Development of a Lightweight Laminated Composite Wheel for Formula SAE Race Vehicles

Abstract

Reducing the weight of a racing vehicle can substantially improve its acceleration and general performance abilities. More specifically, reduction of the unsprung corner weight can provide noticeable performance gains in handling and responsiveness, leading to a quicker, more agile car due to a lower yawing moment of inertia. Unsprung weight reduction also improves the car’s ability to maintain contact between the tires and the road surface for more consistent grip. The unsprung mass is mostly made up of the tires, wheels, and other components housed within the wheel package. The effect of this weight is especially significant in open-wheeled racecars because this mass is the furthest from the car’s center of gravity. This is exactly the case for the Formula SAE (FSAE) race vehicles considered in this thesis. Decreasing the weight of the wheel itself is a straightforward approach to reducing the unsprung corner weight as well as rotating mass. Even though there are various commercially available wheels for FSAE cars, the lightest aluminum options have plateaued in weight minimization. Also, maintaining high stiffness is important to minimize compliance and maintain favorable suspension dynamics, specifically camber. So, the idea of a lighter composite wheel is proposed. With the goal of developing a lightweight and stiff wheel, composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics are a good alternative to conventional metals due to their high stiffness to weight ratios. Through the use of finite element analysis software and physical testing, a laminated composite wheel was developed for the Jayhawk Motorsports FSAE racecars. The composite wheel is significantly lighter than the aluminum benchmark and maintains structural integrity as designed for the load cases compared herein. The details of its development are presented throughout the text of this thesis.