Name: Deirbhle Hennessy

Age: 16

Year: 4th

15 Word Profile: Very friendly, sporty person

and would enjoy a future career in Graphic Design

or teaching.

Responsibilities: I am responsible for developing the

logo and colour schemes. I had to liaise with the Design

Engineer to ensure any schemes will fit the shape of the

vehicle and also with the Marketing Manager for additional

marketing developments.

Deliver a high quality project of superior quality in

Design and Engineering.

Build upon a foundation of Analysis and Testing.

Realise Potential and recognise Teamwork.

Over the course of this project the team has put in

many hours of their own time every week to co-

ordinate different areas of the project. Although

each team member has a specific role, many of the

tasks required co-operation among the team.

Name: Maeve O’Gorman

Age: 16

Year: 4th

15 Word Profile: Outgoing team player with

a great interest in sports and a future career in Media.

Responsibilities: I am responsible for developing Team Marketing and

Sponsorship. I had to liaise with the F1 in Schools Marketing Team, local

media and potential sponsors to ensure maximum exposure.

Name: Gerard Barlow

Age: 16

Year: 5th

15 Word Profile: Loves woodwork, plays GAA and makes

Hurley's and interested in a future career in engineering.

Responsibilities: I am responsible for manufacturing the car

to the highest possible standard while working within the constraints

of the machining process and the Rules and Regulations. I had to

work closely with the Design Engineer to ensure that any design

features could be effectively manufactured.

Name: Megan Cleary

Age: 16

Year: 4th

15 Word Profile: Hard worker, up for a challenge,

interested in a future career in acting.

Responsibilities: I organise time, materials and equip-

ment for designing and making the cars. I had to liaise with all mem-

bers of the team to ensure tasks were progressing on time. I offer help

where necessary.

To represent Ireland at the Formula 1 in

Schools World Finals 2012.

Name: Sinead Cummins

Age: 16

Year: 4th

15 Word Profile: Well–motivated team player. Loves GAA, interested in

languages. Considering a future career in management.

Responsibilities: As Team Manager I am responsible for managing the

team and ensuring the car is ready for Nationals. I work closely with all

members of the team and offer assistance where necessary.

It is my job as Design Engineer to ensure the design ideas could be realised and

to develop the styling and aerodynamic performance of the car design to the

highest standard.

In order to efficiently manage a project of this size it was

necessary to create a comprehensive plan. By making good

use of what we had achieved from the regionals we critically

analysed our situation. We were mindful of possible risks,

equipment and funding we would have access to and also not

be over optimistic with relation to our time restraints. For this

reason we split our analysis into a number of strategic categories.

This is what was to be

covered in our project. By

assessing our scope it was easier

to lay out tasks which would get

us to our ultimate goal.

To maintain communication within the team

throughout the holidays and midterms we used the

school’s online SharePoint facilities, e-mailing, texting

and Facebook.

We had to consider what

we already had access to and what we

needed to gain access to, and then

consider how and when we intended to By analyzing what might possibly

drive our project off course we were able to

put systems in

Mood Boards

After numerous discussions concerning all

possible names, the name Quasar emerged

as the best.

Our final 3 names:

Swift, Quasar and Ice.

The aim of our logo was to integrate

the image of a quasar into the word

Quasar. Our logo gave the illusion of

speed and light. We initially incorpo-

rated the quasar into the Q in our

name. We felt it wasn't effective

enough and didn't resemble the name

Quasar and was difficult to read.

We had a eureka moment which was to

use the quasar as an S rather than an Q.

We spotted that the quasar forms an S

shape so we substituted it in.

We put a green curve around the

border. We removed the stars

from our layout as they didn’t go

well with the green curve. We then

put our car at the bottom right

hand corner of our page and a

water mark of a checkered flag at

the bottom of our page.

We wanted to improve the apperance of our uniform

from the Regional Finals. We felt that the polo shirts

weren’t professional enough. We decided to change

the colour shirts from white to black because the

quasar looked better on black. We also felt that a

black shirt would suit both genders.

