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Baja SAE Asia10

Inside this issue:
New Technology in the offing Boon or Bane??

June 2009

Volume 1/Issue #2

2 2 3 3 4

Marching Ahead...
We are back with the June edition of BAJA SAE ASIA newsletter containing a heady mix of new stories, articles, experiences from the past event and spotlight on current teams. favorites, team from IIT Bombay lost out in final rounds. We have a special feature on the latest and hottest braking technology ruling the automobile circuit - Getting all In this issue, we go behind the four wheels locked at one go scenes and find out why the was never so easy. Read more on Page 2... Commencing from this edition, well be covering a new and promising team every month. If you want to get featured, mail us and who knows, your team may get featured in the next issue!

FAQs Important Dates Excerpts from the interview with a new team

The Golden Finish That Wasnt to Be.

This team had everyone putting their money on. Favored to win, team started making waves even before the competition got underway for their sheer eminence in the designing. They were right on the money until the final and the decisive race commenced. IIT Bombay (IITB) racing started its journey in the BAJA competition in its second version. The seniors fresh from their experience at the FSAE, Michigan did not want their experience to go in vain. They put together a team of 25, headed by Shyam Jade making it the largest team at the competition. The knowhow and the technicalities of fine nuances of the automobiles incontestably proved beneficial. With 6 awards already in the baggy, IITB was looking all set to rule the coast. What could have gone down in the history books as one of the greatest victories, had it not been for the transmission fiasco which ultimately deserted them from the crown. IITB was no ordinary team. It was in a different league all together, with the standards no less than that of a pro-racing team. So what went wrong? It was the oil leakage from the transmission that perished their hopes of a podium finish. says Shyam Jade, Captain, IITB Racing. "The primary problem was not with the transmission but with the customized adapter intended for coupling the transmission and the engine. Putting in two gaskets, a combination of liquid gasket maker and gasket couldnt stop the transmission oil from leaking". The endurance day, the day that sets the winner apart from the crowd, proved too tough for them. Shyam quips One of the four studs, which were used to couple the engine and transmission, got unscrewed and got jammed between the first gear and the casing (See the graphic, stud encircled in red). It was like the final nail in the coffin, which ended all our hopes of winning. Refusing to lie down, they even tried making custom studs and applying thread locker on them before screwing them in, but to no avail. Though this very same modus operandi is functioning satisfactorily now, it didnt work on the Dday. He regrets "Thus we couldnt capitalize on the momentum tied together in the previous rounds and make the Stud stuck in the transmission most of it".

Fresh from the Lab: Delphi Maximum Torque Brake

The Technology In the Delphi Maximum Torque Brake System, two discs float on the outside diameter of the hub, thus providing four friction surfaces at each wheel. The twin-disc design provides four cooling surfaces, without the need for vanes or cooling channels. This substantially reduces thermal stress on the brake and hub mounted components. Summarized below are the key features and benefits the technology provides, surfaces

Mass savings of 2kg per

1.7 times specific torque for same size rotor

corner

Note from the

Editor:

Have something to say or contribute in Newsletter? Want your team to be featured in the Newsletter? Have some queries, want us to write/cover some specific issue or topic? Your Automobile/BAJA related contributions/articles should not be more than 200 words. Please do not forget to write your college and your team name along with your entry. Write to us at newsletter@bajasaeindia.org - Guneet Bhatia & Ayush Saxena

Improved ride and handling through reduction in unsprung Faster cooling for immass proved thermal manageFeature 3 Reduced apply ment pressure Eliminates need for Potential to downsize vacvanes/cooling channels uum booster Reduced Fade Reduced pedal travel and Greatly reduced disc effort thickness variation Typical Applications (DTV)

Potential to reduce ro- The maximum torque brake tor diameter, allowing applies to a wide range of vehicles from passenger cars to Features and Benefits smaller wheels ATVs, light-duty SUVs and Feature 1: Twin, fully float- Feature 2 - Integrated trucks. ing rotors with four friction knuckle and caliper

Choice of Transmission The Winning Edge?

We all are quite aware of the fact that this time the teams have been given the full fledged command to have any type of transmission. Thus, paving in a golden opportunity to make ground breaking leads. Transmission being the alpha of the drive train department, demands an exceptional attention for an effective and outstanding dynamic run. This, no bars, strings attached scenario has led to a whole new array of ideas being brainstormed upon. CVTs, CVTs coupled with manual transmission, rotating mass CVT, are among the hottest and popular technologies among the teams. We gathered some views from the participating teams and got a mixed bag of response. Anshul Tiwari of the team Techie Tyros, ITM comments This change has been a welcome relief for the teams, as coupling MnM transmission with Lombardini engine is no less than a Herculean task. Rejin of the team IITB racing, shares the same opinion. He says It'll be fun to see the buggies running on different transmissions. Out of the box ideas can be expected to throng the tarmac. With the majority of the teams backing this change, there are some on the opposite side of the court who feel that the investing in the transmission would add to their woes of already meager budget. Feels Chitransh of the team Vajra, IET Getting a transmission of sound technology is definitely going to burn a hole in the pockets of the new teams, as they are the ones who are most susceptible to not getting sponsors. We can already see a divided opinion on the change. A chunk of teams are all out supporting the welcome respite from using the transmission that has been the source to innumerable fiasco. At the very same time, there are teams, which are having sleepless nights over shelling out extra pounds from their pockets for the transmission. So no clear stand in here, we decided to start a poll. What do you feel? Have your say. Make it heard loud and clear. Visit http://www.orkut.co.in/ Main#CommPollVote.aspx? cmm=19444158&pct=12443 77875&pid=767019920

Transmissions used in other BAJA events around the World

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

DESIGN REPORT Q - When is the A

The Software licenses last date of will be provided to all teams as soon as the Final list of submitting the design report? teams is announced. Please submit your reports by no later than 15th June 2009

A -

and not part of your body which would be crushed.

