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Baja SAE UTEP 2014 Design Report- Team Jaabaz,

VIT University
RESEARCH AUGUST 2015
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4307.8889

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VEHICLE NUMBER-21

TEAM JAABAZ BAJA SAE (UTEP 2014) DESIGN REPORT

Debidutta Mishra
Team Captain, VIT University
N.Raghuram
VIT University

Copyright @ 2014 SAE International

ABSTRACT
This report tries to summarize the steps taken in
finalizing the design in a nutshell. The requirements of
roll cage, front and rear suspension systems, steering
and drive train are considered here. The objective of the
design team was to satisfy these functions while meeting
the SAEs rules and regulations with special
considerations given to safety of the occupant, ease of
manufacturing, cost, weight (dynamic behavior) and
overall aesthetics and performance.

INTRODUCTION
This report describes the methodology followed by Team
Jaabaz to design, fabricate and test an all terrain vehicle
that will compete in Mini Baja event in UTEP. The
purpose of this competition is to simulate a real world
engineering design project in which collegiate teams
design and manufacture a prototype of a rugged, single
seated off-road recreational vehicle intended for sale to
the non-professional week-end off-road enthusiast. The
design should be durable, safe and easy to maintain and
must be able to negotiate rough terrain in all weather
conditions.

VEHICLE DESIGN
Main design focus The main design focuses with
the completely new 2014 vehicle are a lighter and more
rigid and ascetics oriented frame, a more robust
suspension design, and a more versatile drive train. With
gained easy access to a tube bender the team was able
to increase the number of bends in the vehicle and in
turn use more continuous members. The weight of the
car was also reduced by switching to 1 mm thick tube in
SIM. Similar robust and durable designs were adopted in
suspension, transmission and brakes system. In addition
to these design focuses the team also wanted to
address the failures that occurred during the 2012
competition.

FRAME DESIGN

Material selection: Material selection is one of the key

factors in designing the frame of the ATV as it is the
measure of safety, reliability, performance and strength
of the roll cage. We conducted a thorough research on
the tube materials and compared them in multiple
categories.
Material

AISI
1018

AISI
4130

Duplex
2205
steel

Duplex
2205
steel

Outside
diameter

2.540
cm

2.540
cm

2.540
cm

2.540
cm

Wall
thickness

0.2 cm

0.2 cm

0.2 cm

0.1cm

Bending
stiffness

2791
2
Nm

2791
2
Nm

2171
2
Nm

Bending
strength

390
Nm

382
Nm

454 Nm

260.4
Nm

1.6615
kg/m

1.2444
kg/m

1.1475
kg/m

0.8790
kg/m

Weight/meter

Since the Duplex steel(2mm tube) has a higher strength

than 3mm tube of AISI 1018 steel, we opted for this steel
which ensured better weight savings. The overall weight
was further reduced by using 1mm tube as secondary
members.
Welding: The final rollcage was fabricated after making
the pipe model and thereafter making the necessary
modifications Duplex 2205 is a austenitic-ferritic
stainless steel and has good weldability due to presence
of Nitrogen. Duplex 2205 is low carbon content stainless
steel. Considering the compatibility along with cost and
availability, 308L electrode was found to be suitable.

Finite Element Analysis of the Models:

The following tests were used to check the design
Front Impact Test, Rear Impact Test, Front Wheel
Bump, Rear Wheel Bump, Heave and Twisting. The
results are shown in Fig.3,4,5,8,9 and 10.

SUSPENSION:

STEERING SYSTEM

Objective: A BAJA suspension must be engineered

which will provide the ability to compete in the every
event with practical features like ground clearance and
suspension travel which results in good comfort and
control to the drive allowing proper navigation in a rough
terrain.

Objective-The objective of steering system is to provide

directional control of the vehicle, to withstand high stress
in off terrain conditions, to reduce steering effort and to
provide good response from road to driver.

