Bloodhound Steering Wheel

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

The BLOODHOUND SSC project is an incredible endeavor and a true test of engineering and design of some of the most extreme conditions and forces seen on earth. The steering wheel is obviously the most important input that the driver will use to pilot and control this rocket machine.

Like the rest of the vehicle, the steering wheel must be manufactured in the most efficient way as possible. My design for the steering wheel is completely based off the need to manufacture this wheel at a reasonable cost and in a timely manner. Though, the form complements the effort in designing this functional wheel.
The basic form of my wheel is a derivative of what most modern race cars and sports cars use today. A closed wheel ensures safe and reliable contact points for grip, while the flat top and bottom save space from the driver’s legs and eyesight. The tri-spoke design secures the rigidity of the outer wheel to the center hub. The wheel is designed with a standard six hole pattern to attach many modern, off-the-shelf quick release systems. The air brakes and chute releases are actuated by buttons mounted near the driver’s two thumbs, thus, there is no need to loose grip while engaging these operations. For thrust increase, there is a trigger mounted on the back of the right side of the wheel, engaged with the index finger. The further the trigger is engaged, the thrust is obviously increased.

In the pursuit of manufacturability, aluminum was the chosen material of fabrication for this wheel. Weight is an apparent concern for a vehicle of this status, though my personal opinion was that composites were simply too complicated for a part like this. With two and half years of solid experience fabricating molds and composite parts (fiberglass, carbon fiber, kevlar) for my university’s solar race car, I believe the complexity of these carbon parts would take a long time to fabricate and would ensue unnecessary costs. My goal was to design this steering wheel so that it could be machined out of one block of solid aluminum on a 3-axis CNC mill. With the proper CAM and end mills, this should be possible. For the grips on the side, the block would be machined a little bit more than the desired grip size. After machining, the wheel would be taped off, and the sides would be coated with a spray on rubber coating. This rubber coating would slightly reduce vibrations transmitted to the driver and dramatically increase grip. Also, on the back side of the steering wheel, there are quite a few speed holes to reduce the mass and weight of the wheel. I am currently approximating the weight to be around one to two pounds. The two grips on the sides are formed to be ergonomically comfortable and provide the most amount of control as possible. Indentations for the thumbs on the top are provided while the remaining four fingers wrap around the wheel easily.

There was no effort made in including an LCD display or ‘rev’ lights, because this would only complicate the design greatly and there are plans for a dashboard, where these instruments should be able to be mounted. Also, any display on a wheel will vibrate and rotate, increasing the difficulty to properly read the necessary information for the driver.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my design. Please leave me feedback and suggestions!

Kevin