An investigation on Racecar Starting Position .pdf
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The 8 International Conference on Automotive Engineering (ICAE-8)
2-5 April 2012, Challenger, Impact, Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand
An Investigation on Racecar Starting Positions in the Student Formula Competition Acceleration Event
Chantharasenawong C*. and Promoppatum P.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
*corresponding author: chawin.cha@kmutt.ac.th
ABSTRACT
This article aims to quantitatively investigate the advantages gained when racecars are deliberately positioned far from the starting line in the Acceleration Event of the TSAE Student
Formula competition. A racecar acceleration model, verified with an actual race data, is used to predict the race time when the car is initially staged at different positions with respect to the starting line. The results show that the race time can be significantly reduced which can have a considerable impact on the eventual race outcome.
INTRODUCTION
The Society of Automotive Engineers Thailand
(TSAE)
has been organising the AutoChallenge Student Formula for many years to encourage university students and those in other higher education institutes to showcase their automotive engineering skills in racecar design and manufacturing processes.
The Mechanical Engineering Department of
King Mongkut’s University of Technology
Thonburi (KMUTT) has also been an ever present member of the competition since its inaugural edition. The competition requires the teams to design and build a racecar which obeys the Formula SAE regulations [1]. There are two parts to the competition where the racecar is scored: Static Events and Dynamic
Events.
This article focuses specifically on the
Acceleration Event of the Dynamic part. In this event, the racecar is scored according to the elapsed time it has recorded. Elapsed time is measured from the time the car crosses the starting line until it crosses the finish line 75
meters
The 8 International Conference on Automotive Engineering (ICAE-8)
2-5 April 2012, Challenger, Impact, Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand
An Investigation on Racecar Starting Positions in the Student Formula Competition Acceleration Event
Chantharasenawong C*. and Promoppatum P.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
*corresponding author: chawin.cha@kmutt.ac.th
ABSTRACT
This article aims to quantitatively investigate the advantages gained when racecars are deliberately positioned far from the starting line in the Acceleration Event of the TSAE Student
Formula competition. A racecar acceleration model, verified with an actual race data, is used to predict the race time when the car is initially staged at different positions with respect to the starting line. The results show that the race time can be significantly reduced which can have a considerable impact on the eventual race outcome.
INTRODUCTION
The Society of Automotive Engineers Thailand
(TSAE)
has been organising the AutoChallenge Student Formula for many years to encourage university students and those in other higher education institutes to showcase their automotive engineering skills in racecar design and manufacturing processes.
The Mechanical Engineering Department of
King Mongkut’s University of Technology
Thonburi (KMUTT) has also been an ever present member of the competition since its inaugural edition. The competition requires the teams to design and build a racecar which obeys the Formula SAE regulations [1]. There are two parts to the competition where the racecar is scored: Static Events and Dynamic
Events.
This article focuses specifically on the
Acceleration Event of the Dynamic part. In this event, the racecar is scored according to the elapsed time it has recorded. Elapsed time is measured from the time the car crosses the starting line until it crosses the finish line 75
meters
References: 1. SAE International, 2011 Formula SAE Rules Chawin Chanthararasenawong received M.Eng (2003) and PhD (2007) in Aeronautics