We felt that our colour scheme needed a lift to

make it stand out more. We contacted a local

graphic designer and he was very impressed

with our work to date and felt that we should

not change too much. We looked at mood

boards, colour pallets, colour wheel, and F1

team colour schemes.

We felt that the green and

blue were the most eye

catching on the mood

We looked at their colour

pallets and saw that pastels

and beiges were fashiona-

ble. However, these did not

have a distinctive look so

we decided they weren’t

suitable.

The next aspect of our

team identity to which

our new graphic design

scheme needed to be

applied was our team

uniform. It was

important

that, like

everything

else, our

uniform

created

visual

appeal

while still

remaining

Our main aim with our team uniforn was to create a smart

casual look while still remaining professional. Our uniform

changed considerably. We incorporated all colours into our

uniform. The reason we changed from white to black was

because our colours, green, blue and purple, stood out

better on the black. On it we have embroidered our name,

website and our main sponsers. And we have encorperated

There were various different

styles of front covers which we

considered for the Nationals.

However, we found that there wasn’t

enough blue in our portfolio.

To counteract this

problem, we

introduced a front

cover that had blue,

purple and green in

it, we felt our cover

page was very

effective. Our name

Quasar and our car

stood out.

The introduction of a purple tone

created both depth

and visual impact

within our team

identity. By adding

more green to our

team identity it made our layout more

striking. These changes were then

implemented in other stationery, in

We came up with a colour that

would compliment the green in our

Quasar. We looked at a colour

wheel and found that a pantone

purple worked very well with green.

Headed

Notepaper We needed to portray the purple

in our layout. We experimented

with various designs.

Final

Design

OR

Once we had formed concrete ideas about the direction in

which we would like to take our graphic design, we

applied these to the presentation of our team. Our team

identity was revamped and we were able to progress with

Envelope

professional.

All teams stood out because

they used eye-catching colours

in a stylish way.

The average speed of an F1 in Schools car is approximately

18m/s. However at the start its speed is 0m/s, it reaches a

maximum speed and then begins to slow down. Therefore it

passes through a wide range of speeds on its journey of 20m.

Two questions have to be posed;

1. What is the optimal testing speed?

2. Does aerodynamic behaviour change fundamentally at

certain speeds?

To answer these questions we tested 3 different cars which we

developed for earlier stages of the competition over a range of

speeds from 15m/s to 21m/s. The results gave a very clear

result. The drag increased in a linear manner without strange

anomalous results.

We were then

confident that

testing our car

components at

the average

speed of 18m/s

would give us

reliable results.

1. Develop efficient front aerofoil

2. CO2

Chamber enclosure

3. Develop efficient side-pod design

4. Nose Cone (+ accommodation for front aerofoil)

5. Develop aero neutral rear aerofoil

6. Winglets behind rear wheels

7. Tweak the results of the above

No Aerofoil

(Baseline)

0.01 -0.049

Basic Round Shape

0.006 -0.039

Reduced drag

Basic pointed Shape

-0.001 -0.043

Marginally better

Shape Swept Upwards

-0.001 -0.048

Almost same as

-0.057 +0.034N -0.054 +0.015N -0.051 +0.016

We still had to ask the question; Is this the

most efficient aerodynamic profile for the

rear aerofoil? We searched the internet and

found a piece of software called ―DesignFoil‖

which is used to design aerofoil profiles. We

used this program to help us develop an effi-

cient front aerofoil based on sound aerody-

namic principles.

The introduction of a centre fin to break finish

line beam. The straight leading edge gave the

best aero numbers.

Drag: -0.107 Lift: -0.01127

Drag: -0.1088

Many CFD simulations later (as documented in our

test data booklet) we determined the optimal shape

to put in front of a wheel to minimise drag yielded a:

N A C A Type 5 Aerofoil

9 = max camber height as % of chord

40 = max camber location as % of chord

17 = max aerofoil thickness as % of chord

With its leading edge on the wheel horizontal

centreline.

Drag: -0.109

consists of an inkjet printing system. A 3D CAD file is imported into the

software. The software slices the file into thin cross-sectional slices, which are fed into

the 3D printer. The printer creates the model one layer at a time by spreading a layer

of powder (plaster, or resins) and inkjet printing a binder in the cross-section of the

part. The process is repeated until every layer is printed. It is also recognized as the

fastest method and is significantly cheaper than others.

