Triton Solar Car
Front Suspension System
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California San Diego
Ray Guardiano
Sponsor
Vivian Chou Leonardo Duga Tsz-Wai Kwok Zhenlin Liu Shenglin Yang
Team Members
Embedded Files
About Triton Solar Car
About Triton Solar Car
The Triton Solar Car team was founded in 2015, in partnership with ESW (Engineers for a Sustainable World @ UCSD) with the goal of building UCSD’s first solar-powered car, to push the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy.
Double Wishbone Suspension
About Suspension Systems
About Suspension Systems
A suspension contains springs and shock absorbers to protect passengers and the vehicle from road conditions.
The suspension system must maintain structural integrity while the wheel experiences high, instantaneous forces from the road, from potholes, bumps, turning, and braking.
A robust suspension system will provide the Triton Solar Car team with a strong foundation to foster the development of other systems and structures of the car, taking it one step closer to completion.
Front Suspension Assembly
Project Overview
Project Overview
The objective for this project is to redesign, manufacture, and test the front suspension system for the Triton Solar Car team. More specifically, the following components will be redesigned and fabricated:
Steering Arm
Brake Caliper Mount
Lower and Upper A-Arms
Kingpin
Hub
Final Design Overview
Final Design Overview
Double A-Arm Suspension: This system type tends to be more stable compared to other suspension system types and increases the ease of fabrication.
Ease of fabrication: The fabricated components were redesigned to simplify the manufacturing process.
Energy Efficiency: Geometries for the suspension system were refined to maximize energy efficiency.
Safety: Factor of safety for the fabricated components are around 1.5 to 2 with a very conservative weight assumption of 900 lb.
High Strength-to-Weight Ratio: Lightweight to increase vehicle efficiency, while strong enough to resist loads and fatigue
Previous Front Suspension System
Final Design of Front Suspension System
Process
Process
Suspension Geometry Optimization using GeoGebra
Suspension Geometry Optimization
Suspension Geometry Optimization
Suspension Geometry was optimized to meet the design objectives, while meeting constraints set by the Triton Solar Car team.
Part Design and Optimization
Part Design and Optimization
Individual Suspension components were designed on SOLIDWORKS to meet Suspension Geometry and Design Constraints.
2D Drawings with proper Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) to ASME Y14.5 standards were created for the Machine Shop, and for part reproducibility.
Static and Fatigue Analysis
Static and Fatigue Analysis
Static Loads were simulated using SOLIDWORKS Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to ensure that designed parts will not fail under expected loads.
A factor of safety of 1.5 to 2.0 was designed assuming worst-case loads, and parts were optimized to maximize strength to weight ratio.
Fatigue Analysis was conducted to ensure the part will survive repeated cycles. All components have resulted in infinite life, or an excess of 1 million cycles.
Machine Shop Fabrication
Machine Shop Fabrication
Suspension Components were manufactured out of 4130 Chromoly Steel Tubing, and 6061 Aluminum Billets.
Kingpin and A-Arm parts were machined on the Manual Lathe and Mill, and the Hub was machined on the CNC Lathe and Mill. The Brake Caliper Mount, the Steering Arm, and some additional parts were cut on a Waterjet Cutter.
The A-Arms and the Kingpin was welded using TIG welding.
Assembly and Testing
Assembly and Testing
A chassis fixture, provided by the Triton Solar Car team, was used to mount the completed Front Suspension System.
Destructive Tests conducted on welding test pieces indicated that welds would not fail.
Camber tests validated suspension geometry of reducing camber change during bump.
Fit tests showed that the hub and wheel spins freely on the spindle, and the brake rotor can be properly squeezed by the caliper to slow the car.
Render of Solar Car
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Final Executive Summary.docx.pdfPage updated
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