Design, Optimization, and Analysis of the Chassis of a Racecar

This article includes the design procedure and the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that was undertaken to design a chassis to be used in a Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) racecar competition. After conducting an audit on the previous chassis design, major design goals were created for optimization and improvement, some of which included removing the rear box section to allow a 52-tooth sprocket, increasing the torsional stiffness, and decreasing the weight. Computer software ANSYS and SolidWorks were used to analyze the major performance indicators of the chassis design. The torque of the car was increased by approximately 30%, torsional stiffness was increased by 10%, the chassis was shortened by 12.8%, and the weight was reduced by 3.5%. The results from the analysis suggest that there are many improvements in the new chassis design, and it will be highly beneficial to the new FSAE car.