Fuel economy scoring in Formula SAE has become increasingly more competitive in recent years. The event, which measures fuel consumption over a 22km distance, was once worth only 50/1000 points. It is now worth 100/1000, and is weighted based on the overall time required for a vehicle to complete the 22km race. The RIT Formula SAE team has been able to rely on its impressive speed to consistently place in the top 5 of every competition it finishes. However, due to the more stringent fuel consumption rules many teams have developed lightweight, single cylinder cars which can both match the lap times of the more powerful four cylinder teams, and use approximately 60% of the fuel over the 22km run.

RIT is looking to develop its own lightweight, fuel efficient car to compete in the 2012 Formula SAE season. This new prototype will feature a full CFRP monocoque chassis, an aggressive aerodynamics package, and a highly modified single cylinder engine from a 2010 Yamaha WR450F trail bike. The scope of this senior design project will be to develop the aforementioned engine package for the RIT Formula SAE team. This will include measurements of existing engine parameters, engine simulation, internal component design and modification, 3D CFD simulation, engine sensor specification and wiring, engine testing, data analysis of testing data, and engine calibration for both maximum power and optimized fuel consumption. In the end the senior design group will present a running engine to the RIT Formula SAE team to use in spring testing of the 2012 car.

Project Name

Lightweight Fuel Efficient Engine Package

Project Number

P12221

Project Family

Vehicle Systems and Technologies

Start Term

2011-1

End Term

2011-2

Faculty Guide

Dr. Alan Nye, ahneme@rit.edu

Primary Customer

RIT FSAE, formula@rit.edu

Sponsors:

Team Members

Planning & Execution

Systems Design

Detailed Design

Planning & Execution

Build, Test, Document

Project Review Presentation

Technical Paper

Poster