What do you do when you need to make a more muscular, higher performing version of your top-of-the-line sports car without adding weight and drag to the equation?
If you're Donkervoort Automobielen -- a Dutch automaker specializing in high-performance, custom-built sports cars -- you rally the big guns in the form of computer-aided-engineering (CAE) simulation tools to help optimize the design in a timely fashion.
Donkervoort Automobielen employed SolidWorks Simulation to cut the number of vehicle prototypes of its D8 GTO by 50 percent.
When Donkervoort embarked on its latest design, the D8 GTO, it had a clear goal in mind: Make a newer, more modern version of the classic -- it should be more muscular and command higher horsepower, yet still retain the design DNA of the old vehicle it was replacing, according to Jordi Wiersema, Donkervoort's head of design engineering.
The new car was slated to sport a brawnier, five-cylinder engine with 400 brake horsepower, up from 270 brake horsepower, yet it needed to weigh in at under 700 kilograms. "It had to have a visible connection to the old cars we use to build," Wiersema told us.
The reason the car had to be bigger boiled down to a matter of safety, Wiersema said. Donkervoort wanted to include more passive safety components in the rear and side doors, and thus was looking to find ways, both structurally and materials-wise, to take weight out of the design.
With that goal in mind, there were two principle design challenges where simulation came into play. In the first, Donkervoort created a hybrid carbon fiber tubular steel chassis, which added strength to the D8 GTO while minimizing its weight, but at the same time, held up to force, stiffness, crash, and impact testing. The second challenge was around aerodynamics.
Using SolidWorks CAD and its integrated 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Simulation FEA tools, Donkervoort was able to redesign and optimize the intake manifold and engine airflow, which helped resolve the open-wheel aerodynamic challenges, Wiersema said.
Even though I'd been reading science fiction since the early 60s at the time I first heard about composites/hybrids, I tended to avoid the hardware-oriented stuff. So if it was mentioned anywhere before the mid-80s, it had passed me by. Interesting to hear from someone who was there at the beginning.
The UARS satelite was designed and build in the 80's. At what was then GE Aerospace, there was a lot of research going on. The spacecraft plant actually made their own composites from raw materials. So, to some extent to call it science fiction is not really far off. It was pretty close.
naperlou, when I answered I was thinking of mil/erospace apps back in the mid-80s, which is when I first heard of the concept of a hybrid that combined plastic and metal in some way. I remember my first response being "Huh? How is that possible?" It sounded like science fiction at the time.
Ann, this is just a guess, but I expect you are correct. When I worked on spacecraft, the carbon fiber tubes were attached to metal components at the junctions. The UARS satelite (the one that just fell to earth recently) was like that.
Actually, this looks a lot like a Lotus 7. If you are not familiar witht that car, it was (is?) a kit car. They are lots of fun to drive and to build. They certianly an acquired taste, thogh.
As for the safety aspect, the Lotus 7 was open with minimal doors. This is much like pre-war (WWII) cars. That is one of the reasons it was a kit car. To pass safety tests that are now required would require much more structure.
Jim, I assumed it meant a hybrid of carbon fiber and steel, but I'm not the author, nor do I read Dutch so I can't look for the manufacturer's specs. Beth, do you know what this means?
@Ann- ....not just carbon fiber, but specifically it said "hybrid carbon-fiber tubular-steel" which I don't clearly understand but would like to.Do you know-? To me, Carbon-Fiber meant polymers while Tubular-Steel meant metal extrusions.A quick Google check did not yield much clarity; I found only one reference from the Oil & Gas Journal (Petroleum Engineering) using the same term applied to drilling apparatus, but no real explanation as what the material actually is.I'd like to know more.
Gordon pointed out to me that when he designed the cover over the transmission in the front of the Cord that it was form following function.
I see that you have a picture of the Volt in there which I consider to be completely appropriate. In my article in altenergy.com you will see how much I like it.
When I first met Gordon I had offered to do an art show of his designs and I asked him if it was OK to call it Automotive Architecture and he responded , "Yes, exactly!" and went on to tell me about being a young designer with Duesenberg and was out in San Francisco and saw a book in a window and he was fascinated by it and went in, looked at it and mentioned that it was absolutely inspiring. He commented that he designed the 20 Grand after that and he even wrote to the architect complimenting him and received a reply. He confided in me that he thought that the architect was a marvelous writer but he went to see one of his buildings in France and thought that it was terrible.
I immediately told him that the book was "Vers un Architecture"
I told him that some people might disagree since he was considered to be one of the 3 greatest architects of the 20thC.
But we had a great show and a great time.
Several years ago I was invited by his Daughter and Grandson down to the ACD museum for the unveiling of the Gordon Buehrig Gallery and got to see the the letter that Frank Lloyd wright had sent with accolades to E.L.Cord. Batting 2 0ut of 3 gives him a .666 batting aveage.
Gordon went on to talk about the 20 grand which now resides in the Nethercutt museum in California. Gordon mentioned to me that he used to love to go back into the paint shop and mix colors. He said that the 20G was the first car to have a darkened aluminum/silver paint job so I have strong suspicions that they have not correctly restored that vehicle.
Gordon was a joy to know, has a wonderful Daughter and Grandson in NY.
Architect I raise my glass to both this and your preceeding comment. I, personally, find use of Retro Design regressive, especially this one. I have attached links to yester years Cords and Auburns in support of this my point. Both car makers contributed to the Pure AND Tecnnical advancement of Automotive Design and Engineering advances.
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
