Georgia Tech Motorsports Wins CFdesign Award at FSAE 2008
Blue Ridge Numerics Presents $1,000 to FSAE Team for Best Use of CFD as a Design Tool
Blue Ridge Numerics is pleased to announce the Georgia Institute of Technology Motorsports Team has earned the 2008 FSAE CFdesign computational fluid dynamics award, presented during the Formula SAE 2008 competition held May 14-18th at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Blue Ridge Academic Program Leader, Maureen Kennedy, presented the award to Georgia Tech Sophomore aerospace engineering student, Tom Kwasniak, for his excellent use of CFD to effectively re-design an intake manifold.
At the heart of the design challenge was the team’s decision to use an Aprilia SXV 550 V-Twin engine, which is both smaller and lighter than its predecessor. With a new engine, the existing mechanical design and performance specs from previous years had to be scrapped. Kwasniak relied solely on the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics software to design and validate a new intake manifold within a very compressed schedule.
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Many performance goals were defined during the team’s design process. The final manifold design met and in many cases surpassed all the goals originally set:
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Correctly fit and adequately supply air by naturally-aspirated means to the V-Twin Engine
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Restrictor must be no larger than 20mm in diameter
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Predictable engine performance (i.e., reduction in throttle lag, bogging, etc.)
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Mass flow rate difference between cylinders for air and fuel supply should be within 5%
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Runners should facilitate optimal fuel mixing for the upper injectors
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Plenum to runner transition should be facilitated through a smooth interface to reduce turbulence and stagnation
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Optimization should be dialed in for an RPM which correlates to maximum torque
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Organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Formula SAE competition gives students a unique opportunity to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete in formula-style racing cars. Teams build cars over a period of about one year and take them to annual competition for judging and comparison against approximately 120 other vehicles from colleges and universities throughout the world.