Design and Fabrication of an Upright for Student Formula Car

Abstract

This project is all about fabrication of an Upright (Suspension part) for Student formula car. An upright is a part of the wheel assembly which holds the hub and allows rotation of the wheel. The forces from the tire contact patch are transmitted by the Upright to the suspension links. We have fabricated an Upright for the Students formula competition named “SAE SUPRA” where SAE stands for ‘Society of Automotive Engineers’, an association which conducts this competition for various colleges and universities across India. The Upright developed and fabricated by us has 5-degree castor angle and 6-degree camber angle. These suspension geometries are explained in the upcoming chapters. A-arms are connected to the Upright which is the connection between the upright and the chassis. These are bolted to the chassis and with the Upright. The movement of the A-arms is based on the distance between their connections in the Upright. Separate Uprights are used for front and rear tires. Front upright consists of steering rod and the rear upright consists of Drive shaft connected to it. Both the Uprights has brake calipers fixed on it. The material we have used is mild steel which is cost effective and has high strength comparatively. Analysis has been done with simulation software ANSYS with the given conditions. Our main aim is to design and develop an Upright for its best performance in the racetrack and to choose the material in lowest and also satisfying the purpose.