CIS040-3 Assignment 1 Automotive Systems and Design Brief

Assignment Brief

The Scenario

Your group is part of a vehicle body design start-up company specialized in designing vehicles’ body to improve their aerodynamics. You are given a budget of £20,000 to create an optimum design and shape for the Sinclair C5 Alien body. The objective for this project is to improve the aerodynamics of this type of vehicle so that it can travel faster and more efficiently. You will ensure that the suggested vehicle’s body is strong enough to withstand the high speeds and pressures of riding through the air. The speed for this vehicle ranges between 0 and 150 mph. The work will focus on working on the real version for the Sinclair C5 Alien version located in the lab (see Fig. 1). Your proposed solution should be able to reduce the actual drag and lift to create a more efficient version for this Sinclair C5.

The Procedure

In order to design and study the body shape for this Sinclaire C5 version, you will need to define, measure and calculate important parameters or properties such as the air density, viscosity, velocity, and the angle of attack of this vehicle. In addition, you will need to know the material properties for the body such as the density, modulus of elasticity and strength. You would then create the CAD geometry for the vehicle and import it to a simulation software to run the Computer Fluid Dynamic model. You should be able to show results for the contours of pressure, velocity, and turbulence around the vehicle, as well as the forces and moments acting on the Sinclair C5 body. Other results will include the stress and strain distribution on/around this vehicle and also the deformation and displacement. Analysis and discussion should be carried out on these results to defend the efficiency of the proposed design and shape. The objective is to obtain low drag and lift coefficients and low lift-to-drag ratio. Optimum design should also depict low stress and strain level, and a small deformation and displacement.

Your report should include details about the work done, that is the results, the calculations, CAD design(s) and selected material properties. Your working procedure can follow the steps described below:

• List the important parameters and measure or estimate to drag and lift coefficients.
• Measure the dimensions for the Sinclaire C5 and create its CAD design
• Import the CAD design to a simulation software and prepare the software to mimic realistic conditions for the vehicle.
• Obtain initial results and suggest changes to the shape and design to improve the results until you get a final and satisfactory result.
• Use various available software and numerical tools to show the efficiency of your proposed solution(s).
• Prepare a report that summarizes the work you have done.
• Defend your work and solution during the assignment presentation session. (Date and time to be confirmed).

What am I required to do in this assignment?

Students will be divided into groups of 3 (maximum number of 3 students per group). Work with your teammates and produce a word-processed document detailing the work that you have done. The document (including diagrams, calculations and discussion) should not exceed the equivalent of 1000 words per student. The document must include your student IDs. If there is a dispute within the group, you should inform the lecturer or unit coordinator, so that a meeting with the group can be held in the first two weeks of the assignment where the matter can be resolved.

The report should include:

• Mathematical representation of the solutions to the questions using appropriate notations.
• Design and results figures
• Discussion of results and recommendations.
• A recommendation for solving or improving the system.

Learning Outcomes

• This first assessment is a group assignment which tests your capabilities and skills in developing and analyzing an automotive system component or feature. 
• A realistic problem will be assigned to your group. You will use possible software such as Matlab or AutoCAD, Comsol Multiphysics, ChassisSim or MoteC to numerically simulate the issue in the model.
• Progress will be checked on a weekly basis from Week 8 to Week 10 to allow early feedback to be given to your group, and your group will submit a report in Week 11. 
• Your individual grade will be influenced by your contribution to the group presentation, your contribution to the group area on BREO, your interim progress report, and the peer reflection forms.
• Assessment load: students are expected to spend 30 hours for preparation and 5 hours for the completion of the assignment. The report should not exceed the equivalent of 1000 words per student.