail on the front or back of the car to draw at this stage,

so we will begin by drawing the top and side views.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

The first thing that we must do is position the views correctly. This involves ensuring that the top

view is positioned directly above the front view. The top view shows what the Racer would look

like when viewed from above. The front view shows what the CO2 racer would look like when

viewed from the side. Below is an example of a F1inSchools CO2 racer drawn in orthogonal

projection.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

In the F1inschools project, the actual drawings that you will use will be generated by the CAD

package that you use to draw the CO2 racer. Options for this program are: CATIA, CREO,

GOOGLE SKETCH UP Etc.

However, to truly understand orthogonal drawing it is best to actually complete some yourself. In

our case we can use the sketches that you have created and turn them into accurate top front and

side views to complement your CAD Drawings.

We can use the outer shape or shell of our balsa block as the basis for our orthogonal drawings.

As you begin to draw your racer, you will note how much easier and quicker it is to draw your

racer when your views are aligned as you can project from one view to the next.

Here are some useful videos to watch that will assist you do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz2FDjF5b6E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y6wmUpsRLA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQTH6fenEHE

http://www.technologystudent.com/designpro/orthogrp1.html

Now that you understand how to complete orthogonal drawings you may use instruments to

construct an orthogonal drawing of your F1 Racer, based around the standard balsa blank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz2FDjF5b6E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y6wmUpsRLA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQTH6fenEHE

http://www.technologystudent.com/designpro/orthogrp1.html


The process of sketching does not come naturally to

everyone. Some people can look at an object and see it as a

sketch in their mind and then draw it on paper. For the rest

of us, it is a learned process. Here are some basic steps to

learn how to sketch an F1inSchools style racer. Figure: (REA, 2012) General Tip

Look at sketches of similar objects to determine how they were drawn. Then, use the same shapes,

line thicknesses and shading to create your own (Holden, 2011).

Side View Sketch Tips

Firstly you need to start with an outline of the

balsa block for which your F1inSchools car

will need to be built. You can estimate the

proportions and draw with a rule if you like.

Add the wheels next in the approximate

location. Remember that the wheels will be

outside the confines of the balsa block.

Note that the position of the cartridge hole

has also been added. This is to help ensure

that your F1inSchools racer design does not

interfere with the cartridge hole. Now add

more detail lines to define the outline of

your racers shape.

Now add more internal detail to your design to

better define internal shapes and design ideas.

Finally use an eraser to removal any lines which

are not necessary. At this point it is also

advisable to go over your outlines with a fine

liner pen to better define lines and to assist

definition if you wish to scan any designs latter.

Sometimes the use of a grid can assist with the

sketching process and can give a better

understanding of proportions, scale, etc .


In order to continue with the design, testing and manufacturing of the CO2 racer, a 3D CAD

drawing of the racer needs to be completed.

The following drawings will be need to be completed.

1. Drawing of assembled car ready to be coded for manufacturing.

2. Orthogonal drawings of each side of car.

3. Detail drawings of features where required. Eg. Wheels

4. Completed car on a turntable, realistically rendered including shadows, just as the finished car

will look.

Some teams will require more drawings depending on their design and expertise.

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computer software

to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of

workpieces. After you have drawn your F1inSchools car in a CAD

program you need to code your car using QuickCAM Pro software.

Once coded, your car can be manufactured using a Denford CNC

router.

Figures: (DENFORD, 2012)

Finishing

Once your F1inSchools car has been cut out using the

Denford router it needs to be smoothed by sanding. Take

your time during the finishing process. Not only will this

make your car more attractive but it can also make it go

faster. A smoothly finished surface is more

aerodynamically efficient than a rough one. Before

painting your car, sand it first with a medium grit garnet

paper to smooth rough surfaces. Then sand with a fine

grit garnet paper to remove small scratches and marks.

Often, the amount of time spent sanding will determine

the quality of the paint job. So take your time and try to

remove all imperfections. For an ultra-smooth surface,

apply a coat of sanding sealer or spray putty before

further sanding (PITSCO, 2012).


Painting

Insert a piece of dowel rod into the cartridge hole of the

dragster body. You can either hold the end of the dowel or

clamp it in a vice whist painting. A painting stand is

available from the Pitsco website for this purpose. Figure: (Pitsco, 2012)

If you are spray painting, spray light coats and wait a few

minutes between coats to let the paint dry. Lightly sand

between coats with wet and dry 400 grit paper. After the

final coat has dried, you can brush on fine detail work

like pinstripes or add decals for a realistic race car

appearance.

Adding a final layer of clear coat or lacquer over the

paint can provide a nice, glossy finish as well as

protection for decals and detail work (PITSCO, 2012). Figure: (Pitsco, 2012)

Assembling

Place wheels and axles onto the F1inSchools car and add eye screws on the base.

Testing

This is an important step that should not be overlooked. At this point in the process, you can make

slight changes to your car to improve its performance. Testing will tell you just how to change

you F1inSchools car. You should test your design for following specifications, weight,

aerodynamic efficiency and rolling resistance.

Periodically measure and weight your car to make sure it’s with specifications!

You can weight your car with or without wheels installed,

however, four wheels, two axles, two screw eyes, and

washers must be added to the overall weight specification.

Hint: Adding several coats of paint during the finishing

process can add a few grams of weight. If your car weighs

much more than the minimum specification, try carving or

shaping the car body some more to make it lighter. Figure: (Pitsco, 2012)

At various stages of the production process, you can test

the aerodynamic properties of the evolving F1inSchools

car. The Pitsco Scout wind tunnel will measure the

frontal drag and lift on the car body. The FLO wind

tunnel available from REA in Australia uses a fog

vapour that passes over the car body so you can actually

visualise the airflow over your race car (PITSCO, 2012).

