FSAE Team Raceyard

2018 Season: The first year with Raceyard I was part of the aerodynamics team and played a major role in the design and construction of the aero packet of the car. We developed a one piece wing skin lamination method for the carbon wings which was very successful and I also performed lamination tests in order to reduce porosity in the surface epoxy layer. The learning experiences I recieved in the first year were much more than I expected and gained valuable knowledge in: - Advanced 3D CAD modeling using Solidworks - Carbon fiber wing construction - Sandwich core laminations - Aerodynamic development - Project & Time Management - Teamwork & Communication

2019 Season: The second year with the team I became the Chief Developer of Aerodynamics and once again learned much more than expected:

- CFD Simulation using Simscale - Further advancement of 3D modeling skills - Advanced Project management techniques - Team leader skills

First a foam wing was formed using a CNC hot wire cutter. Then it is wrapped in teflon foil so that the epoxy cannot stick to the foam surface.

Next, a extremely thin fiberglass sheet is laminated. This is used as a surface sheet to wrap the final carbon layers around the wing profile.The fiberglass sheet is laid flat, then optical and structural carbon are added until the desired fiber orientation and thickness are achieved

The layers of carbon stacked on the fiberglass sheet are then wrapped around the inner profile and placed into a vacuum bag.

As shown in the side view, this method produces a thin, single-piece carbon wing profile. Due to the inner foam being wrapped in teflon, it can easily be removed and a super lightweight wing can be produced

This test method was then scaled up to our full-sized wings and used for every airfoil on the car

The carbon skin is laminated using only a few layers. This is done so that the wing shape can be made with minimal weight. The force on the structure is then channeled using a skeleton of I-Beams, Wing brackets and Sintered profile inserts.

Improvements to the 2018 Wings included sintered profile inserts which allowed for easy installation. These inserts had pre-designed slots so that the I - Beams can fit and connect securely to the outer profile structure.

The original rear wing mounting brackets were made out of CNC cut aluminum and attached with bolts to a reinforced carbon strip running the along the chord of the wing. During the required 20kg bending test, this design failed to adequate transmit the forces to the I-Beams, and resulted in excessive deflection. In order to fix this problem, a new carbon bracket design was inserted underneath the skin and attached over a larger surface of the I-Beams.

A female foam mold was used as an upright to create the 90 deg surface off of the wing. Then this 90 deg shape was laminated from the other side to complete the part. This gave an extra thick vertical section for the brackets to attach to the wing holders.

The trimmed part is shown but without final shaping and vertical slots to replicate the metal brackets. This piece has reinforced unidirectional carbon layered from the 90 deg upright and towards the horizontal I - Beams. This allows the bending force to be directly transmitted over a large surface of the beams increasing rigidity.

Cutting a slot along the topside of the wing allows for the vertical brackets to slide through. After fitment, everything is glued into place to form a single piece wing structure.

With this process the vertical carbon bracket was able to replace the CNC brackets. It also needed to follow the shape of the wing profile.