( ) is an additive manufacturing technique that uses a

high power laser to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic,

or glass powders into a mass representing a desired 3-dimensional

object. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning

cross-sections generated from a 3-D digital description of the

part on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-

section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by

one layer of thickness, a new layer of material

is applied on top, and the process is

repeated until the part is completed.

is an additive manufacturing process using a vat of

liquid UV-curable photopolymer "resin" and a UV laser to build parts a layer at

a time. On each layer, the laser beam traces a part cross-section pattern on

the surface of the liquid resin. Exposure to the UV laser light cures, or,

solidifies the pattern traced on the resin and adheres it to the layer below.

After a pattern has been traced, the SLA's elevator platform descends by a

single layer thickness, typically 0.05 mm to 0.15 mm. Then, a resin-filled

blade sweeps across the part cross

section, re-coating it with fresh material.

On this new liquid surface, the

subsequent layer pattern is traced,

adhering to the previous layer. A

complete 3-D part is formed by this

process. After building, parts are

cleaned of excess resin by immersion in

a chemical bath and then cured in

a UV oven.

NACA-5 10-50-

21

0.002

-0.041

NACA-4

0.003

-0.045

Marginally bet-

NACA-5 9-40-17

0.001

-0.037

NACA-5 9-40-17

Leading edge below

centre line of wheel

-0.005

-0.045

NACA-5 9-40-17

Aerofoil above centre line of

wheel

-0.005

-0.044

A simple enough process except

for the fact that the curve on the

centre part of the aerofoil had to

match the curve on the car body.

The ―Convert Entities‖ utility in

SolidWorks proved very useful

here.

Cylinder with cone.

Drag:

0.0311N

Cylinder with dome.

Drag:

0.0393N

Basic Cylinder.

Drag: 0.095N

Rounder, slightly pointed

chamber cover.

Drag:

0.0265N

Long slender point.

Drag:

0.0285N

Concave, pointed front end.

Drag:

0.0259N

Non Parallel sides -‖Stubby‖

version.

Drag:

0.029N

Non parallel sides—Streamlined

version.

Drag:

0.0233N

Out initial idea with the chamber was to use a known efficient shape as the chamber cover. ―Designfoil‖

suggested an NACA 6-Series shape which yielded good results. Despite this, we were still tempted to drop the

nose to see what would happen. Surprisingly, we immediately got a much better result. We then ran tests to

see how changing the length of the chamber would effect the drag. We tested between 113mm and

119mm.The extreme measurements gave significantly poor results. Best results were from 114mm to

118mm, with the optimum length of 114mm yielding a drag factor of 0.118N

NACA Series 16 Aerofoil shaped nose The ground effect dictates that we

should keep the car as far above

the ground as possible.

3mm Clearance = 0.148N Drag

5.25mm Clearance = 0.133N Drag

Slots under car help raise the base of

the car from the ground.

Without = 0.139N Drag

With = 0.133N Drag

Wheel arches guide air from

aerofoils to car body.

Without = 0.137N Drag

With = 0.133n Drag

For optimal performance the rear wing must be located

tangential to top of chamber.

The only purpose of the rear aerofoil is to satisfy the

regulations, therefore it must be of minimal size and of

the best aerodynamic shape. We conducted extensive

CFD testing to determine the shape and location of this

aerofoil so as to minimise the increased drag effect it

would have on the car. In these tests we used a very

symmetrical simple curve design. (NACA Type 4 Digit)

As the aerofoil had to be a tangent to the top of the

chamber cover we needed to make sure that the

piece that connected it to the body had the same

shape as the body itself. To do this we had to reverse

engineer our car. We cut away the pieces we did not

want and simply kept the piece on the top of the

chamber cover that we needed. The aerofoil profile

was then added to this

piece.

