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Punjab Engineering College SAE Mini BAJA ASIA 2010
Harjinder S. Brar, Puneet Pal S. Sarabha, Harish Puri
Kamal Garg, Rohan Garg, Mohit Garg, Harmanpreet S. Maan, Prince Malhotra
ABSTRACT
The objective of SAE BAJA ASIA 2010 competition is to
simulate real world engineering design projects and
their related challenges. The aim of TEAM RPM from
Punjab Engineering College is to win the BAJA 2010 by
making not only the best performing vehicle but also the
rugged and economical vehicle that will comply all the
SAE BAJA design requirements. To achieve our goal
the vehicle has been divided into subcomponents and
each member is assigned a specific subcomponent. The
team is focused to, design the vehicle by keeping in
mind the SAE BAJA requirements, driver’s comfort and
safety, and to increase the performance and driveability.
INTRODUCTION
SAE BAJA ASIA event is organized by SAE INDIA. The
teams are given the challenging task to design and
fabricate a single seat, off-road, rugged, recreational
and fun to drive, vehicle which will intended for sale to
weekend off road enthusiasts. The goal of TEAM RPM
is to make the best performing car that will comply all
the SAE BAJA requirements. To achieve our goal the
has been divide into various groups and each group is
assigned a specific component of the vehicle (Chassis,
Suspension, Wheel Assembly, Steering and Brakes,
Power transmission).
For designing, analysis and optimization of the vehicle
components various software like CATIA (design and
analysis), ANSYS (analysis and simulation), Optimum K
(suspension design), Suspension Analyzer (for
suspension analysis), ADAMS (vehicle dynamics),
LOTUS (steering and suspension design) are available.
In previous year the team mainly focused on custom
designing rather than using some standard parts. But
this year the team has decided to use some standard
parts. For example: in previous the axle was custom
made and there was too much play in the splines after
Preliminary Design Report
4th year Mechanical
3rd year Mechanical
race due to wear . So we have decided to use standard
axle of Maruti 800 because its not possible to
manufacture a single component with accurate
precision. The team has done a detailed study of our
previous vehicle and we have found our shortcomings.
As a whole, the main objective of the team is to reduce
the weight of the vehicle, augment the performance and
minimize the power loss. Each part is being designed
using CATIA, OPTIMUM K, LOTUS, ANSYS software
by keeping in mind these objectives. A detailed analysis
is being done on each part using CATIA and ANSYS
software to remove the unnecessary and extra material.
An iterative process is being used for the same.
Benchmarking will be done for selecting each
component. A special attention will be given to
manufacturing process to improve the quality of final
product.
MAIN SECTION
CHASSIS
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The PEC BAJA chassis is designed by keeping in mind
some objectives like SAE BAJA requirements, driver’s
comfort and safety, compact size, weight reduction,
minimum stress concentration and a competing design.
The chassis team did a detailed analysis of our previous
year’s chassis and we have successfully reduced the
length till firewall by 280mm approx. A special
consideration is given to safety of the occupants, ease
of manufacturing, cost, quality, weight, and overall
attractiveness. Other design factors included durability
and maintainability of the frame
Material Selection
The material used in the vehicle must meet the
requirements set by SAE. And as the vehicle will be
used for racing so weight is a crucial factor and must be
considered. The proper balance of fulfilling the design
requirements and reducing the weight is crucial to a
successful design. We are allowed to use only steel
members in our frame. The available materials that fulfill
the requirements are AISI 1018, 1020, 1026 and 4130.
Benchmarking was done to select the material by
comparing various properties of each material.

Material Modulus of Yield Elongation

Elasticity Strength at break
(ksi) (ksi)
Fig 1 Stress analysis of chassis
AISI 1018 29,700 53.7 15%

AISI 1020 29,700 42.7 36%

AISI 1026 29,700 60.12 15%

AISI 4130 29,700 63.1 25.50%

As we know the increase in Yield Strength affects the

bending strength of a material. And bending strength is
not only affected by cross sectional moment of inertia
but also by radius of material. Thus CHROMOLY i.e.
AISI 4130 having maximum yield strength will allow the
usage of large diameter tubing with smaller wall
thickness. This will in turn reduce the weight of our
chassis. Also 4130 Chromoly is more ductile than other
materials so it will deform more before its ultimate
failure. So considering the above said factors we have
chosen chromoly 4130 pipes to be used for our chassis.

