F1 - DragMaestros

Background

The F-1 DragMaestros project group is working in conjunction with the  Anteater Formula Racing Team to design, test, and integrate a drag reduction system on the rear wing of the vehicle to improve race times and overall performance. Anteater Formula Racing at UCI builds an open-wheel, internal-combustion race car inspired by Formula 1 and IndyCar racing to compete at Formula SAE California. Currently, their rear wing is designed to remain static throughout the race providing downforce for stability and increased velocity. The DRS system will allow for another configuration of rear wing airfoils. 

Goal and Objectives

The main goal of the F-1 DragMaestros is to design, test, and integrate a drag reduction system for the rear wing of Anteater Formula Racing to decrease race time. Through a detailed design process and project management, the team will determine the actuation system and structures needed for changing the position of the rear wing airfoils to reduce the drag coefficient while balancing the lift coefficient. Actuation of the drag reduction system (DRS) will be controlled by the driver.
Objectives of the project include maintaining an organized structure and timeline to complete overarching tasks given by stakeholders including Anteater Formal Racing, the sponsor, and Formula SAE. Technical objectives include being able to model or measure the amount of drag reduced by the DRS, creating a working scale model by the end of week 10 of winter quarter (3/15/2024), manufacturing a working prototype on the actual rear wing by week 10 of spring quarter (6/14/2024), and meeting all requirements from the school team and FSAE. 
The DRS system will be designed to allow for convenient integration into the current Anteater Formula Racing vehicle, be lightweight, actuate quickly when activated or deactivated by the driver, and most importantly be safe for the driver and engineers responsible for integration.

Proof of Concept

A proof of concept will be completed by the end of week 10. The main demonstration will be the actuation system. To control the pneumatic system that will be utilized for the proof of concept as well as the final DRS system, an arduino will send the signal to a solenoid to provide air pressure from an air tank to the air cylinder. The stroke extension will allow the DRS to activate while the retraction action will close the system. To incorporate the driver element, the actuation system will be activated by the push of a button. This proof of concept will be demonstrated through a 40% scaled 3D print of the rear wings of the vehicle. The measurable objectives of this proof of concept will be to verify that the actuation system activates and that it can reposition the rear wing elements to our measured angle of attack that reduces drag. Please see the Winter Design Poster for more details.

Team Conctacts

1. Christien Gabarda: cgabarda@uci.edu

2.  Ayrton Teixeira: amteixei@uci.edu

3. Isra Malabeh: imalabeh@uci.edu

4. Emanuel Lopez: emanul1@uci.edu

5. Christopher Arauzo: carauzo@uci.edu

Sponsor/ Advisor

1. Nicholas M. Choi: nmchoi@uci.edu