Design: The designing process is done where the

parameters like camber gain, motion ratio were analysed
which are required for designing ATV suspension. The
mounting points of the front and rear suspension were
designed in SolidWorks. Then using these mounting
points the analysis was done in Optimum-K to verify the
assumed parameters. Analysis of output is done in terms
of graph between the parameters like wheel travel Vs
camber change etc.
1. Front Suspension:. The front suspension is a short &
long A-arm wishbone arrangement (fig.2). The roll centre
is kept at the optimised height (7.85 inch) to reduce the
body roll. The upright is manufactured by CNC and is
symmetric,has good strength to absorb loads. The
upright also provides a location to mount the brake
calliper (Fig.7). In order to compensate for dive-effects
during aggressive cornering, the camber angle for the
front suspension has been set at 0 at ride height. In
addition to that, the camber angle has been set to
decrease when the shock absorber compresses during
turns. As the suspension is double wishbone, front and
rear arms are made from 1 inch OD MS material. The
length of the front control arms allows for a positive
travel in the front of the car to be 11.81 in& the camber
gain angle varies from -3deg to +0.5deg (fig.15).
2. Rear Suspension:4 link H-arm(fig.13) suspension
was chosen instead of 5 in order to replace the toelink and better capability to adjust to various
parameters. Also the loads are shared on the 4
mountings
which
will
reduce
the
stress
concentration.
As like the front suspension, the rear upright (Fig.8) is
also a single manufactured piece which provides for the
connection of the A-arms and callipers.
3. Shock Absorbers: The front shock absorbers were
mounted on lower arm. These Powersports shock
absorbers have stiffness of 600N/inch.
Because of the uneven distribution of weights, the
stiffness of the rear absorbers is kept high. The rear
shock absorbers were mounted on upper arm. The rear
shock absorbers are stiffer than the front absorbers. The
stiffness is 650N/inch.

Design : We chose fast ratio rack and pinion which

travels from one end to other end (5 inches) in 1-1/2
turns of pinion. steering ratio of 4:1 is achieved which
means for every 4 degree rotation of steering wheel tires
will be turned by 1 degree.
1. Adjustable steering column: (fig.14.a)This year we
have come up with adjustable steering which means the
driver can adjust the steering wheel angle according to
his height and comfort. A plunger type mechanism is
used to change the angle of steering column which is
present inside a mounting rod to which a plate is welded.
2. Tie rods : The material we chose is high hardened
steel to which one side ball joint is attached and to other
clevis joint. The lengths of the tie rods for steering
assembly were found to be 15.81 inches using three
instantaneous centre methods.This time by using 15.81
inches tie rods we eliminated bump steer till 160mm
bump. Simulations were done for correct tie rod length
and to study bump steer effects (toe, camber change).
3. Correct steering angle: While taking turns, the
condition of perfect rolling is achieved if the axes of the
front wheels when produced meet the rear axis at one
point. This is the instantaneous centre of the vehicle. the
inner wheel deflects by a greater angle than the outer
wheel. larger the steering angle, smaller is the turning
circle. The steering angle of the inner wheel can have a
maximum value of about 44 degrees. The geometry has
been demonstrated in fig.14.b
Steering specifications
steering ratio
rack travel
front track width
wheel base
inner lock angle
outer lock angle
castor
SAI
camber
scrub radius
toe
rack length
rack mounting height
Turning radius

4:1
5 inches per 540 deg pinion
rotation
59.09 inches
54 inches
42 deg
28 deg
5 deg
6 deg
0 deg in front and 10 deg in rear
30 mm
0 mm
15 inches
3.30 inches
3.30 m

Therefore Smallest Gear Ratio =

(3.6X(3.14/30)X3800X0.31)/(60) = 7.39

TRANSMISSION
Objective: The main objective of the drive train is to
vary the torque in the most efficient way possible. This is
being done through proper gear reduction for the needs
of the vehicle in the competition. We picked a manual
transaxle over CVT because of the following reasons

Wider gear ratios range

Gives better acceleration
Lighter and economical
Slippage losses are less in manual gear box
Heat generated in manual transmission is less
due to the time gap between the shifts.
ENGINE: The engine provided by SAE is a 10 hp Briggs
and Stratton make generating a torque of 19 Nm. The
SAE Baja rules state that the maximum rpm of the motor
for the competition has to be set at 3800 rpm and the
idle speed has to be 1750 rpm.
Design Methodology: In our previous years design we
used direct coupling between the engine and transaxle.
Due to this configuration the length of the rear A-arms
had significantly reduced which adversely affected our
ATVs suspension system. So in order to increase the
length of the rear A- arms without increasing the track
width of the car, the engine was placed over the
transaxle.
We used a chain and sprocket system (fig.17) to
couple the engine and transaxle .A chain guard was
fabricated enclosing the entire chain drive.(fig.20)
1. Transaxle Design Details: We did a market survey with
the available transaxles of three vehicles in Indian
market: Mahindra Alfa Passenger, Piaggio Ape Mini
Truck and Mahindra Geo Mini Truck.
1.1 Maximum Gear Ratio =
Radius of tyre, r = 12 inch = 0.31m
Mass of vehicle, m = 380 Kg(approx)
fr = rolling resistance coefficient = 0.035
= Maximum Angle of Inclination = 45

