The Chronicle

Orion Racing India Newsletter November 2011

Technical Update
The 7th August, 2011 was one of the most disappointing days in the history of ORI as The Aeton couldn't complete the Endurance event at Formula Student Germany. On returning home, the team rolled up their sleeves and started troubleshooting. Reliability of the car had to be improved and in order to do so more focus had to be given to vehicle testing. Thus, the team came to a conclusion that the design and manufacturing of the new car was to be finished in a shorter time span than the previous years so that we would have more time for testing. The design of the 2012 car is almost complete and the following points sum up the new design.

Suspension Roll centre height was reduced

Camber change allowance

incorporated in upright design

Front suspension design

changed from push rod to pull rod mechanism

Rear uprights were made

to accommodate 3-in-1 Hub to reduce number of parts in drive line

Steering Splined universal joints to be implemented on the columns to reduce compliances

Gear ratio has been changed for faster response and higher sensitivity New QD with electrical connecter to be implemented

Brakes Spherical bearing mounted master cylinder selected thus eliminating adapter plate
Adjustable pedal box design made keeping in mind driver ergonomics Pedal box design has been changed for better response New brake callipers selected

Chassis Rear box on chassis has been eliminated

Overall weight reduction of

chassis is around 7 kg

Driver positioning fixture

was made to study driver ergonomics and the seat is designed accordingly

Engine placement has been

revised to facilitate ease of mounting the engine on to the chassis and easy access to the clutch

AIE New restrictor with subsonic flow pattern was simulated to obtain equal power in each cylinder
Exhaust lengths were iterated on Riccardo to obtain maximum performance with flatter

performance curves
Problem of temperature drop inside airbox was eliminated Two intake manifolds with 1.2 lit and 2 lit capacity were tested to analyse the output

Cooling New thermostat housing has been designed and being rapid prototyped to check feasibility
Analysis of shrouding on radiator is in progress

Drive Train New differential mount has been designed to be mounted directly on the engine
3-in-1 Hub was designed to incorporate the the tripod bearing into hub

Power Train Due to malfunctioning of the electronic shifter last year, temporary manual shifter mechanism implemented for testing of the Aeton
Stock shifter drum profile was analysed

using 3D scanning and design work on new shifter drum is in progress

Engine was tuned further during the

October testing session

More engine tuning to follow on the dynamometer

Composites New design of steering wheel has been made and analysed on Nei Nastran and manufacturing is underway
Pultruded rods to be tested to use as suspension control arms New seat with foam as core has been designed and will be tested after manufacturing Fuel tank has been designed and will be tested for leak proofing

Design Review
The 9 of October was one very enlightening day for team 2012, for we had our first design review presided over by our distinguished alumni members Hiren Patel and Shashi Maurya. The purpose of this design review was to simply have each system put forth their designs and pitch their ideas to the judges, who would then give a thorough analysis and critique of the same. As FSG is purely a design event, the team had decided early on that conducting such mock tests was paramount. The review was kick started by the Steering team and one after another members from various systems presented their designs which was a result of the hard work put in by the team over the last few months.
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At the end of the review the judges gave their valuable feedback and suggested various improvements in the design, they were content with what the team had presented and advised the team to make testing of the car the prime focus.

Testing Session
The festive season was approaching and as people in Mumbai were busy welcoming the New Year and celebrating the festival of lights, Orion Racing India took the car to the track for a grueling four day testing schedule. The team looked for appropriate testing areas and after much deliberations and refusal from various authorities, we were able to secure a testing arena at Bandra Kurla Complex. Capitalizing on the time at hand prior to our visit to BKC, we started testing the sensors and their response to the car on campus itself. And thus, the intense testing session began. The engine team managed to tune the engine to a great extent which resulted in improved acceleration timings. Due to the efforts of the electronics team, live readings were acquired effortlessly thanks to live telemetry. The accelerometers and STSs logged a lot of data which helped the Suspension team with their design calculations and will help them make design iterations in the future.

Minor setbacks are part and parcel of race car design and testing, and like any other team we came across some. The radiator was damaged during transportation but luckily, we had a spare radiator to run with. The chassis team had to get their hands dirty and put in additional bracings at the rear since the differential mount bent the rear chassis member. All in all, it was a great testing session and the sleepless nights spent by the team were well worth it.

Interview
Prasham Maniar, BE Mechanical. Driver and Power Train Head
As a driver, how do you like the feel of The Aeton? As a car I love the power of the Aeton. If only I could drive it all the time. Its just brilliant in its ride and handling as well. There is still lot of scope for improvement which we are intending to exploit this year. What are the goals of the engine team this year? The Engine team this year is looking forward to extract as much power as we can from the engine. During our first test session we clocked some of our best acceleration timings and the engine team is looking forward to doing better. Orion just had a fantastic test session. What are your thoughts? It was a fantastic session no doubt. I've been in Orion Racing India for 2 years now and I haven't seen a better testing session than this. The working hours were very difficult for everyone but the team showed great spirit, gusto and dedication towards the testing session. This session has provided some vital data and information which we all look forward to use it in our next year's design and also help us tune the engine better. Your most special moment in the workshop? There have been a lot of great moments in the workshop which is why I feel it is like a second home. But if I were to pick one, the best moment was the time when the fully assembled Aeton made its first run. The run provided an atmosphere of overwhelming satisfaction as lot of sacrifices were made by everyone in all forms. Did you catch the Indian Grand Prix? How do you see motor sports developing in India? Yes I did manage to catch the Indian Grand Prix. Watching Vettel cross that finish line was enthralling indeed. Now that we have finally made our presence felt on the F1 circuit, I am positive that the popularity garnered by the Indian GP will raise the bar for motorsports in India and will encourage the automobile fraternity to stand and take notice of the Indian motorsport scene.

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