02/03/2015
EVENT REPORT- BAJA SAE India 2015
Every mechanical engineering student looks forward to the month of February for Baja SAE India and this year's Baja went a notch higher; standing true to its tagline - Beyond Boundaries. The event took place at Pithampur , Madhya Pradesh from 19th to 22nd February at the Natrax facility with over 120 Indian teams participating. With rules getting more stringent, this year's terrain was definitely of international standards and tested every buggy to its limit. While kaala pani, herring bone , gitch bridge and wet farmland made up the endurance track , the suspension and traction track was made tougher with moving logs , concrete humps and drop jumps. Break downs were a common sight owing to the treacherous terrain.
Team STRATOS appeared in the national scene after a gap of almost two years. With a completely new team, Baja SAE India 2015 was a learning experience for the budding engineers. It was the first time the team used a CVT, improving upon the problems faced in manual transmission. Persistent funding problems were always a concern and the team had to abandon Baja Student India due to lack of funds.
The team has to renew its efforts in the marketing department and work on ways to secure reliable funding and deliver it to the team at the right time. On the technical side , the ST-XV buggy was light compared to its predecessor , weighing 240 kg , 80 kilograms heavier than the lightest car in the event. Further weight can be reduced by paying attention to the details in the engine compartment mountings. A weight of 200 - 220 kg is an easily achievable target and that would further enhance the acceleration and manoeuvrability of the vehicle.
The drive train design caused a lot of delay in fabrication of the vehicle. The initial layout of Engine >CVT >Ape reduction box was too cumbersome to be positioned and even then, there seemed to be slippage of the drive shaft due to the mounting angles. Changing this mounting took away a lot of time, but no solution could be reached for the impending problem in due time. The drive train was then changed to a double chain reduction system. New shafts were designed and fabricated. Owing to the large torque, the shaft material could not withstand ; hence an entirely new shaft was fabricated out of a higher grade material. Precious time was lost during this process and costs went up significantly.
In order to avoid this, in future, the team has to work simultaneously on all subsystems and follow a top-down approach so as to reduce time in finding materials and accessories that suit the requirement.
The buggy could not clear Technical Inspection this year owing to the compact design which compromised on the ergonomics and driver safety. The judges were not satisfied with the belly pan and other casings and panelling as they seemed to put the driver’s safety at risk. The TI was attempted late in the evening on the second day as we had to change the brake hoses to metallic ones. Our TI was postponed to the final day owing to pit closure time . The changes suggested at the TI were incorporated on the final day by around 4 pm. But the TI committee refused to inspect any vehicle post 5 pm and there was already a long queue at the TI.
LESSON LEARNT - Inspect the car before transporting it and check for compliances.
Attempt TI as early as possible to get more time to incorporate necessary changes. Better still; design the car with the Self certification check sheet in mind. Always.
There were a lot of damages incurred during transportation. Packaging must be properly executed before transporting the vehicle.
In all it was a brilliant experience to take part in an event of such magnitude with over 8000 students and a 100 odd colleges congregating at the NATRIP facility in Pithampur. The atmosphere has definitely charged up the Startosians to work a lot harder and grab a podium finish in the Baja's to come.
Having been a part of Team STRATOS for the past 3 years, it was indeed a privilege to captain the team and lead a group of budding, passionate auto enthusiasts. My heartfelt gratitude to every senior without whose guidance I wouldn’t have been here today. And thank you so much for being there for the team despite your busy schedules. A huge shout out to all the teachers and faculty for supporting us throughout the project. Last but not the least, a huge thank you to all the team members without whom Team STRATOS wouldn’t exist. Thank you so much for bearing with me.
I shall miss STRATOS, I shall miss those all-nighters, I shall miss the fun in the garage, and I shall miss holding the angle grinders!
Thank you so very much and wishing the team all the very best, signing off as the Captain, Team STRATOS 2014-15,
Nanjundeshwara N.
Once a STRATOSIAN, always a STRATOSIAN.
