2023-2024
Goals:
For the 2022-2023 season, the composites team met all their goals and for the upcoming year here are some of the goals we are going to implement this upcoming year.
New inserts for the insides of the wings
This is due to the foam ribs breaking off when trying to insert the spars.
3D printed inserts will be used to aid in load transfer as well as insure that the composite outer shell will be held in place
Carbon fiber spars will be used
This will be lighter than the current aluminum and will allow for more load to be held before deflection starts
I have also started taking online classes to look into monocoque design as well as more advanced composite techniques
Currently I am using ANSYS Workbench to conduct static simulations on the new spar inserts in hope of seeing where the most support is needed in the wing and assembly.
To get an idea of exactly what spars we need, we first need to find the downforce of each element and simulate how that will interact with the spars that is attached to the frame.Â
Through iterations, different inner diameters of carbon fiber tubes can be used to determine what the best tubing would be for the least deflection.