Motorcycle Land Speed Racing Team

Develop a electrical and software design to log data from a variety of sensors on a racing motorcycle competing for a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Objectives


This is a multidisciplinary effort comprised of Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Science engineers.

ECE team members will develop a datalogging solution to aggregate numerous sensor outputs (temperature, pressure, wheel speed, etc) as well as develop one or more closed loop control processes to optimize competitive performance.  The team will also develop basic methods to automate the data analysis to inform configuration changes as we optimize performance. There are also numerous opportunities to work on other aspects according to your preference and learn something new.

The ME team will model the existing motorcycle and rider in a CFD application such as STAR CCM+.  Improvements will be fabricated then tested on the motorcycle. Comparison of modeling and empirical results will drive improvement cycles in aerodynamic efficiency enabling higher terminal velocity, the primary objective of this type of competition.

Motivations


We achieved our goal for this 1st year project in Aug 2024 by breaking a 21-year-old world record. While the speed reached was only 85.158mph, the skills developed in optimizing the overall package will be very similar to those needed in higher levels of competition.  This Capstone team will prototype and test numerous improvements then, funding permitting, could travel to compete at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2025.  Other competition venues are also possible such as El Mirage in southern California.

Students on the team can be supported in their application for a scholarship (https://tinyurl.com/2m9s9ahv) from the Southern California Timing Association, the organization which runs these land speed events.

Qualifications


Minimum Qualifications:

This will be a multidisciplinary engineering team. We will need 2-4 ECE students and 2 CS students.

Preferred Qualifications:

soldering skills, circuit design, sensor integration, data analysis


Details


Project Partner:

John Greeven

NDA/IPA:

No Agreement Required

Number Groups:

1

Project Status:

Accepting Applicants

Website:
www.the50ccracing.com
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6w-OJw_0k0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7R1nuHQEgo
Card Image Capstone