HPV Fairing Construction

[trebuchet03]

Some of you may be interested in this - I stumbled upon this website as I'm in the midst of working on some aero modifications for my car.
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We're building a tool to make a fairing for a tadpole trike. I've been documenting progress Here. And will be publishing more within the next few days (about 14 hours of video to edit).

Here's Just the Video: Google Video

While it's not a complete micromanaged step by step handbook, it gives you an idea of one method to make an HPV fairing. We're cutting a lot of corners because of budget (the budget is small relative to teams that spend $40K+) My avatar is last year's design. To answer a question I get all the time, this is the entry for the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the ASME HPV Challenge in early May.

I'm open for questions and feedback Criticism is always welcomed too.

[WisJim]

Interesting project, glad to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. Keep us posted!

[Hockey4mnhs]

sweet

[Matt Timion]

I'm VERY interested in this. Please keep us updated.

[The Toecutter]

I've always wanted to take an HPV, strip it of the pedal system, and insert a small 5-8 kWh Li Ion pack and 20-30 kW drive system. Would make for an extremely efficient, and fast, high performance motorcycle.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by The Toecutter

I've always wanted to take an HPV, strip it of the pedal system, and insert a small 5-8 kWh Li Ion pack and 20-30 kW drive system. Would make for an extremely efficient, and fast, high performance motorcycle.

Go for the Varna design

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Here's the next bit -- not on actual installation, but resin mixing. And full of tips and advice. Something very important if you're using glass or other fiber.

Mixing Polyester Resin

Oh, I forgot to mention -- the catalyst in polyester resin eats foam.... Just FYI.

[JanGeo]

Use epoxy - it's safer to work with and doesn't eat the foam. Was wondering why the form was solid instead of hollow - would take less foam by using the large piece center cuts for the smaller pieces.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Use epoxy - it's safer to work with and doesn't eat the foam. Was wondering why the form was solid instead of hollow - would take less foam by using the large piece center cuts for the smaller pieces.

We're using polyester for the tool as it is stiffer than epoxy (the downside to that being it is more brittle). The catalyst does eat foam - but there's no exposed foam on our plug (it's coated with non catalyzed epoxy/fiberglass and bondo). Using epoxy for making the tool would be incredibly expensive too (but I think I'm getting ahead of myself).

I'll keep the hollow plug idea in mind for next year It will require coming up with an accurate way to index (as we're removing the place where we'd place a dowel) but that's a great idea if the shape allows it

For the actual part - we're using an epoxy resin

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

We're building a tool to make a fairing for a tandem trike.

Is it really a tandem? I checked out the Instructables, and it looks like a solo size machine.

Also (and sorry if this has been asked already), how did you decide to go for a full enclosure around the front wheels rather than a narrower body and faired wheels/suspension? EG:




source: http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/RocketMain.html

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Is it really a tandem? I checked out the Instructables, and it looks like a solo size machine.

Also (and sorry if this has been asked already), how did you decide to go for a full enclosure around the front wheels rather than a narrower body and faired wheels/suspension? EG:




source: http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/RocketMain.html

Wow - that was a big mistake on my part... I fixed it now - it should have read tadpole! :P Which also answers your question in regards to why the front is shaped the way it is... There's two wheels in the front - one in the back (this is the tadpole configuration - which used to be called a slingshot).

The tadpole design lets you extend the boom out further allowing you to settle closer to the front wheels (shortening the frame). It also tends to be more stable (designed properly). With two wheels in front - we can get a more blunt shape in front and finish off with a knife edge teardrop (or closer to it) in the rear - this is at the cost of surface area though.

When we get results from scale tunnel testing - I'll let you know what our Cd is


My apologies :P