WORKING TOGETHER MAKES US STRONGER
DENNIS VAN IERSEL
Last month we explained that we wanted to design a car that is both aesthetically pleasing and low aerodynamic resistance. The aerodynamics team created a well designed body but now it was our turn to design the structure of the car. Using simulation software we calculated the minimal amount of material to ensure the car will be able to withstand all possible forces that are generated if the car drives around, and to ensure the car is safe enough to withstand various impacts and collisions. Using the simulation software it is possible to determine how many layers of carbon fiber need to be applied to the car to make it stiff and safe. Obviously more layers will result in a heavier car, so we strive for the minimal amount of layers needed to fulfill the requirements that are specified in our architecture.
We had some challenges with our simulation application. The design has fancy but also complex curves. This made it hard for us to execute structural calculations. Curves are fairly complex to simulate, making the calculations difficult. This means that we were having troubles to determine where to put the right amount layers of carbon fiber. Thankfully, we got support from engineers from Segula and Ansys and together with my dedicated teammembers we completed the job.
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