DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A FUEL-EFFICIENT ENGINE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OF A PROTOTYPE VEHICLE AND BODY AERODYNAMICS EVALUATION


DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A FUEL-EFFICIENT ENGINE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OF A PROTOTYPE VEHICLE AND BODY AERODYNAMICS EVALUATION 

ABSTRACT

This project entails the design construction and test evaluation of an energy efficient go-cart engine and transmission system.

A target of 100km/l of fuel is set, having the knowledge that weight plays a major role in the efficiency of any vehicle using internal combustion engines; and also the aerodynamics of the vehicle body design is equally important as well. Aluminium profiles are used to construct and fabricate the chassis while wooden board is used for floor covering. Care is taken to reduce any excessive weights by cutting off parts that do not contribute to the structural integrity of the vehicle or which its contribution is highly negligible.

A CRF70 series engine was selected for the design with a net torque of 7.1Nm, with the required torque compensated for using a gear ratio of 1:3. The vehicle design acquiesces with the Shell Eco-Marathon Global Rules for the prototype gasoline category; which implies that there are design requirements and rules which must be met and not to be exceeded. For instance, a need for idling when the engine is cranked. The engine is installed behind the bulkhead separating the driver compartment from the engine compartment and rubber dampers of known damping coefficient are used to check the effect of vibration of the engine. A fuel tank of 250ml is used as reservoir for the gasoline while a chain drive mechanism is used to transmit power from the engine to the rear-wheel shaft on which the rear wheel is mounted; this in turn moves the entire vehicle. Care is taken to ensure fine tuning of the carburettor to avoid so much fuel consumption. After series of testing, the vehicle participated in the just concluded 2016 Shell Eco Marathon Challenger event held in South Africa which is one of the most genuine student engineers’ competition in the world where students in universities all over the world are challenged to design, fabricate and drive the ultimate energy efficient vehicles.

A result of 52.54km/l of fuel was recorded at the event computed using standard international algorithms as against 48km/l which was estimated. This implies acceleration, temperature of fuel and aerodynamic drag are all factors that contribute to the efficiency of any vehicle. This result of 52.52km/l is about 52.54% of the set target.

From the results, for a better performance an injector type engine should be used, that is the carburettor should be replaced by electronic fuel injection kits. Carbon fibre would

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................... iv

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... v

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................... vi

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... vii

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................................... 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................................... 3

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................... 3

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK ............................................................................................. 4

1.5 SCOPE OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................. 4

CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................................. 5

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 5

2.1 Brief History of Go-Cart .................................................................................................................. 6

2.2 TRANSMISSIONS........................................................................................................................... 7

2.3 TRANSMISSION USED FOR GO CART VEHICLES: .............................................................. 13

2.3.1 Manual Transmission ............................................................................................................. 13

2.3.2 Evolution Super Mileage Team .............................................................................................. 14

2.3.3 Alerion Super mileage ............................................................................................................ 14

2.3.4 Project Infinity ....................................................................................................................... 14

2.3.5 University of Science of Malaysia .......................................................................................... 14

2.3.6 Eco Illini ................................................................................................................................. 14

2.3.7 Team Green ............................................................................................................................ 15

2.3.8 Eco lancers .............................................................................................................................. 15

2.4 VEHICLE BODY DESIGN: .......................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................................... 18

3.0 METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................... 18

3.1 MATERIALS ................................................................................................................................. 18

3.2 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS/CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................... 19

3.5 DESIGN CONCEPTS AND COMPONENTS SELECTION ....................................................... 19

3.6 DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED DESIGN ......................................................................... 20

 3.6.1 ENGINE: CRF70 Series ......................................................................................................... 20

3.6.2 WHEEL AND TYRES: .......................................................................................................... 20

3.6.3 TRANSMISSION SYSTEM: ................................................................................................. 21

3.6.4 GEAR SELECTION MECHANISM AND ACTUATION SYSTEM: ................................. 21

3.7 MATERIALS SELECTION .......................................................................................................... 21

3.8 DESIGN CALCULATIONS .......................................................................................................... 22

