Superior Engineering is a team of young future engineers from various faculties of the University of Ljubljana. Currently, the team consists of 70 active members, who during the academic year build an electric racing car modeled after Formula 1, with which we participate in the Formula Student competition. In the 2023/24 season, when building a new electric racing car, we focused on eliminating the main problems of the racing car that we had in the previous season. One of the major problems was the sealing of our self-made carbon fiber rims, which we could not run under 1.50 bar pressure and uncontrolled tire deflation while driving. Compared to last season, we changed the dimensions of the aluminum mold, which also changed the width and diameter of the rim. The final dimensions were achieved by a turning process. This season, we improved the production process with a different approach in the way of hardening the material. The composite material MTC510 C200 42% RW, MTC510 C245T 42% RW and VTC401 CBX214 ± 45 - 42% RW were used to make the carbon fiber rims. We changed the plan of the laminate, the emphasis was mainly on the thickness of the edges, which we increased considerably. Changing the curing method from curing the material in an ordinary oven to curing in an autoclave meant a big difference in the final mechanical properties and also in the final appearance. The weight of the entire rim was between 900 g and 1000 g (immediately after demoulding), and the final weight when the rim was fully prepared for mounting on the tire was between 1050 g and 1200 g (with the center, bolts, nuts and after turning, etc.). The rims were made entirely of prepreg carbon fiber material with a center section of Al7075 T6 aluminum alloy. In order to better understand the properties of the material used, we also performed a characterisation of the material obtained from tensile, bending and shear tests. The measurements were performed on the composite material MTC510 C245T 42% RW and VTC401 CBX214 ± 45 - 42% RW, which have a different polymer matrix, a different number of carbon fibers in one fabric and a different bonding method. We prepared the test pieces according to EN ISO 527-4, EN ISO 14125 and EN ISO 14130 standards. We were mainly interested in the differences between different types of composite material and the differences between ± 45° and 0/90° orientations.
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