Figure: (Pitsco, 2012)


Once you have completed this task you might like to consider forming a team and entering the

international F1inSchools technology challenge. Students not only learn about but also experience

engineering as they design, build, and race their CO2 powered cars. The main difference between

what you have done for this task and the completion is specifications and tolerances change each

year for the F1inSchools competition.

Specifications and Tolerances

Students designing and building CO2 race cars experience the same challenge faced by many

engineers: working with specifications and tolerances.

Specifications are a detailed set of requirements. Specifications can be measurements,

capabilities, or limitations on a CO2 cars, size, weight, or functionality. Often a designer is handed

a set of specifications before he or she begins a project. The CO2 cars must be able to do this, go

this fast, and be roughly this size. The challenge for the designer is to be creative and develop an

innovative, effective solution while working within the established parameters. In the F1inScools

innovation challenge a new set of specifications and rules are set it each year. For the F1inSchools

competition details of rules and specifications can be obtained from the REA web site

Tolerances are usually dictated to control the quality of a product. No two parts are ever made

exactly the same. There are minute differences (perhaps a few ten-thousandths of a millimetre) in

the measurements of two similar parts. Some variance in measurement is considered acceptable,

as long as it’s not too great. A tolerance is an acceptable variance from the specified measurement

(REA, 2012).

Using the race car project steps shown on the next page, as a guide and now that you are familiar

with some of the factors that influence racer design, you can begin to design your own racer based

around the principles that you have learnt. Firstly, the design process for a CO2 race car is linear,

that is, each step is followed in succession. However, as

there are a million different ways to build things, the

designer is quite often forced to consider other

components which relate to the area being designed.

Secondly, the design process demands some estimation

and compromise. Juggling is what it's all about. This is

where you want specifications ready to assist you in

putting the pieces together. In our case the rules and

regulations of the F1inSchools competition dictates the

parameters that our racers must be designed to meet

(REA, 2012). Figure: (REA, 2012)

http://rea.org.au/programs/f1-in-schools/for-teams/competition-documents/


The chart below illustrates the major steps in designing and eventually manufacturing a car. (See

explanations below) The design steps are discussed in more detail below.

RESEARCH

EXISTING F1

RACERS

F1 RULES AND

REGULATIONS

PRELIMINARY

DESIGN SKETCHES

DEVELOPMENT

OF PRELIMINARY

DESIGN

SKETCHES

FINAL DESIGN

on Paper and

then on CAD

Package

FINAL DESIGN

TESTING

( Computer Aided)

FINAL DESIGN

REFINEMENT

AND

COMPLETION

MANUFACTURING

OF RACER

PRELIMINARY

TESTING

COMPETITION RACER ANALYSIS

AND

REFINEMENT


1. Research of Existing F1 Racers is there to put a reality check into place before any work is

done. It is important to understand what existing F1 racers look like, their problems, prior to

spending time designing your racer.

Figures: (PITSCO, 2002)

2. F1 in Schools Rules and Regulations is the step where you must go out

research the rules and regulation that the completion runs by in order to

design a car which meets all of the criteria. Failure to do this at this point

may lead to extra work at later stages in redesigning.

3. Preliminary Design Sketches is where

you translate the pictures you have in your head of

the basic concepts, shapes and ideas of your Racer

and note them down. These may be simple

thumbnail size sketches of concepts that you are

considering.

4. Development of Preliminary Design Sketches is the next step.

When you study your preliminary designs, you should evaluate them

for acceptability in terms of meeting all of the rules and regulations.

If there are conflicts in the design, or areas that can be improved,

make the change, but keep a baseline copy to go back to if the idea

didn't work.

5. Final Design is not really the final

design. Actually, it is the complete design. This

is where you pull out the drafting paper or start

your CAD package The goal of this design is

to assemble the entirety of the parts you have

in the design into a car.

Figure: (REA, 2012)


6. Final Design Testing can be done if you have the right software. These tools consist of Finite

Element Analysis and Fluid Dynamics simulations to test aerodynamics.

7. Final Design Refinement and Completion will

consist of small changes that will have become

apparent once the racer has been tested in the

virtual programs. If it's not clear, then you need to

revisit your final design stage. More often than

not, this will mean going back to research some

more to find solutions to problems or

shortcomings. Figure: (REA, 2012)

8. Manufacturing of the Racer is the point at

which the design of the racer which has been developed

is converted to a computer code which then allows the

Computer Aided Manufacturing System to read the

design and actually machine the racer.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

Preliminary Testing can commence once the racer

has been manufactured, finished and assembled with

wheels axles etc. The racer can then be further tested

in a series of apparatus including smoke tunnels,

scales, race tracks, etc and further variables affecting

performance evaluated. E.g. Type of wheels, axles etc.

Figure: (REA, 2012)

9. Competition is the part of the process which we all love. At this stage the work that you have

done is finally put to the test and your racer is fired along the track against others to see who

has the fastest design.

Figure: (REA, 2012)


The following are steps in the development of a professional F1inSchools CO2 car design folio.

1 • Title Page and 3D Rendering

2 • About Us/The Team

3 • Project Management & Communication

4 • Graphic Design/Promotion/Marketing/Team Identity

5 • Collaboration/Mentoring/Sponsorship

6 • Research/Theory

7 • Design Concepts

8 • Development & Testing

9 • Materials & Manufacture

10 • Technical Drawings


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http://www.fi.edu/wright/again/wings.avkids.com/wings.avkids.com/Tennis/Project/wind-01.html%3e

http://zamandayolculuk.com/cetinbal/HTMLdosya2/UcakYapisalParcalari.htm%3e

http://engg-learning.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/introduction-to-aeroplane-airplane-is.html%3e

http://engg-learning.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/introduction-to-aeroplane-airplane-is.html%3e

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