The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

1125 Colonel By Drive,

Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1S 5B6

Dr. Cheryl Cundell,

Instructor, Communication Courses for
Disciplines and Professions
School of Linguistics and Language Studies
236 Paterson Hall, Carleton University
Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1S 5B6

06th October, 2015

Dear Dr. Cundell:

As per your request and a requirement of the course CCDP 2100 Section I, I am submitting a

proposal for my term project.

The purpose of this proposal is to obtain approval for the project area of interest, the research

question and in order to gain team membership. The reason for this proposal will allow me to

explain about my topic of aerodynamics through the use of courses such as Mechanics and

Fluids alongside calculus courses taken. The proposal consists of background information

regarding aerodynamics which will go in detail about specifics such as design and its effect on

drag and handling. Included will also be a brief outline about drag and the benefits of lowering

the drag coefficients. A research table is also included which outlines the prospective area of

interest alongside with the research question that will guide the course of the report. The table

will include concepts that relate to the research questions as well as sources. Finally, a list of

sources will be found at the end of the proposal that will be cited in IEEE format.

Zoheb Currimbhoy -1- 06th October, 2015

Aerodynamics is the study of forces and the resulting motion of objects through the air. Cars

have been designed over the years with aerodynamics in mind, in addition to which car designers

have invented a variety of innovations that reduce the amount of drag the car comes across.

Essentially, a car that is designed with airflow in mind means it has less difficulty accelerating

which results in better fuel economy because the car’s engine doesn’t have to work nearly as

hard to push the vehicle forward [1]. Drag is comprised primarily of two forces, frontal pressure

which is caused by the air attempting to flow around the car, and rear vacuum which is caused by

a gap left behind as the car passes through a wall of air. In order to gain the lowest drag

coefficient, a car body would have to be designed in the shape of a tear drop. The aerodynamics

of a car also influences the balance of the car therefore effecting the understeer or oversteer of

the vehicle. The low speed understeer is a result of the suspension design whereas oversteer will

begin as the speed increases. [2, p.42] Car aerodynamics are frequently designed to compensate

for the inherent increase in oversteer as cornering speed increases. However, in a tight-radius

(lower speed) corner the angular velocity of the car is high, while in a longer-radius (higher

speed) corner the angular velocity is much lower. Therefore, the front tires have a more difficult

time overcoming the car's moment of inertia during corner entry at low speed, and much less

difficulty as the cornering speed increases. [3, p.165]

Zoheb Currimbhoy -2- 06th October, 2015

 Research Concept Source Course(s) Possible Source(s)
Question
What impact The design of a MAAE 2300 Textbooks
does the vehicle that takes Technical Reports
aerodynamic into consideration Calculus 2004 Patents
design of a the reduction of
vehicle have the drag Grade 12 Physics
on the coefficient. Drag
reduction of is the main factor
drag? affecting fuel
economy and
improving the
performance of a
vehicle.
How does the Vehicle MAAE 2300 Scholarly Articles
aerodynamics aerodynamics Journals
of a vehicle affects the Calculus 2004 Technical Reports
affect the angular velocity
handling and of a vehicle
safety in therein affecting
regards to allowing the
understeer vehicle to lose
and control and
oversteer? over/understeer.
My project team members completing this project alongside me are:
1. Abel Hagos
2. Jordan Figure 1: Research Question alongside sources. Mcnally
3. Colton Genno
4. Zoheb Currimbhoy

Deliverable Personal Time Team Time Spent Approximate

Spent Completion Date

Technical Concept 1 hour and 1.5 x 4 = 6 hours September 29th, 2015

Explanation
30 minutes

Progress Report 15 minutes 15 minutes October 20th , 2015

Meeting

Zoheb Currimbhoy -3- 06th October, 2015

 Technical Concept 30 minutes 30 minutes November 2nd , 2015
Presentation

Final Technical Report 60 minutes 60 minutes November 24th , 2015

Presentation

Final Technical Report 30 minutes 30 minutes November 30th, 2015

Figure 2: Project Schedule

All in all, the proposal outlined in detail important information that will be used in terms of

explaining the research questions and reasoning out using the facts of aerodynamics that gave me

a general outlook of design advancements companies are moving towards in order to solve the

problem of drag but at the same time keeping in mind the usability of the vehicle. In addition, it

helped me gain technical knowledge about aerodynamics and the issue of drag and how the

design of a vehicle can surely limit it but at the same time affect the handling of the vehicle in a

negative manner. This proposal will benefit those who are interested in the topic of

aerodynamics and are determined to lower the drag coefficient while keeping in mind the safety

issues that follow. This assignment helped me plan out the assignments and has guided me in the

direction I would like to follow in terms of completing the research project while following a

timeline.

I thank you for giving me this opportunity of completing the proposal assignment and would

request you to get in touch with me if any other further clarifications need to be made.

References

[1] R. Bentley, Ultimate Speed Secrets: The complete guide to high performance and race
driving. Motorbooks, 2011
[2] “General Aerodynamic Principals”, http://www.gmecca.com/byorc/dtipsaerodynamics.html.
Accessed: September 28, 2015.
[3] J. C. Dixon, Tires, Suspension and Handling. Cambridge University Press, UK. 1991

Zoheb Currimbhoy -4- 06th October, 2015

Best Regards,

Zoheb Currimbhoy
[email protected]

Zoheb Currimbhoy -5- 06th October, 2015