Race car mirror cover production focused on reducing air drag

Abstract

The paper presents a mirror cover manufacturing process, focused on geometry optimization by reducing air drag for Silesian Greenpower electric car. Silesian Greenpower is a student’s interfaculty project, of which aim is to design, build, and race an electric vehicle. Each car is equipped with the same motor and batteries. Target is to finish as many laps as possible during a set amount of time. Major development takes place in aerodynamics to decrease movement resistance. In the presented development process, computer-aided design software was used to create part concepts and then aerodynamics simulation was carried out to determine quality of each design. The influence of chosen geometric parameters was analysed and discussed in the article. The final concept was manufactured using 3D-printing technology with ABS - acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, because of good mechanical properties but also availability and relatively low cost. 3D˗printed elements were verified experimentally using smoke stream generator.

Preliminary Study on Mechanical Aspects of 3D-Printed PLA-TPU Composites

“…This material also absorbs shocks. It is resistant to oils, solvents, and greases [ 4 ]. Thermal polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) are a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), which combines thermal rubber mechanical properties with thermal polymer processing capabilities.…”

“…The use of a completely rigid suspension was dictated by the desire to minimize the loss of mechanical energy. However, the lack of any elastic or damping elements in the suspension transmits any vibrations arising from uneven surfaces, for example, to the body of the car and the frame of the car, and thus affects the driving conditions of the driver during the race [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”