FEA Analysis Fig 2: Displacement after front impact

In order to maximize the strength and durability of

chassis and minimize the weight ANSYS was used to
model and analyze the chassis under predetermined
loading conditions. Using this analysis the dimension of
the tubing was found to be 1.25” OD and .065” wall
thickness. This tubing was modeled as line structure in
ANSYS and the material properties of chromoly i.e.
Young’s modulus= 205GPa and Poisson Ratio= .3,
were applied on that line model. First of all chassis
without truss was analyzed in ANSYS. results for stress
and displacement analysis are shown below.
The vehicle was analyzed for frontal impact. Taking the
worst conditions the stress in various parts was
calculated. Results for stress and displacement after
front impact are shown below.
After the front impact analysis weak points and
deformed points in chassis were found and after
calculations the required truss were added wherever
necessary
SUSPENSION DESIGN
The sole purpose of the suspension is to reduce shock
loads acting on the car, while providing optimal wheel
contact when operating under dynamic conditions.
When designing a suspension there are a number of
factors that influence the behavior of the suspension
and a lot of these factors also interact among each other
in one way or another. Along with these factors (shown
in the fig) various constraints put forward by
compromises like chassis design, transmission and
engine placement etc play a huge role in the design of
suspension. Having the experience of two cars our aim
is to work on the shortcomings of our previous designs
and thrive towards augmenting the design this time
around. So we have already chosen to go with
independent double- wishbone arm type suspension
system along with gas shockers as this type is
preferable in the case of rough terrain because they
provide better resistance to steering vibrations and
reduce un-sprung mass.
 To objectives of this year’s suspension are:

Wheel Longer wheel • Maximizing the wheel travel

base-softer Both
Base
springs. influence • Maximize ride height for easy navigation
Shorter wheel the
base-smaller amount through roughest terrain.
turning radius of load
for same transfer • Maximizing traction and surface contact.
steering input. b/w the
front
&rear • Minimizing camber gain and bump steer.
Influences during
accelerat
Track vehicle
ion &
• Adjustable roll center height.
cornering &
width tendency to braking
roll. and load To achieve these objectives we are working on various
transfer software like LOTUS, SUSPENSION, OPTIMUM K, and
from
S curve CATIA for designing and analysis purpose.
U Larger track
width-less inner to
S curve
P lateral load Considering the above said criterion, last year’s analysis
transfer but outer
E wheels
and various constraints put forth by other parts of the
N King more lateral vehicle we conclude the following:
movement of during
S pin cornerin
I the vehicle is
axis& g. So
O needed to Characteristics Optimum Last This year
N scrub avoid both
should range year’s expected
radius obstacles.
be kept values value
small.

Wheel Base 60” 68” 60”

Larger the Track Width Max 64” 56” 54”

king pin
Scrub radius is kept
inclination-
small so that the
more the car
car is easier to
is raised-
handle &reduces King Pin 0°-10° 6° 9°
leading to
the risk of sudden
increase in the
loss of traction. Inclination
steering
moment at the
steering Scrub Radius 0-10 mm 15mm <10mm
wheel.

Castor Has +ve effects during

& trail cornering but too much Castor Angle 3°-7° 6° in 6° in front
castor causes weight front
transfer that will have
an over steering effect.
The roll centre
establishes the Roll Center Front 0-11” Front Should be
force coupling Height 10.6” within
point between the Rear 0-13” Rear optimum
sprung and the The higher the roll
unsprung masses centre is the smaller 13.5” range
of the car. When the rolling moment
the car corners the around the roll
Inst centre. Center of Depends 21” 19”
Centre centrifugal force
acting on the Gravity height on roll
& Roll
centre of gravity moment
Centre
can be translated If roll center must
to the roll centre be raised up
and down to the from the
Wheel Travel Front 10” Front 9” Front 10-
tires where the ground, it is 12”
reactive lateral influenced the Rear 8” Rear 7”
forces are built most by the angle
up. Rear 8-10”
of the plane made
up by the lower A-
arms in the front
view.

Minimizing bump steer (change in toe

Tie rod location angle due to wheel travel)-locating tie
rod in same plane as either A-arms.
STEERING SYSTEM

The primary objective for steering team was to decrease

steering effort, decrease the amount of steering wheel
travel and increase the steering responsiveness. To
achieve this objective first of all a bench marking was
done between all possible steering systems on a scale
of 0-9.