Side Pod Base

-0.041

Fillet behind front wheel

-0.037 0.008

Side pod 15mm in height

-0.042 0.004

Curved side pod

-0.042 0.004

Tapered front end

-0.037

0.008

Very

Tapered front in plan

-0.044 0.006

Simple tapered front

end

-0.037 0.007

Concave spline , 7mm

drop

on right

-0.0359 0.0073

Side pods curve under

wheels

-0.0337 0.0048

Concave above, Convex below

-0.1217 0.0437

Very Good

Convex Base

-0.1284

0.0401

Concave curve under-

neath

-0.1292 0.0415

Simple winglet

-0.1318

0.0854

Reducing the ―tyre‖ thickness to

0.5mm and the rib thickness to

1mm yields:

This is a 57%

Relocating the rib in the centre of the

wheel, reducing tyre thickness to

0.46mm and introducing a hub to

accommodate the bearing yields:

Drilling the rib and creating slots yields:

Switching to Ertalon 66 yields:

Aluminium

Density 2.7g/cm3

—Good

Easily worked

Stable

Narrow section easily damaged

Delrin

Density 1.42g/cm3

—Excellent

Easily worked

Stable

Narrow section has good

flexibility and high strength

Nylon

Density 1.4g/cm3

—Excellent

Poor workability

Absorbs water therefore not very

stable.

Narrow section has good

flexibility and high strength

Ertalon 66

Density 1.14g/cm3

—Excellent

Good workability

Regulations state

that the wheel diameter

must be between 26mm

and 34mm. From an

aerodynamic perspective the

smallest size seems like the

best choice but from a physics

point of view, what do the numbers

tell us?

Diameter = 34mm ⇒

⇒

Axels do not present any performance issues. As

long as they are strong enough we can use them as

a weight control to keep the maximim weight of the

car to 55g.

Based on a 3mm × 60mm axel the materials

available to us yield the following results:

Silver Steel—3.27g / axel

Aluminium—1.15g / axel

Carbon—0.77g/axel

As is the effective extra

mass generated by the wheel

dynamics, we need to minimise

this value.

Heat treated stainless steel is the most common type

of steel used for rings and balls. With the addition of

chromium and nickel corrosion, resistance is greatly

improved.

Constructed of steel inner/outer rings, ceramic balls

and retainers are made of steel or thermoplastic.

Some ceramic materials such as Zirconia or Alumina

are heavier than Silicon Nitride and not as suitable for

hybrid bearings although they can be used in full

ceramic bearings.

Hybrid bearings are also capable of higher speeds

The ceramic/hybrid/steel decision was

an easy one. The statistics speak for

themselves. Ceramic is the clear winner, it

ticks all the boxes that our formula requires:

Lower density reduces the mass moment

of inertia.

Lower friction allows for faster

acceleration and reduces the overall

Within the ceramic field there are more choices to be made.

There are many types of ceramics, the most common ones for

bearing manufacture are:

Aluminium oxide (Al2

O3

)

Zirconia (ZrO2

)

Silicon Nitride (Si3

N4

)

All have similar qualities and are widely used but again the

choice here was governed by the equation.

The deciding factor was density. The lower the better without

Full Silicon Nitride Balls and Races

ABEC 5 Precision Class

Grade 5

Peek

The acceleration formula showed us how important it is to

reduce Bearing Friction Torque (Mf

) and the Mass Moment

of Inertia of the moving parts. We must also bear in mind

the speed rating of our chosen bearings. We have

calculated that our wheels will run at an average rate of

13,363* RPM.

Ceramic is the new Holy Grail! It’s lighter, smoother, stiffer

and harder than steel. Ceramic bearings dissipate heat

quickly, reducing friction and wear while maintaining a

precision smooth surface. Today's leading edge ceramics are

made with Silicon Nitride (Si3

N4

) and have characteristics

similar to the heat absorbing, highly resilient tiles on the

Space Shuttle. Long life and the need for minimum lubrication

makes this material perfect for harsh conditions.

The density of ceramic is 40% that of steel, the resulting

reduction in weight reduces centrifugal forces imparted on

the rings, reducing skidding, allowing up to 30% higher

running speeds with less lubrication.

