Racecar Data Acquisition and Analysis
Duration: 2 Days
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Hotel & Travel Information
Data acquisition is an invaluable tool for establishing racecar and driver performance. The technology, once used by high-end racing teams with considerable financial resources only, has found its way to all racing disciplines during the past decade. Today, systems are available that provide an enormous amount of data logging capabilities, even to the club racer. This two day seminar covers the latest available technologies and teaches the participants how to analyze the data logging system's output and convert this knowledge into a key advantage on the racetrack.
The seminar begins with a general introduction into data acquisition and measurement technology. The participants will then learn how to analyze the driver activities and use this analysis to improve driver performance. Vehicle performance analysis is extensively covered with an emphasis on vehicle balance, stability, wheel loads and weight transfer, aerodynamics and shock absorbers. The seminar concludes with the application of simulation software within the data logging environment.
Numerous practical examples will be provided and the participants will receive detailed course notes and illustrations. Attendees will also receive a copy of Jörge Segers' textbook Analysis Techniques for Racecar Data Acquisition.
***Participants are expected to bring a laptop computer with Microsoft Excel to the seminar for class exercises.***
Learning Objectives
By attending this course attendees will be able to:
- Choose the appropriate hardware for your data acquisition system
- Identify the basics of electronically measuring physical parameters
- Designate the best way to visualize and organize your data for efficient analysis
- Diagnose problems from logged data
- Compare the performance of different drivers and cars
- Determine a vehicle's balance from logged data
- Perform aerodynamic measurements on a vehicle
- Analyze and alter the transient vehicle balance through damper tuning
- Calculate, measure, and analyze wheel loads
- Plan an appropriate race strategy
- Create a simulation model of your racecar and correlate the simulation results to logged data
Who Should Attend
This seminar will benefit anyone in the racing community wishing to expand their knowledge about racecar data acquisition and analysis. Engineers, crew chiefs, drivers, mechanics, and motorsport engineering students will benefit from the real-world examples and applications. In addition, individuals responsible for vehicle performance measurements in the passenger car industry will benefit from the data acquisition and analysis techniques presented in this seminar.
Topical Outline
DAY ONE
- Introduction: Why Data Logging?
- Course outline, brief description of topics
- Diagnostics
- Performance analysis - driver
- Performance analysis - vehicle
- Vehicle development
- Simulation
- Running logs
- What to measure?
- Data categories
- Data system cost
- Measurement Basics
- A/D conversion
- Measurement accuracy
- Types of sensors
- Data acquisition hardware - current trends
- Sensor configuration
- Wiring
- Troubleshooting
- Different Ways to Display Data: Their Advantages and Disadvantages
- Time/Distance plot
- Statistics
- Histograms
- XY plots
- Mathematical channels
- Filtering
- Data export
- Templates
- Data organization
- The Car's Vital Signs: Problem Diagnostics
- Primary task of the data engineer
- Data organization for effective troubleshooting
- Dashboard warning signals
- Telemetry
- Tire pressure monitoring
- Engine fuel mixture
- Comparing Performance: The Lap Overlay
- Determining where time is gained or lost
- Time compare channels
- Improving the accuracy of the lap overlay with damper position sensors
- Improving the accuracy of the lap overlay with GPS
- Segment times and what we can learn from them
- Analyzing the Driver
- Techniques for objective driver performance assessment
- Comparing yourself to the competition
- Driver coaching techniques with data acquisition
- Acceleration
- Braking
- Gearing
- Cornering
- Driving lines
- Consistency
- Video logging
- Analyzing the Car
- Acceleration
- Braking
- Gearing
- Cornering
DAY TWO
- Vehicle Balance and Stability
- The traction circle
- Diagnosing oversteer/understeer
- Quantifying the car's roll stiffness distribution
- Aerodynamics
- Air density
- Drag measurements
- Downforce measurements
- Straightline testing procedures
- Aero measurements on the racetrack
- Ride height measurement
- Shock Absorbers
- Damping basics
- Using the shock speed histogram for damper tuning
- Establishing the road profile
- Determining damper forces
- Frequency analysis
- Track Characteristics
- Statistics that determine racetrack properties
- Using racetrack properties to establish car set-ups
- Time spent in friction circle quadrants
- Determining the road profile
- Race Strategy
- Fuel consumption
- Tire wear
- Simulation Tools
- What is lap time simulation?
- What advantages can a good lap time simulation model bring?
- Introduction to Chassissim
- Building up the model - getting the data
- Circuit modeling
- Model evaluation with data logging
- Using simulation during races or test days
- Suspension kinematics simulation
- Interaction between data logging software and kinematics simulation
- Seminar Evaluation and Conclusion
Instructor(s): Jörge Segers
With an educational background in automotive engineering, Jörge Segers has been involved with racing disciplines such as GT and sportscar racing, single seaters, and touring cars since 1998. He began with an apprenticeship at PK Carsport (formerly GLPK Racing), a Belgian team active in international GT racing. Mr. Segers became the team manager only three years later. After finishing his studies, he was employed at BPR Competition Engineering as track engineer in the International Sports Racing Series and later as development manager at Eurotech Racing. At Eurotech, he was responsible for the GT racing activities of British sportscar manufacturer Marcos Cars.
In 2001, Mr. Segers became the youngest team manager ever in an FIA organized championship. At PK Carsport he is still responsible for the team's activities and the FIA GT Championship. Subsequently, he has been working for other teams such as Henrik Roos Motorsports (FIA GT), Racing for Holland (Le Mans 24 Hours) and Carsport Modena.
SAE published Mr. Segers' first book
Analysis Techniques for Racecar Data Acquisition in 2008.
Fees: $1305.00
; SAE Members: $1044.00 - $1175.00
1.3 CEUs
You must complete all course contact hours and successfully pass the learning assessment to obtain CEUs.
For additional information, contact SAE Customer Service at 1-877-606-7323 (724/776-4970 outside the U.S. and Canada) or at CustomerService@sae.org
.
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