AERODYNAMICS RESEARCH

Aerodynamics is a critical, multi-billion-dollar branch of any racing program, whether that be Formula 1, endurance, rally, or even stock cars. During my first year of university, I self-taught myself aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) all before taking a fluids class!

The hope is my aerodynamics research and design will assist Old Dominion University’s (ODU) Formula SAE team in constructing their first aerodynamics package.

Aerodynamics has been my first love since joining ODU; not many college students can say they developed Formula-style aero while in college using THE SAME engineering process Formula 1 engineers do!

I’d like to thank:

• Willy Wriggers
• Nathan Luetke
• Orlando Ayala
• Drew Landman
• My teammates at Monarch Racing

COMPOSITES TESTING

I have teamed with Dr. Oleksandr Kravchenko, Assistant Professor for the College of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and composites modeling and manufacturing expert, to fabricate and test the mechanical properties of carbon fiber.

• Tested strength of carbon fiber aero pieces with various core materials and ply numbers
• Destructive testing of composite materials (fiberglass, carbon fiber, kevlar)

RADIATOR OPTIMIZATION

I realized that the previous vehicle’s radiator was tall and drag in-efficient. I decided to enlist the help of Dr. Orlando Ayala, Assistant Professor for the College of Engineering Technology and respected professional with 20+ years of fluids and heat transfer experience, to determine how small we could shrink the radiator before adversely affecting vehicle performance.

• Designed a custom cooling loop with external water pump, improved engine performance
• Reduced radiator size by 50% compared to previous competition vehicle
• Validated system using COMSOL Multiphysics and on-track testing sessions