DESIGN OF A COMPOSITE MONOCOQUE FRAME RACING WHEELCHAIR

Design of present-day racing wheelchairs developed out of necessity an d common sense. The chairs first used in racing were everyday chairs; through years of trial and modification the racing chairs of today evo lved. Very little advanced engineering has been applied to the design of racing chairs. The Finite Element Analysis model executed on a comp uter provided insight into structural problem areas in the design of u nibody frame racing chairs. Slight modifications to the model can be u sed to investigate new shapes, loads, or materials without investing l arge amounts of time and money. Wind tunnel testing with scale models provided perspectives on different improvements to reduce drag. Shape improvements may play an important role in reducing the racer's time d uring competition. Shape may help to decrease drag for the user in eit her the upright or down position. Considering that the frontal area in creases around 30% in the up position with current strut and chassis f rames, monocoque shapes should excel. Finite element analysis and air drag analysis are important to the design of a composite racing wheelc hair. Composite materials may promote more efficient and ergonomic rac ing wheelchairs.