CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/742140
NOVEMBER 2016 44 CompositesWorld FOCUS ON DESIGN Composites enable portability in driving simulator FRP design enables portable, light-tight, enclosure with an image-projection-grade inner surface. » Devices that simulate the reality of operating complex machines have become important and increasingly sophisticated tools in applications as diverse as pilot flight training, driver response/ reaction research and virtual reality games. Composite materials play an important role in this growing niche market, enabling lightweight, dome-shaped enclosures with support structures that accommodate arrays of projection equipment and motion controllers. Pagnotta Engineering Inc. (PEI, Exton, PA, US) has a long history and a reputation for excellence in flight simulator design and construction. Recently the company and partner JRL Ventures LLC (dba Design Concepts, Cape Coral, FL, US) collaborated on a driving simulator dome (Fig. 1, below) — a first for both — for the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network's (TRI- UHN, Toronto, ON, Canada) Challenging Environment Assessment Lab (CEAL). Inside the dome, dubbed DriverLab, the driving skills of older people and those with illnesses will be assessed under many conditions, as a means to evaluate the impact of TRI-UHN- developed patient treatments. Designing within many constraints "Images projected onto screens surround the driver, who will actually be 'driving' a specially modified Audi A3, which sits on a turntable inside the composite dome, which in turn is mounted on a motion-control platform," explains PEI engineering manager, Alex DiEdwardo. To stay within the overall payload capacity of the motion system (car included), the weight budget for the PEI-designed and JRL- fabricated deliverables was limited to 3,000 kg. at covered a 5.8m diameter, 4m tall, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) projection dome, HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) ducts and a steel floor frame, with overhead lifting fixtures and mounts for power and motion control. "is limited the weight of the FRP dome and HVAC ducts to just under 1,000 kg," says DiEdwardo. In addition, the structure had to be stiff enough to resist buckling and maintain a fundamental natural frequency above 15 Hz, to prevent excitation caused by the energy input of the motion platform. By Sara Black / Technical Editor & Ginger Gardiner / Senior Editor Fig. 1 Composites for virtual reality-based testing The DriverLab simulator dome, designed and fabricated for the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network's (TRI-UHN, Toronto, ON, Canada) Challenging Environment Assessment Lab (CEAL), is made up of infused, cored fiberglass panels joined with metal fasteners. The dome contains an actual car on a turntable inside, and sits on a motion platform. Source (all photos) | PEI