College - Author 1
College of Engineering
Department - Author 1
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 2
College of Engineering
Department - Author 2
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 2
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 3
College of Engineering
Department - Author 3
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 3
BS in Mechanical Engineering
College - Author 4
College of Engineering
Department - Author 4
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree - Author 4
BS in Mechanical Engineering
Date
6-2020
Primary Advisor
Eltahry I. Elghandour, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department
Abstract/Summary
The Cal Poly Prototype Vehicles Laboratory (PROVE Lab) needs a body paneling design for their Endurance Car aeroshell which optimizes strength, weight and accessibility while minimizing complexity. Additionally, a low-complexity, accurate manufacturing process for the PROVE Lab Endurance Car aeroshell needs to be developed. PROVE Lab designed the shape of the aeroshell. The aeroshell will serve to reduce the aerodynamic drag on the car at high speed, and is not a structural component of the car. Due to the high-strength and lightweight nature of composites, PROVE Lab requests the senior project team investigate using composites for automotive body paneling applications.
To satisfy the above requirements, the senior project team will design the size of each body panel based on the existing aeroshell. The team will create and analyze laminate designs for each panel using a combination of hand calculations and Finite Element Models (FEM) to predict the stiffness of each panel. The team will create CAD models of each body panel mold and specify the joining methods between each body panel. The senior design team will not be defining any CAM for the molds, leaving this task for the PROVE Lab Manufacturing team. Finally, the team will design and document the manufacturing process of each panel. However the team will only perform the manufacturing process (CAM, machining, mold surface-prep, laminate layup and cure, laminate post-processing, etc.) for one body panel. The senior design team will manufacture a single body panel for the Senior Project Expo. The body panel of choice that the senior design team will manufacture for the Senior Project Expo will be one of the front ducts, as an expansion of their prototype build for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR). To verify their initial designs and familiarize the team with the general composite manufacturing process, the team created a preliminary test prototype to evaluate manufacturing tolerancing, interfacing/bonding between panels, and satisfaction of loading requirements provided by PROVE Lab.
In preliminary analysis, two simple setups (cantilever beam and sandwich panel) were modeled with the finite element solver in NX to correspond with the MatLab® script “hand calculations” provided by Dr. Joseph Mello. The two FEA models and the respective MatLab® scripts were run simultaneously as a way to verify that the composite material properties were properly inputted into NX. A finite element model of the entire aeroshell was created in preparation for properly analyzing the panels to determine the laminate thickness and schedules. The team found the best method of analyzing the aeroshell panels was by analyzing specific groups of the aeroshell panels. This method ensured that the setup for smaller sections of the aeroshell were uniform across all the different simulations and made file management easier for the team. The senior project team also created tensile and shear test coupons to test the composite material properties to ensure their FEM’s had the correct data.
Due to COVID-19, the senior project team had to quickly adjust the scope of work and thus some of the sections outlined in this report are not reflective of the outcome of the project. The resulting manufacturing freeze caused the senior project team to alter the scope of the project from manufacturing to documentation. This modified scope provides PROVE Lab with resources and knowledge such that they can finish the aeroshell design and manufacturing on their own moving forward. The modified scope includes: finalized split lines of the Endurance Car aeroshell, documentation encompassing our design processes, manufacturing procedures and takeaways, material testing, and structural analysis procedures.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/mesp/547