1.3 Piaggio ape mini gear box overall gear ratios

Since the desired range of gear ratios was close enough
to that of Piaggio Ape Mini Trucks gear box, hence we
selected Piaggio Ape Mini Trucks gear box.

Clutch gear
and
countershaft
reduction
Sprocket
Reduction
1st gear ratio

2.20

2nd gear
ratio
3rd gear ratio

2.73

4th gear ratio

1.12

Differential
ratio

4.17

0.9
5.80

1.66

Net gear reduction: Gear ratio x clutch gear reduction x

sprocket reduction x differential gear ratio
e.g Net 1st gear reduction: 5.80x2.20x0.9x4.17=47.89
2. Speed and Acceleration Calculations:
Max Speed of Engine=3800RPM
Max Torque of Engine=19 N.m
Diameter of the wheel=0.635 m
Mass of the vehicle= 380 kg(approx.)
st
Considering forward 1 gear
Speed = 3800/47.889 = 79.35 rpm=9.44 km/h
Acceleration calculationTorque=19*47.889=909.891N.m
2
A=F/M =T/Mr = 909.891/ 380*0.3175= 7.542 m/s
Chain Configuration
Considering the standard chain drive calculation
formulae and service factors, the following chain
configuration was adopted.

= Efficiency of Manual Gear Box = 0.92

Hence, Maximum Gear Ratio =
(400X9.81X0.31X(0.035Xcos45+sin45))/(19X0.92) =
48.38

The Smallest gear ratio of the gear box is given by the

equation:
1.2 Minimum Gear Ratio =

GEAR

Net
reduction

Max
speed
(km/h)

Max
acceleration
(m/s2)

1
2
3
4

47.889
22.54
13.71
9.247

9.44
20.06
32.98
48.90

7.542
3.55
2.167
1.449

3. CHAIN CONFIGURATIONS:

n = Speed of engine(rpm) = 3800

v = Speed of vehicle (kmph) = 60

Type = DR 50 Rolon Chain

Centre distance = 14 (360mm)
Number of teeth in Engine pinion = 19

Number of teeth in Gearbox pinion=17

Length of chain =38.5 Inch(978mm)
Pitch diameter of engine sprocket=75mm
Pitch diameter of gearbox sprocket=67mm

BRAKES:
Objective: The purpose of the braking system is to
increase the safety and maneuverability of the vehicle by
statically and dynamically locking all four tires on both
paved and unpaved surfaces.
Design: The exploded view of rear wheel assembly has
been shown in fig.18 which displays the calipers and
discs fitted to the hub.

Name of the component

Front Disc diameter (in.)
Rear Disc diameter (in.)
Front caliper piston diameter
(in.) caliper piston diameter
Rear
(in.)
Front
master cylinder bore
diameter(in.) (ABP Racing
master cylinder)
Rear master cylinder bore
diameter (in.) (Wilwood Master
cylinder)
Pedal ratio
Co-efficient of friction of brake
pad material
Weight
of the car with
driver(lbs.)
Brake biasing

Description
7.87
8.6614
1.063
1.496
0.625

0.75
6.25 : 1
0.4
815
64:36

Our hydraulic brake system is controlled by a single

pedal in line with two separate master cylinders. The use
of two separate master cylinders is a safety interlock, in
case one fails, the other will still be operable. Another
advantage of using dual master cylinders is the ability to
adjust brake bias. The brake circuit we have used is of
the horizontal split type. This was used due to the fact
that the tires have positive scrub radius. Hence, one
cylinder will control the front braking system and the
other the rear system.