Steering Cost Weig Availa Efficie Total

System ht bility ncy

Rack 7 8 8 5 28
and
Pinion Fig 4: Graph between steering angle vs Turning angle
Cam and 6 6 7 6 25
Lever
Worm 5 5 5 6 21
and Ergonomics of the driver will be considered for both
Sector steering wheel position and its rotation for maximum
wheel angle. In the last year’s design there was a bend
Recircula 5 6 4 8 23 in the steering column and it created an obstruction in
ting Ball driver’s legs but this year to increase the leg space for
driver we have kept the steering column straight upto
Worm 7 5 6 7 25
pinion. This year the rack and pinion will be placed
and
below the cockpit base. A special mounting is provided
Roller
in chassis for the same to increase the free space in
cockpit.2: Angle between steering angle vs Turning
Rack and Pinion Steering System is chosen after angle
benchmarking. After the detailed analysis of previous
vehicle we found that in previous year’s steering design
the driver had to turn the steering wheel by 450° to bring
the wheels from center to lock. So the driver had to
remove his hand from steering wheel while turning from
center to lock. Our goal is t reduce this angle by
achieving 7:1 steering ratio by calculating Ackerman
length.

A rack and pinion with rack travel .1889mm per degree

rotation of steering wheel is chosen. Rack travel at
different steering angles is calculated and different
turning angles are calculated using simulation on CATIA
corresponding to different steering angles.

Fig 5: CATIA design of steering system

For all wheels to pivot about a common point, the inner

Fig 3: Turning angle at max steering angle
wheel must turn at a sharper angle than the outer
wheel. In reality, the tires must slip to generate lateral
forces, so the outer tire should be steered at slightly
higher angles than inner wheels which is predicted by
Ackerman geometry. This year we aim to improve the
Ackerman geometry to 120% from previous year’s 90%.
Bump and roll steer will be minimized by adjusting
distance between inner tie rod pivots, through analysis it
is found 14.7”. Location of the outer end of tie rod will be Overview of Wheel Assembly Design:
fixed by spindle geometry, thus only inner pivot location
can be adjusted and so bump and roll steer.

WHEEL ASSEMBLY
Small and light weight
with simple design &
The wheel assembly has a very important contribution easy to manufacture
towards vehicle’s weight. So to achieve our main with ample strength.
objective of reducing the overall weight of our vehicle
we have to reduce the weight of wheel assembly. We Thus we
have a detailed study of previous year’s wheel finally
assembly. In previous year’s vehicle the wheel Knuckle achieved
Lighter & easily
our
assembly was custom made. But this year we have available with low
objective
decided to use Maruti 800 standard axle because in machining cost , AISI
s of
1026 steel alloy has
previous year’s vehicle the axle was custom made. And the higher utility than
strength,
there was too much play in the splines due to spline Knuckle compact
AISI 1020 & AISI 1018.
and Hub ness,
wear out. To avoid this kind of situation we are using weight
Material
standard axle of Maruti 800. The knuckle will be custom reductio
designed and an iterative analysis will be done on n, easy
knuckle to remove the unnecessary material make it assembl
Wheel Hub is y and
lighter. In previous year’s vehicle AISI 1018 material designed to disasse
was used for wheel assembly but this year as our aim is accommodate brake mbly,
to reduce weight so a benchmarking was done between Hub assembly which with
gives efficient & minimize
available materials for our wheel assembly.
compact packaging d
without stresses
Param Hardn UTS TYS Machi Dens Utilit Wheel compromising hub’s
eters ess (w= (w= ning ity y Assembly strength.
(w=.21 .21) .21) (w= . (w= . (∑p*
) 21) 17) w)
Spherical Standard spherical rod
end can adjust camber
Materi (p*w) (p*w (p*w (p*w) (p*w) (p*w Rod end
angle and make shock
al ) ) ) loads ineffective to a
(steel greater extent.
alloy) Rim
1018 .5943 .571 .615 .932 1.36 4.07 &
Tyre 25” Polaris tire which
provides better grip on off
1020 .498 .456 .564 .576 1.36 3.45 road surfaces.

1026 1.89 1.89 1.89 1.8 1.53 9 Axle

Axle should have no wear out
of splines & have sufficient
strength to handle the load
As the AISI 1026 has the highest utility so it has been
selected for the knuckle and hub material.

Brake System

The purpose of the braking system is to increase the

maneuverability by locking all the four wheels in a time
of less than a second. This year our aim is to reduce the
weight of wheel assembly so after studying various
available options and to get effective braking we have
decided to use hydraulic disc brakes on all the four
wheels. And Honda Aviator’s disc and caliper has been
chosen for the same. Hydraulic disc brakes have high
performance, easy replacement, and comparatively less
weight than other available options.

