Venturi Buckeye Bullet

SPECIFICATIONS

Overview

• Next generation of Landspeed Racing
• Worlds first hydrogen fuel cell streamliner
• Designed and built by engineering students at The Ohio State University
• Currently set to run in Bonneville’s EIII Class at Speedweek 2009
• Driven by a custom 700+ HP electric motor
• Fueled by onboard Hydrogen and Oxygen
• Designed for safety from the ground up
• 50+ channel data acquisition system, wireless telemetry, and GPS locating system
• Test bed for research in many numerous areas

Chassis

• Designed using Solidworks CAD software to reduce mass and increase torsional stiffness
• Optimized using FEA software
• Removable cross bracing across fuel cell modules and fuel tanks for service
• 4130 Chromolly steel
  • Many other materials and composites were analyzed and designed.
  • The mechanical properties, flexibility in joining, resilience, fixture design, and reparability on the salt all lead to its’ selection
• Range of cross sections (square, rectangular, round)
• Range of thicknesses (0.049”- 0.095”)

Aerodynamics

• Requirements & Considerations
  • Low drag
  • Low pitch sensitivity
  • Lateral/crosswind stability
  • ppropriate down force
• CFD
  • Computatinoal Fluid Dynamics: the use of numerical methods and algorithms to solve the Navier-Stokes equations, which define single-phase fluid flow, on discritized geometry
  • CFD provides a virtual wind tunnel: body shapes can be aerodynamically simulated without manufacturing physical prototypes, design changes can be evaluated quickly, accurately, and economically
  •  Models solved in parallel on 12 processors
• Wind tunnel
  • Critical for CFD validation
  •  1/3 scale model
  • Open test section wind tunnel
  • 64 static pressure measurements for CFD correlation

Body

• Designed using Solidworks CAD software and optimized using CFD and windtunnel testing
• Carbon fiber skin
• Nomex honeycomb to increase stiffness and strength and reduce weight
• CNC machined molds for ultimate accuracy
• Multiple quick release panels to allow for easy access maintenance
•  Interchangeable fin section to allow for future changes to vertical surface area.

Driveline

• Custom machined solid aluminum wheels and high speed Bonneville racing tires
• Semi-custom 6 speed transaxle (Transmission and Differential unit)
• Electrical Traction System
  • Custom built AC Induction Motor
  • 3 Phase
  • Lightweight design
  • 700+ Horse Power
  • High efficiency
• Motor Controller
  • Converts DC electricity to 3 phase AC to drive the motor
  • Very high efficiency

Safety

Driver tub

• Increase stiffness around driver
• Provide impact/ intrusion resistant wall between vehicle and driver
• Eliminate sharp edges and seems around driver
• Prepreg carbon fiber/ aluminum honeycomb composite tube
  • Six (three on either side) layer 3K carbon fiber and,
  • half inch aluminum honeycomb sandwich
• Integrated driver restraint points
  • Additional plys of carbon at driver restraint points
  • distributes loads
• Integrated molded beaded seat
• Mechanically fastened to chassis

Fuel Cell System (Power Plant)

• Combines onboard Hydrogen & Oxygen to create electricity
• Not all chemical energy can be transformed in to electricity (About 60-80%)
• By-products are heat & water
• The cells heat up just like and engine and need to be cooled
• A radiator would cause to much drag traveling at 300 mph, so a ice bath was chosen an the cooling strategy

Data Acquisition

• State-of-the-art Bosch Motorsport data acquisition system
• Fully integrated double-layer CAN communication system
• High range wireless telemetry for real-time monitoring of vehicle systems
•  On-board diagnostics for real-time driver feedback
•  High accuracy GPS-based position and speed logging
• Over 50 channels of data