Formula SAE laboratory experiments?

[SuperSport2]

In our senior laboratory design class here at Washington State University, our teacher requires us to design our own laboratory experiment from scratch. He would like the students who are involved in clubs to design an experiment that can be used for the design event presentations.

One guy suggested designing an experiment for skid pad, test traction vs speed (or rpms) or Skid pad time vs tire pressure.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good experiment to use in design review? What have other schools done for experiments?

Brett Lucas
Washington State University

[SuperSport2]

In our senior laboratory design class here at Washington State University, our teacher requires us to design our own laboratory experiment from scratch. He would like the students who are involved in clubs to design an experiment that can be used for the design event presentations.

One guy suggested designing an experiment for skid pad, test traction vs speed (or rpms) or Skid pad time vs tire pressure.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good experiment to use in design review? What have other schools done for experiments?

Brett Lucas
Washington State University

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Impact attenuator crash testing...

[Pete M]

How are you designing them from scratch if we tell you? The most important step in designing a good experiment is figuring out an appropriate independent variable to vary.

Look at the things that are adjustable on your car... and change them... and see what happens. It's not rocket surgery.

[cmeissen]

I would look into using strain gauges on suspension arms and other main components. This would be a good experiment as well as being beneficial to your current car, but most importantly to the design of future cars at your school.

[JamesWolak]

We always have an ongoing experiment in our coffee pot in the lab right now. I don't think that we have cleaned it in 8 months. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

How about some physical testing? Like torsional ridigity and compair it to your FEA?

[Michael Hart]

Depends on what kind of facilities and time you have...

do you have a dyno? If so, what kind of sensor equipment on it? There are a million different experiments that you can run on an engine one that, even if you already have an engine team.

do you have a running car and some place to drive it? if so, there are a number of tests that you can do with spring rates, tire pressure, etc.

Figure out what you have and what's most interesting/useful to the team and go from there

[Biggy72]

We don't have a dyno to use within an 8 hour drive, but hopefully we'll have a running car in a week and a half or so. I need to get a couple different fittings for the fuel system and put everything back together. This will be the car we took to California last summer.

I'm in the same class and I'm thinking I'm going to do some intake testing. Efficiency of the intercooler at various temperatures, air flow rates, and pressures or something along those lines.