Fig 6: Exploded view of wheel assembly In previous year’s design we used hydraulic disc brakes
with two different master cylinders for brake fluid, one
for front wheels and one rear wheels. The main
drawback of this design is that if any of the 2 cylinders
stops working the respective brakes will fail. To
overcome this drawback we have decided to use dual
master cylinder. In dual master cylinder there are two
chambers but they have the common circuit of brake
fluid for all the four wheels. So if any one chamber fails
we can still apply the brakes to all the four wheels.
POWER TRAIN
Engine and Transmission
Fig 7: Layout of Power Train
As we are all provided with the same LOMBARDINI
LGA 340 engine so a lot of emphasis has to be placed
on the design of power train. This year our objective is
to harness the power of 10HP engine and efficiently
deliver this power to the tires for peak performance. In
design of the drive train the optimization of several
desired characteristics are being kept in mind including
towing capacity, acceleration, top speed, and durability.
As it is known internal combustion engine have a
power band (range of speeds) at which the engine
produces the maximum torque. Below or above this
power band the engine does not provide enough torque
to overcome the resistance torque and accelerate the
vehicle. Since with such a small amount of power we do
not have much room within our power band for the
performance we need. Therefore we either have many
gear speeds or we use a CVT (Continuously Variable
Transmission). Continuously variable transmission (CVT)
belt drive is a device that is much smoother than a
conventional transmission and also has the ability to
harness peak engine power during operation. The CVT
transmits power from the engine to drive train in place of
a conventional clutch dependent multi-gear transmission
that requires constant shifting to change reduction
ratios. It consists of two variable pitch pulleys, the drive
and driven, that semi-dependently change their ratios
depending on the RPM at which they spin and the
amount of torque required.
Fig: 8
Design
The goal of the design for this year’s driveline is to
eliminate as many losses, in transfer of power from
engine to the wheels, as possible. To accomplish this
goal the drive train consist of CVT, two speed reverse
gear box with reverse and a chain driven open
differential.
As the engine reaches its governed rpm limit 3600 rpm,
the gear reduction across the CVT have been
determined to be 0.76:1 and thus serving as an
"overdrive" for the car. At low engine speeds the CVT
produces a reduction of 3.83:1 providing necessary
torque. The
CVT is assisted by a two speed with reverse gear box.
The two speed gear box enables the vehicle to achieve
both high torque and high speed. With the cockpit
mounted shift lever in low gear the driver has a torque
available for towing heavy load, climbing steep gradients
and driving through mud and sand. The high gear is
designed for top speed and acceleration. The
final gear reduction for the drive train comes from
sprocket sizes on the gearbox output shaft and the
driven sprocket located on axle. Several combinations of
drive and driven sprockets were analyzed. The analysis
was performed with the goal of maximizing the
relationship between vehicle top speed and torque
output. A low friction O-ring 520 series motorcycle chain
will be used to power the axle from the output shaft of
the transmission. The yield strength of the chain is listed
from the manufacturer to be 8100lb. Estimated forces on
the chain will not exceed forces greater than 3800lb,
providing a 2.1 factor of safety for the chain. Constant
Velocity (CV) joints will be considered for the half shafts
because of their ability to transmit torque through a
higher range of suspension articulation.
These features will create a vehicle that utilizes all of its
power in a smooth, quick transition from rest to top
speed, and insures minimal maintenance.

CONCLUSION

This project has provided the students a platform to

explore their designing and technical skills. TEAM RPM
is considering every possible aspect while designing
every single part. And we are very sure that the
approaches used by us will bring innovation to our
vehicle. Major innovations would include:

• Light weight chassis.

• Improved steering system.

• Shorter wheel base and track width.

• CVT coupled to high-low-reverse transmission.

• Double-A suspension arms in both rear and

front.

• Custom designed and CNC manufactured hub

and knuckle.

We hope that this year’s vehicle will outperform the

previous year’s vehicle in every aspect.

REFERENCES

1) Fundamentals Of Vehicle Dynamics by Thomas

D. Gillespie
2) Book By Carol Smith – Tune to win on vehicle
dynamics
3) An Introduction to Modern Vehicle Design by
Julian Happian Smith
4) MAN – Vehicle Calculations
5) The Automotive Chassis : Engineering
6) Vehicle Body Layout and Analysis by John
Fenton

ABBREVIATIONS

OD: Outer Diameter

UTS: Ultimate Tensile Strength

TYS: Tensile Yield Strength

Fig 9: Fig 10:

Fig 11: Fig 12:

.