3.8.1 TORQUE, POWER AND GEAR RATIO ............................................................................. 22

3.8.2 Calculation for Maximum Speed of Go-Cart ........................................................................ 24

3.8.3 DESIGN OF STATIONARY SHAFT FOR REARWHEEL ASSEMBLY .......................... 26

3.8.4 DESIGN OF THE CHAIN DRIVE SYSTEM: ............................................................................ 28

3.9 VEHICLE BODY DESIGN ........................................................................................................... 34

3.9.1 CHASSIS DESIGN: ............................................................................................................... 34

3.9.2 AERODYNAMICS: ............................................................................................................... 35

3.9.3 SAFETY: ................................................................................................................................ 37

3.9.4 WEIGHT: ............................................................................................................................... 37

3.9.5 STABILITY: .......................................................................................................................... 37

3.8 MATERIAL SAFETY AND DATA SHEET (MSDS) .................................................................. 38

CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................................... 39

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 39

4.2 TEST EVALUATION ..................................................................................................................... 44

4.3 BILL OF ENGINEERING MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATION (BEME) ............................. 45

CHAPTER FIVE............................................................................................................................................. 46

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................... 46

  CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 46

    RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 47

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................... 48

APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................................................ 49

APPENDIX A: ............................................................................................................................................ 49

APPENDIX B: ................................................................................................................................................ 50

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Since the inception of the first steam engines, technology of engines and the method of transmission of

the power generated by these engines have evolved over the years with the advent of the diesel, gasoline

engines to mention a few.  

Chaitanya Sharma et al, (2014) according to his study, insisted that there are growing demand for fossil

fuel like diesel and petrol to power automotive and cater other needs of human and as such Fossil fuels

are being depleted because of their excessive use and limited stocks.  

In a country like Nigeria where the demand for fuel is over the bar and there is a recent hike in the price

of premium motor spirit (PMS), there is need for a better means of fuel consumption and efficiency in

automobiles and possible alternatives to fossil fuel.  

In addition, the use of fossil fuels results in the pollution of the environment. In metro cities like Delhi,

Beijing, the level of pollution from vehicles during peak hour is dangerous; and because of this, people

are fragile and wear mask for filtering the polluted air for respiration. (Wikipedia, 2016)

Furthermore, there are frequent traffic jams on the road due to this there is wastage of fuel and time. All

these  factors  are  responsible  for  various  problems  in  human  such  as  headache,  stress,  reduced

performance and so on. To minimize all these problems and to keep our earth free from pollution and

human health and fitness, there is an urgent need to seek better means of efficient fuel combustion in IC

engines.  

Efforts are being put to develop vehicle powered by solar energy, hydrogen, biodiesel and batteries. The

movement of mechanical devices is a function of the rotational mechanisms involved and is subject to

it. An engine is the prime mover of most equipment and functions in relation to other fixed and attached

components. In this regard, an automobile engine provides the torque required to propel the vehicle via

its transmission system initiated by a gear and other related mechanisms.

The  efficiency  of  any  vehicle  would  depend  much  on  the  method  in  which  the  power  or  torque  is

transmitted to the wheels of the vehicle. There are various means in which engineers have utilized in the

transmission  of  power.  Most  recently  is  the  four-wheel  drive  transmission  mechanism  in  which  the

power is divided equally amongst the four wheels of a standard automobile and supplied at the same

time.

                                              1

 Usually, a rear transmission mechanism is used where the power generated at the engine is transmitted

using shafts to propel the rear wheels,

The simplest transmissions, often called gearboxes to reflect their simplicity (although complex systems

are  also  called  gearboxes  in  the  vernacular),  provide  gear  reduction  (or,  more  rarely,  an  increase  in

speed),  sometimes  in  conjunction  with  a  right-angle  change  in  direction  of  the  shaft  (typically

in helicopters). These are often used on power-take-off (PTO)-powered agricultural equipment, since

the axial PTO shaft is at odds with the usual need for the driven shaft, which is either vertical (as with

rotary mowers), or horizontally extending from one side of the implement to another (as with manure

spreaders, flail  mowers,  and forage  wagons).  More  complex  equipment,  such  as silage  choppers

and snow blowers, have drives with output in more than one direction.