Volume 1/Issue #2

Q-

Q A -

What/How much details should be covered in the design report? There is no limit to the extent of inputs you provide. However, an ideal report would have the following

ROLL CAGE Q In reference

Design of Roll Cage FEA Analysis and Safety Tests Tech Specifications

You are entailed to perform all sorts of activities, brainstorming, calculations, designing, simulation etc, except for actual fabrication.

to rule which states: "The drivers torso, knees, shoulders, elbows, hands, and arms must have a minimum of 7.62 cm (3 in) of clearance from the envelope created by the structure of the car. (This is tested by applying a straight-edge between any two points on the outside edges of the SIM and RHO, less the roll cage padding.)" Is this 3" measured to the driver with their hands in their lap, or hands up on the steering wheel in the driving position?

The rule book for the competition states that the steel used for the fabrication of the chassis must have bending stiffness and bending strength at least equal to AISI 1018. You have mentioned the yield stress of AISI 1018 as 365 MPa. This yield stress is for SEAMLESS AISI 1018. For hot rolled AISI 1018 the yield stress is 220 MPa. My query is whether we can use hot rolled AISI 1018 or we have to use only seamless AISI 1018. Also I would like to know whether using hot rolled steel is permitted for the competition.

Based on queries received from all of you thus far, we decided to simplify and set doubts to rest. These compiled set of FAQs would help you prepare for the competition , the right way!

A -

You may use any type of steel you like as long as you can provide the invoices for it and documentation to prove that it has equal or greater bending stiffness and strength as the baseline steel specified in the rules.

IPG CARMAKER Q - When would the IPG car-

wheel as you would be while driving. The purpose of the 3" maker software be provided to clearance rule is to be sure us? that the first "hard stop" during a rollover is the roll cage

A -The 3" clearance is meas- ELIGIBILTY VEHICLES ured with the largest driver seated with hands on the Q - We had planned to use some
parts from a Yamaha ATV. Are we allowed to use these standard parts? You can use parts manufactured by any company that you want.

A -

Important Dates A Ready Reckoner

The teams to submit the design and progress report of the project before 15th June 2009. Teams to give a detailed presentation of their progress and design during the month of June. Results of the presentation and interview to be declared on or before 30th July09. Short listed teams to pay a final registration fee of INR 35,000. Dates would be announced immediately after the declaration of the results. Virtual BAJA participants to pay a final registration fee of INR 10,000. Dates would be announced immediately after the declaration of the result.

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New Kid on the Block: tte--tte with Trail Blazers

Soaring with fervor, spirit, enthusiasm and more importantly vigor to make a mark in the competition, team Trail Blazers from Bharath University, Chennai have just the precise mix of ingredients that can give the crme de la crme teams of the competition a run for their money. With the designing of the major sub assemblies already done, the team of 9 gutsy performers is already on their way to make an impression in their very first venture. We caught up with Kirish. V, team lead about the strategies being adopted, innovation, expectations from the competition and much more. Here are the excerpts from the interview: What made you register for BAJA SAE INDIA 2010? Basically, unlike the United States or the EU, where opportunities are abundant; enabling budding young minds to succeed, in India such opportunities are very limited. I believe that Baja is THE only major engineering event in our country. Plus, when i read in newspapers about other colleges around our University participating, I felt the urge to perform on par with them. Hence I personally initiated steps to start a SAE club, & then we're now successfully registered in the event. What will be your teams approach towards the competition? Our motto is 'The more it is simpler, the better is'. The golden rules that we preach and follow are:

To work hard with dedication and precision.

Completely focused on our project and try to keep ourselves updated with the latest in the automotive field. Team Trail Blazers Utilize money and available resources in the best possible way. Our team is aiming towards a mid November completion, so that we may get ample amount of time for testing and thus mending the mistakes. Any innovation that you are planning? The team has made a detailed study of various SUV's in the market. Also several "Concept" Cars' concepts have been studied in detail. We'd be using communication devices on the line of Formula Teams for effective "on-site" co-ordination. Electronic systems that would alternate the torque & others advanced systems would be integrated. Also, various other technologies would be implemented as per the viability. The idea is to make our ATV "Technology Driven." History beckons the fact that not many teams make it till the last of the endurance race. Any strategies that you plan to adopt to help your team remain there, running, till the very last beep? The best way to win the future is to avoid the mistakes of the past. Out team has understood that very clearly. Most of the teams falter by going in for an erroneous chassis material and by adopting intricate designs, which ultimately give away at crucial juncture. We therefore would like to stick to the nitty-gritty of the designing and try out to make it to the podium finish. What are your expectations from BAJA SAE ASIA10? What do you intend to achieve? We are all very clear with the fact that we're all engineering students & not professionals. Hence we're very much aware of our limitations. However, I could assure you in the strongest terms that Baja would be teaching us more about automobiles in 8 months than what big fat books can do in 8 years! So, we're always leaving some room for errors to take place, at the same time even more room to rectify it. Every action of ours has not only a Plan B, but also Plan C! Moreover, we're not limiting ourselves to just designing & fabricating an ATV. We're educating ourselves on the various complications involved in introducing a new product into the market. We're also taking this opportunity to study in detail about the automobile industry. ***************