Brake configuration:
By mounting the master cylinders on the top of the nose,
we ensured easy maintenance. The pedal & balance bar
are from Wilwood with a pedal ratio of 6.25:1 for
maximum leverage and power multiplication.
Different master cylinders were chosen for the front &
rear because the front required considerably more
pressure than the rear due to smaller rotors in the front.
Armored steel braided brake lines run through the length
of the car and flexible rubber lines at the A-arms in the
rear for suspension travel. These were chosen due to
their flexibility and their strength and ability to maintain
high line pressure values.
The reliability of our braking system is improved by
having separate disk and calipers on each wheel. The
front brakes consists of discs from 2010 Safari 200
ATV from Powersports motorsports, right caliper
from TVS Apache RTR 180 bike & the left from Suzuki

GS 150R bike. Different calipers were chosen for the

right & left front wheel to ensure that the bleeding valve
faces upwards for easy bleeding. Dual piston design was
chosen because of increased piston area and more
uniform gradual pad wear. The rear discs are from
Honda CBR 250 & the calipers are from 2013 Safari
200 ATV from Powersports. These calipers were
chosen due to their small size giving acceptable values
of clearance, whilst maintaining good braking capability.
All four calipers are floating type because of the fact that
they are very compact and easy to package on vehicles.
In addition to that, they have fewer leak points as
compared to fixed piston types.
Analysis of the brake system was performed on the
vehicle with a velocity of 30 MPH. For an input force of
100 lbs on the pedal the resulting deceleration was
around 0.9 g. At this deceleration, it would take the car
around 1.5 s to stop.
The analysis on the rear hubs manufactured from EN08
material has been shown in Fig.(12)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:
Certain electrical components have been installed in the
ATV to ensure its safety. Two kill switches have been
mounted with easy accessibility, which instantly kill the
engine. Brake lights, reverse light and reverse alarm
pertaining to SAE standards have been used. A GPS
module has been mounted in the drivers cockpit area
which displays the co-ordinates and speed of the vehicle
directly to the driver. A transponder is being used which
relays the number of laps completed to a timing device
on the track. All electrical components are powered from
safely secured 9V batteries.

CONCLUSION:
The final product manufactured by Team Jaabaz for
BAJA UTEP 2014 is a result of collaborative
multidisciplinary team design. Material selection for each
and every component remained a priority for the team
considering an optimum strength to weight ratio,
durability, cost effectiveness and feasibility. Before
initiating the actual fabrication, real time conditions were
simulated using various FEA packages like Solidworks,
ANSYS, Optimum-K and critical parts of ATV were
analyzed for safety and optimization issues. The parts
were manufactured in techniques which can be
considered suitable for mass production of this model, if
introduced in market.
Apart from manufacturing issues, the team also has to
focus on other aspects like managing funds and working
with a budget plan, achieving targets within deadlines,
project management, marketing and sales, making its
members competent automobile engineers and tech
savvy, in short attempting to make the team members
ready for real time industry experience.

REFERENCES:
1. SAE International BAJA SAE Rules 2014
http://www.sae.org/students/2014_baja_rule
s_8-2103.pdf
2. Race car Vehicle Dynamics: Milliken and
Milliken
3. Car suspension and Handling: Geoffrey
Donald Bastow
4. Automobile Engineering, Kirpal Sings
5. Engineering Data Book

Fig .1Vehicle Front View

Fig .2- Front Lower A arm- FOS= 1.4

Fig .3- Frame for BAJA UTEP 2014

Fig .4- 2g Side impact analysis- FOS=2.7

Fig .5- Front Impact analysis-8500N at front

FOS=2.686

Fig.7-Front Upright analysis

Fig.6-Vehicle Top View

Fig.8- Rear Upright analysis

Fig.9- Rear Impact analysis- Load

8500 N at rear FOS=3.77

Fig.10- Front Bump Test-Load 1700N on front

wheel,
FOS=6.7

Fig 13- Rear Upper control arm analysisFOS=1.8

Fig.11- Vehicle Side View

Fig 12-Wheel hub analysis- FOS-2.9

Fig 14a- Adjustable steering assembly

Fig.15 Front left wheel camber

curve
Fig 14b- Ackermann Steering geometry

Fig.19 Oil seal for the gearbox along

with clutch shaft

Fig.16 Isometric View of the Vehicle

Fig.20 Photo of the Chain drive with

the chain cover

Fig.17 Transmission System

Fig.21 Photo of front A-arm fabrication

Fig.18 Wheel Assembly