2024-09-07 Workday Frame Meeting

Question: Will the 2026 Solar Car have structural composites on the chassis?

Objective: Address the concerns of the scope of the next vehicle

LEADS DISCUSS WHAT WE ARE PRIOROTIZING

Failed attempts of monoccoque in the past

• Where did the idea come from?

  • Frame last year was not good

  • Most teams at comp have used composites?

  • Teams that performed well had a composite frame with exception of Florida

  • Shell to frame issues

  • Significantly lighter

  • Stiffer

• What does hybrud mean?

  • Some parts of the frame integrate composite paneliing/tubes. Where would we use composites and where to use tubes, where to subsititue tubes for weight savings and rigidity

• How muchitime and resources should we spend on this

  • Most have advised to not start development unless we have sufficient research and justification

  • We already have experience with composites and manufacturing

• Biggest question is how to attach hardpoints via composites panels

• How much are we going to replace tubes with composites? e.g., just front/rear crumple zones or more?

• Concerns

  • Bill and Brian reliability and communication concerns regarding design issues/regs issues

  • We lack a structured process

  • We haven’t defined requirements

  • A commitment means time used for testing, communication w/ B&B, jigging, etc.

  • Don’t have an attachment method

  • Testing and validation takes time

  • How to fill the gap between empiralc testing of just compsiites to overal frame FEa Solution: get material properties from empirial testing and modelling the panels as a flat sheet and upload the acquired material properties to ANSYS and sim

  • Jigging complexity increased?

  • Composite learning curve with short hands on the frame team? Offloading hands from aeroshell unrealistically

  • Appearence, it needs to be a more formal proposal, present a very in depth deliverable of our project

• Why hybrid

  • We don’t have the abilities/knowledge to do a full compositie monoccoque

  • Need to do a smaller version to kickstrat meaningful monoccoque development

  • Its a small amount so we have time to test around

  • Non structural aeroshell and structural composities

  • Monocoque is objectively better than space frame, it is a matter of slowly building knowledge of a composite frame process

  • You can switch cross-bracings with composite panels

• Switching approach from space frame to composites would be hard bc

  • Concerns would be finding mounting points

Hybrid:

Possible Apporach

• Continue optimizing tubular space frame but pursue implentation of structural composities. i.e., with research and testing of composities, do we take out areas of space frame to use composities later down the line?

• Beginning of the year, composities team can help out with research and testing as design is being finalized

• Start develpoment of space frame, try and subsititue structural areas (cross bracings) with composite panels bc it is low risk while spurring composite development

• Overall goal of body

  • Make a tubular space frame as light as possible while fulfilling necesary properties

  • Formal project deliverable of composite frame development

  • If research and testing is promising, possibly replace cross bracing (and crumple zones?) with composite panels