Hydrogen-powered Autonomous Vehicle

grabcad

The CAD project crafted in CATIA V5 embodies an Autonomous Vehicle, engineered specifically for transporting disabled individuals. Built from the ground up, every component was meticulously implemented to ensure attention to detail. The vehicle houses a 400cc, twin-cam, one-cylinder, hydrogen-powered, 4-stroke combustion engine with 4 valves per piston. Moreover, the vehicle assembly is constructed around a 40mm steel tubular chassis. Additional components resemble rear and front axles attached rigidly to the kart, which features a functional steering system and brake mechanism, enabling the vehicle to function as required. The wheelchaired individual gains access to the vehicle through an electronically actuated door mechanism. The wheels fitted provide the kart with a good contact patch with the road, allowing for excellent handling characteristics. The overall weight of the vehicle is estimated at approximately 310 kg, including standardised bolts and hardware. The creation process of this assembly has presented numerous challenges for the designing team, but through hard work and perseverance, the autonomous vehicle project was completed successfully within a two-month time constraint. In addition to using CATIA as the primary software, other computer programs were utilised to optimise the performance of the vehicle. For instance, Ansys was employed to analyse stress, strain, and deformation parameters for the Connecting Rod, thereby enhancing the strength of the component and increasing performance and reliability values. Furthermore, CAM modelling using Autodesk Powermill enabled the creation of a future possibility in which the connecting rod can be machined from a solid alloyed steel billet. All these elements demonstrate the thorough work that has been put into providing the product on time and ensuring the finalised design meets the initial requirements. The autonomous aspect of the assembly features a small amount of representative sensors transmitting data to the electronically actuated brake, throttle body, and steering mechanism. As a result, the autonomous vehicle was finalised through a joint partnership with Anna Starostka and Robert Jakabos.