Silicon Nitride balls have a 50 % higher modulus of

elasticity.

r

Rotation

Mf

NB

FB

FB

Car A 82.53 14.75

Car B 86.99 15.98

It is vital to achieve as close to the 55g min. mass of the car as possible.

While most materials have fixed densities, balsa wood is a completely

different matter. Each block of balsa wood had a different mass (ranging

from 59g to 153g) so therefore it was difficult to know which block to

choose to machine our car. We combated this issue by taking 3 blocks with

different weights and machined our car out of each. The percentage of

material lost was calculated to be 80%. This allowed us to choose the

appropriate balsa block to use to acquire the desired finished mass.

Parting Tool

Cycle

All outer wheel components were manufactured on

our CNC Lathe. The initial steps included drawing

the section using the lathe software and then

generating the ―cycles‖ that the lathe would follow.

Contour Cycle

Drilling Cycle

Two additions to the finished car

were required to locate the balsa

blank in the CNC Router jig.

A stereolithographic version of

the body had to be created

from the Solid Works model.

This essentially is a wire frame

representation of the car.

―Quick CAM Pro‖ used this

STL file to generate the

processing cycle for our

CNC Router.

―VR Milling‖ now uses this

instruction set to control

the drill head. Three

cycles were required -

left, right and top.

While we could manufacture many

parts of the car in house, the wheels

proved problematic. They needed to

be machined from two sides. Our

school technology could not achieve

this so we had to outsource this

process to a local company.

The manufacture of our aerofoils had

also to be outsourced. The process used

is called Stereolithography (SLA). It is an

additive manufacturing process that uses

a vat of UV liquid photopolymer "resin"

and a UV laser to build parts, a layer at a

time. On each layer, the laser beam traces

a part cross-section pattern on the surface

of the liquid resin. Exposure to the UV

laser cures or solidifies the pattern traced

on the resin and adheres it to the layer

below.

This process was chosen because of its

high strength, toughness, durability and

the high degree of details it preserves

4 Wheels 3.69g Axel

Support

0.7g

Axel 3.04g Front

Aerofoil

3.86g

Outer

Cover

1.38g Rear

Aerofoil

1.72g

Inner

Cover

0.75g 30.96g

Research shows that new cars require up to 10

coats of paint to achieve a top class finish.

83.33

15.98

15.51

16.66

25.4

30.03

32.05

34.11

After grain filling, the car was given many coats of

primer – sanding after each coat with finer & finer

sandpaper. This stage added significant weight so

we The final green finish was applied in 10+ very

fine layers. Each coat was left to dry in a warm

environment before the next coat was applied.

The car was finished with a coat of lacquer.

When it came to painting we realised that

adding layers of paint added extra weight to

our car. Solid Works showed us that our car

has a surface area of 35,013mm2

. Based on

this we were able to determine that the mass

of a layer of paint is 0.31g. Vital information

used to control the finished mass of our car.

Step 1: Sand with 100/240/320g.

Step 2; Apply sealer.

Step 3: Clean with solvent.

Step 4: Clean with tack cloth.

Step 5: Apply primer.

Step 6: Sand with 400g.

Step 7: Clean with solvent.

Step 8: Clean with tack cloth.

Step 9: Apply with first coat of green paint.

Step 10: Lightly sand with 1500g.

Step 11: Clean with tack cloth.

Step 12: Apply second coat of green.

Step 13: Lightly sand with 2000g.

Step 14: Clean with solvent.

Step 15: Clean with tack cloth.

Step 16: Apply lacquer.

Step 17: Apply Turtle

wax.

Align Axels & glue eyelets

Attach front and rear aerofoils

Wheel Assembly

Wheels

Bearings

Covers

Axels

Fix tether line guides

Washer

Inside Wheel Covers

Wheel Rim

Ceramic Bearing

Static Wheel Covers

Rear Aerofoil

Front Aerofoil

Silver Steel Axle

We agreed that the best way to approach sponsorship was to gain

small amounts of money from many local businesses, instead of

targeting a few large companies for major sponsorship.

We called this campaign This

involved asking all the businesses in the town for €10 for which they

would get their name in our portfolio. The ―Quasar... sponsored by

Tipperary‖ logo is included on all

advertising space throughout our project.

