IDRApegasus: a carbon fiber monocoque vehicle prototype

• Published in: Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik 2014-05, Vol.45 (5), p.np-n/a
• Main Authors: Carello, M., Airale, A. G., Messana, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automotive wheels; Carbon fibers; carbon fibre; Composite materials; Consumption; Design optimization; Kohlefaser; low consumption vehicle; Mathematical models; monocoque structure; Niedrigverbrauch-Fahrzeug; Powertrain; Prototypes; Race cars; Racing; Schalenrumpf-Struktur; Steering; structural analysis; Structural design; Strukturanalyse; Thickness; Vehicles; Visibility; Weight reduction
• ISSN: 0933-5137; 1521-4052
• DOI: 10.1002/mawe.201400238

Today, in the design of a new vehicle, one of the most important challenge is the weight reduction. For this reason the use of composite materials is very important, in fact the most important challenge is to apply composite materials in structural applications not only in racing vehicles or supercars, but also in mass‐production vehicles. For prototypes designed to be used in international low consumption competitions, like the Shell Eco Marathon, the targets are very sophisticated because the total vehicle's weight must be less than 30–35 kg. In this paper is presented a real case study that it is the monocoque of the IDRApegasus low consumption racing prototype, starting from an existing solution IDRA also made in carbon fiber. The first step was the definition of the new external shape according to aerodynamics, mechanical packaging, powertrain lay‐out, driver ergonomy and visibility constrains which ergonomy that the prototype has three wheels, two front wheels (inside the body, to reduce the frontal area) and a rear steering driving wheel. Then the critical working situation was defined: the loads, the target weight and the target stiffness in comparison of the previous monocoque, because it was very important to understand the tensile strains to optimize the thickness in all monocoque locations. The structural design of the monocoque was done by means of numerical simulations using the finite element techniques and once the external surfaces have been defined, a composite layer thickness and orientation optimization have been made to define the lamination lay‐out. Eine der größten Herausforderungen bei der Gestaltung neuer Fahrzeuge ist heutzutage die Gewichtsreduzierung. Daher ist der Einsatz von Verbundwerkstoffen sehr wichtig, wobei die größte Herausforderung der Einsatz von Verbundwerkstoffen nicht nur in Rennwagen, sondern in Fahrzeugen der Massenproduktion ist. Für das Design von Prototypen, die in internationalen Verbrauchswettbewerben zum Einsatz kommen sollen, z. B. der Shell Eco Marathon, sind die Vorgaben sehr anspruchsvoll, da das Gesamtgewicht der Fahrzeuges weniger als 30–35 kg betragen muss. In diesem Beitrag wird eine Fallstudie dargestellt, d. h. der Schalenrumpf des IDRApegasus Prototyps für einen Niedrigverbrauch‐Rennwagen, ausgehend von der existierenden Lösung IDRA, die auch aus Kohlenstofffasern hergestellt ist. Der erste Schritt war die Definition der neuen Außenkontur basierend auf der Aerodynamik, mechanische Aufmachung, Ant