PVC Racing Kart Frame Analysis
Our team of 4 built a steerable kart that was ridden. Requirements: more than 50% PVC pipe, fits through a door frame, under $220, and carries a 150 lb rider (200 lb design target). The first deliverable was a design-criteria memo. I helped model the frame in SolidWorks and run beam FEA under three load cases: a two-person launch, steady riding, and the pusher jumping onto the back.
Frame analysis
Redesign: the analysis showed the first frame was overbuilt, so we downsized from 1.5 in to 1 in Schedule 40 pipe. Worst case: 2.44 ksi against 7 ksi yield, 0.6 in maximum deflection.
