Design Considerations:
Torsional Stiffness:
- Want to achieve maximum torsional stiffness
- Decrease length of the beam, or increase the polar moment of inertia (increasing the diameter) of the material
- Get a balance between the weight and stiffness of the chassis
Triangulation:
- Triangulation of members is used to increase the torsional stiffness of the frame
- Each joint of the chassis should have at least three rods to complement the load path
- Thin walled tubing performs well in tension and compression, but poor in bending
- Triangulation helps mitigate this
Mounts:
- Motor controllers
- Gas and brake pedal
- Parking brake handle
- Internal panels for driver controls
- Towing hard point
- Seats
- Door hinges
- Smaller items: electrical conduits, etc.
Mounting Considerations:
- Suspension should be attached to stiff portions of the chassis to help load distribution
- Control arm distance should be taken into consideration, and designed concurrently with the frame
- Have the mass towards the centre of the car to decrease the yaw inertia
- Driver comfort concerns with seats (seating angle, elbow space, head height, etc.)
- Roll hoops, front bulkhead, suspension, and battery box mounts are fixed points to be modelled around
Resources:
http://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i4/SUB153824.pdf