University of Maine FSAE Engine Team

Preliminary Intake Design

Team Members:
Stephan Becker
Peter Farnum
Jacob Morissette
Dwight Whitney

Purpose:
To discuss the design parameters to focus on when designing a Formula SAE V-Twin intake
system.
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Contents
Summary: ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Background: .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Problem Definition: ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Concepts: ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
The Venturi Effect: .................................................................................................................................... 4
Variable Plenum Volume: ......................................................................................................................... 5
Results: .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
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Summary:
Formula SAE Rules restrict the power of the engine by limiting the size of the intake diameter.
The formula SAE rules dictate that a restrictor of 20.0 mm between the throttle and the engine is
required and that all air flow must pass through this restrictor. This restrictor limits the amount
of air flow into the engine, thus limiting the amount of power that can be produced by the engine.
In order to limit the power loss due to said restrictor plate, the intake system design will take
advantage of the Venturi effect. The following link gives a brief description of the Venturi
effect, variable plenum volume, and how they will be used to design a suitable intake for this
year's car that will minimize engine performance losses due to the intake restrictor. The
aforementioned use of the Venturi effect coupled with the optimization of plenum volume is
essential in designing and building an effective intake.

Background:
The intake that was designed and built last year can be seen in Figure 1 below, and though it met
Formula SAEs rule requirements, it did not take full advantage of the Venturi effect to increase
the velocity of air flow within the intake. In a rush to try and get the car to competition, not
much time was alotted for design and testing, and the car would not run properly with it
installed. Some preliminary research has been done in determining parameters to focus on when
designing an intake for a V-Twin Formula SAE Car. This research is explained in greater detail
below.

Figure 1: Last years intake

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Problem Definition:
Per Formula SAE rules, a 20.0 mm restrictor must be placed between the throttle of the engine
and the engine itself such that all airflow which enters the engine must pass through this
restrictor. Since this greatly limits the airflow into the engine, it is essential to design and intake
system which will minimize engine performance losses.

Concepts:
The Venturi Effect:
The Venturi effect is based on fundamental fluid mechanics, and is able to explain the effect that
a decrease in cross sectional area has on fluid flow. In the case of the restrictor required by
Formula SAE rules, this decrease in area will result in an increase in air velocity and a decrease
in pressure downstream of the restrictor. This decrease in pressure is the main concern behind
using the Venturi effect for intake design, because it is what will directly decrease the flow rate
through the intake. The following equations outline this theory:

p1 p2 = v2
2
v1
2 Eq. 1
2

This is the defining equation of the Venturi effect where:

P1 is the pressure upstream of the decrease in cross sectional area

P2 is the pressure downstream of the decrease in cross sectional area
is the density of the air
V1 is the velocity upstream of the decrease in cross sectional area
V2 is the velocity downstream of the decrease in cross sectional area

Based on fundamentals of fluid mechanics the following relationship is also known:

Q = v1 A1 Eq. 2

Solving Eq. 1 for v1 and substituting it into Eq. 2 results in the following equation:

2 ( p1 p2) Eq. 3
Q=
( ( A)

Where:
A1 is the cross section area of the intake upstream of the restrictor plate
A2 is the 20 mm cross section of the restrictor plate
Q is the mass flow rate of the air through the intake system.

From inspection of Eq. 3 it can be seen how the pressure decrease and the decrease in cross
sectional area affects the overall mass flow rate. This parameter has to be optimized since a
decrease in mass flow rate through the engines intake will cause a decrease in the engines
power output.
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Variable Plenum Volume:

The intake plenum is a collector that provides an air supply for the throttle body and intake
runners. The size and the shape of the intake plenum has a significant effect on the parameters
and power output of the engine. These engine parameters and air flow patterns change with the
RPM of the engine. Based on competition events, it can be estimated the engine will spend the
majority of the time between 6,000 and 10,000 RPMs. Therefore, this range should be targeted
when designing the intake plenum. The desired engine parameters which need to be optimized
by the use of variable plenum volume include throttle response and engine output gains
throughout the specified RPM range. Taking the target RPM range and engine characteristics
into consideration, it can be shown that the intake plenum volume should be approximately 1.5
times the displacement of the engine. Since displacement of the Aprilia is 550 cubic centimeters,
it can be calculated that an intake plenum with an approximate volume of .9 L would be a good
place to start for a preliminary design. As can be seen from Figure 1 above, last years team had
taken into account the need for variable plenum volume.

Results:
In order to minimize the effects of the restrictor plate our intake design will be similar to that in
Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Application of the Venturi effect to the intake design

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The ideal intake will slowly cone down to the 20 millimeter restrictor plate and then slowly cone
back out. The plate is to be designed as thin as possible without jeopardizing its integrity. The
thinner the plate, the smaller the pressure drop will be over the plate. This small pressure drop
over the thin plate results in a higher pressure upstream of the restrictor. When this is applied to
Eq. 3 above, it can be seen that the overall mass flow rate through the intake will increase since
mass flow rate is directly proportional to the higher upstream pressure. This theory coupled with
an optimized plenum volume should allow the engine to operate at nearly stock power outputs.
Overall, this design not only has more efficient air flow compared to a straight 20 millimeter
pipe, which can be seen on last years intake in Figure 1 above, but it also optimizes the intake
design while still fitting within the rules dictated by Formula SAE.