In the drive train, power is produced by the engine and transferred to the wheels to propel the vehicle.

Drive train helps to transfer power produced from the engine to the wheels with the help of intermediate

linkages. The set of linkages in between the engine and the wheels constitute the drive train. It includes

the clutch, the gearbox, the universal joints and the drive shaft and the differential arrangement.  

The  function of the clutch  is to provide gradually increasing amount of power to the shaft, while the

engine output remains fixed. For better understanding, vehicle requires more power when it just starts

to roll (it needs to overcome inertia); but at this point in time the speed is very low. Since the engine is

connected to the wheels rigidly through gears and shafts, the engine also moves slowly. Since a slow

revolving engine produces little power which is not sufficient to accelerate, more power is produced if

it runs at high RPMs. In order to couple an engine running at high speed with a gear system running at

low speed, a clutch is introduced which connects the engine and the gear non-rigidly.

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THIS STUDY

This study analyses the efficiency of the engine and transmission systems of the car and its performance

for optimal  values  for the  mechanical  efficiency,  fuel  consumption,  power  and torque outputs,  mean

effective pressure (mep). A fundamental aspect of this study is the modification of the engine for less

fuel consumption, torque and power output values for efficient performance. This involves conversion

of  the  engine  from  carburettor  to  electronic  fuel  injection  system,  utilization  of  centrifugal  clutch

transmission system, aerodynamics of vehicle design (including the shape, frontal area, drag coefficient,

rolling resistance).

 According to (Wikipedia, 2016), engine tuning is a modification of the internal combustion engine or

modification of its control unit, (Engine Control or ECU). It is performed to yield optimal performance,

to increase an engine’s power output, economy, or durability.

Shehata  &  Abdel  (2008) stated that  engine  produces  its  maximum  power  at  engine  speed  where  the

power increase provided by the frequency of cycles is completely balanced by the decrease in torque.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The  problem  and  challenges  resulting  from  the  usage  of  automobiles in  the  day-to-day  activities  as

enlisted below has led to the embarking on this project. These are:

· Poor energy efficiency in the combustion of fuels used in vehicles leading to fuel wastage and

    high cost.

· Increased fuel price regardless of the present state of the Nigerian economy  leading to a high

    cost of running automobiles

· Environmental Pollution due to incomplete combustion of  fuel  in the combustion chamber of

    typical automobile engines.

· Improper power to weight ratio of vehicles resulting in inability to climb hills of certain degrees

    and/or more energy consumption in doing so.

· Increased vehicle drags due to poor streamlining of body aerodynamics.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this project is to achieve a target distance of one hundred kilometres (100km) in one litre of

fuel with the design of an efficient engine transmission system and aerodynamic body of a prototype

vehicle.

The objectives of this project are:

· To design and construct an enhanced transmission system utilizing centrifugal clutch and a chain

    drive mechanism.

· To  perform  stress  analysis  on  the  vehicle  body  using  finite  element  methods  to  check  for

      principal stresses and deformation.

· To carryout test evaluation of energy efficiency of the vehicle.

 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK

The significance of this work is to proffer new  ideas  for the automobile  industry  in the areas of  fuel

efficiency and alternative for the automobile industry in the changing fuel market economy as well as

foster faster and safer mobility of persons, goods and commodities. Also, to make our automobiles eco-

friendlier  and  reduce  green-house  gases  that  are  emitted  to  the  atmosphere  on  a  daily  basis  thereby

contributing  our  own  quota  to  the  reduction  in  the  global  warming  effect  that  the  earth  is  presently

experiencing. This project will thus provide cheaper and effective means for mobility of one man and

through the design an energy efficient prototype vehicle create a benchmark for future vehicle designs

(especially prototypes).

1.5 SCOPE OF RESEARCH

This research is limited to the design and fabrication of an efficient engine transmission system for a

prototype  vehicle  using  a go-cart vehicle  as  case  study, utilizing  a  single  cylinder  four-stroke  spark

ignition engine and chain drive mechanism.

.


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