Optimization of a Carbon Fiber Composite Monocoque Car Body for Formula Society of Automotive Engineers

Abstract:

A monocoque chassis for racing car was designed with the carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb as the main materials. Different materials were studied and chosen. The direction, sequence and thickness of each constituent layer were sequently optimized with freesize optimization, size optimization and shuffle optimization. The torsion strength and bending stiffness of the monocoque car body were mechanically and experimently checked. The results show that the mass of the body is 24.3 kg, which is 34% lower than the orignal steel frame, and the torsional stiffness of the designed carbon fiber monocoque car body can reach the same degree with the reference steel frame body. With optimized match of direction, the thickness and sequence of each layer, and carbon fiber composites products can provide more strength and stiffness than steel products.

Key words:Formula Society of Automotive Engineers(FSAE); carbon fiber; monocoque car body; light weighting