FSAE Brake Rotor Optimization

Another project I contributed to during my Formula SAE experience is the development of our brake rotors for our 2025 car. I performed structural and thermal simulations in ANSYS Mechanical to reduce their overall mass by 19.2% compared to 2024.

I first drew a FBD of the rotor under load to define the boundary conditions, and calculated the forces acting upon the rotor from the calipers. They are designed with a 2.0 safety factor with regards to yielding under peak observed braking force, with a temperature factor of 0.8 applied to the yield strength. I simulated different rotor clockings at 15 degree increments to find the worst-case scenario.

On the thermal side, testing was done on our 2024 car to gather data (vehicle speed, brake pressure, and IR rotor temperature) for transient thermal simulations over the course of an endurance event. The speed and pressure data was processed in MATLAB to extract a transient heat flow into the rotors, and the convection coefficient was adjusted based on the IR sensor data for strong correlation. I confirmed that the rotor design remained under the temperature target based on the brake fluid and pads.

This project was a fun and rewarding dive into structural and thermal simulations and ignited my interest in analysis.