We felt it would be much more profitable

to talk to owners and managers face to

face rather than sending letters or emails

as it provided a personal touch which we

believed would give us a greater return.

If they wished to come on board, we gave

them a Team Quasar poster and a leaflet

giving them more details of the

competition and our schools history in the

Formula 1 in Schools Technology

challenge.

We were surprised and pleased at the

amount of people who were willing to

engage with us and sponsor us more

substantially.

After regionals we broadened our

horizons and opened up ―Quasar...

Sponsored by Tipperary‖‖ to the wider

Tipperary community.

Nokia Care Centre came on board with a

sponsorship deal whereby they give us

sponsorship in exchange for

giving publicity to their shop.

We needed to raise more awareness of our team and the fact that we would be

representing our school at the National Finals of this competition. We had already

noticed a lack of knowledge regarding ouer team even, to some extent, within our

local area. It was imperative that we publicise our team, goals and progress so far. We

formulated a number of ways in which to raise awareness which we believed would be

suitable to our cause.

- We launched our team

by advertising on the schools

intranet and digital signage

system. We also had articles

published in local newspapers and

magazines.

- To create a more

interactive experience for the

public, we held an interview on the

local radio station. This enabled people

to input questions or comments to learn

more about the competition.

- Ito connect with the maximum number of

people we have a Facebook page and blog. We also

created an email address so we can directly contact

suppliers etc.

We held a raffle which targeted

individuals rather than companies or businesses.

This served two purposes, as it raised awareness of

the team while also attaining finances for running

the project.

We compiled a magazine which we

dropped into waiting rooms and receptions in our local

area to raise awareness in individuals and entice more

Coming into the competition at the beginning, one of our

biggest concerns was how wide the scope of both the

competition and our own goals were. By laying these

aspects out immediately and breaking them into

manageable size chunks we were able to analyse our

achievements to date and categorise specifically what

needed to be done, when and how. For example:

The creation of a separate marketing plan, which laid

out how we would present our team in a way which

would allow us to become a recognised name.

The testing of each team member’s reaction time 100

times to see who was consistantly the best for racing.

The breakdown of the car design into its main parts.

Our resources were vital to our progress.

We were very pleased with these as our

school has a lot of the supplies and

technology.

Some of these resources include:

CNC Routers

CNC Lathes

Computers

Starting Gates

End Gates

Race Track

Scales

We came to realise that one of our biggest risk factors was time

management. We soon became aware that unless we applied ourselves

directly and in a structured way, our time could easily be wasted. We feel

that this was counteracted well with our project planning schemes.

There was also a risk of financial difficulties such as lack of sponsors but

hard work and good planning ensured success. Manufacture also had risks

associated with it. We met this first hand when out CNC router broke down

during the manufacture of our car. File corruption was also an issue so we

regularly backed-up files to prevent loss of information and work.

Overall we feel we managed our risks well. There were many things that

could have gone wrong technically, especially in the manufacture side of

things, but there was nothing Team Quasar couldn’t handle.

When it came to managing our time efficiently,

working as a team was absolutely key. We needed to

be able to apply ourselves to tasks listed in the

scope. We made a timeline to realise the importance

of targets in order to achieve our goals. We could

definitely improve in every aspect of the competition

but we had deadlines to meet. Nevertheless if we

were running behind on schedule we just worked

even harder during Christmas,midterm and Easter

holidays. We found that communication was key to

our success in this learning project.

I learned so much from

being a part of this project. I love art

so it was an amazing opportunity to

work on graphic design.

My confidence has

grown hugely as a result of

taking part in this project. It

has been a challenging

experience but I have enjoyed

every minute.

I learned that having targets

and keeping to deadlines in order to

achieve our goals is imperative to run-

ning a successful project.

I now understand how to use

such programmes as SolidWorks which is a

great life skill. It has been a really great

opportunity and an amazing experience to

be a member of Quasar.

My engineering skills have

been greatly enhanced throughout

the course of this project. My IT

skills have been improved by using

programmes such as SolidWorks and

Microsoft Office.