Nine junior and senior North Carolina State University (NCSU) students recently took an unusual approach in learning about composite engineering and manufacturing – they spent their spring break building a formula racecar chassis at the depot.

Working with the supervision of their professor, the students built a carbon fiber chassis as part of a project for Wolfpack Motorsports, which is associated with the NCSU Engineering Department. Each year, Wolfpack Motorsports club students participate in collegiate competitions to design and build the best formula or Baja racecar. The competitions, which are sponsored by the Society of Automobile Engineers, give students the unique opportunity to build a new racecar from scratch. In the process, the students also gain a wealth of hands-on engineering experience while working on a fun project.

The car’s framework built here was constructed in two parts and consisted of three outer plies of carbon fiber and honeycomb and three inner layers of carbon. The two parts were later riveted together, and seams were filled with honeycomb and another layer of carbon fiber to produce a solid chassis.

Throughout the process, production engineers and shop artisans lent their expertise to help further the students’ working knowledge of composite manufacturing.

Completion of the project at NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point was made possible through a partnership between the depot and the NCSU engineering program. Federal law permits organizations such as the depot to support educational activities through the use of federal facilities. The students provided their own materials and worked with depot scheduling in order to complete the project.

Research and Engineering (AIR 4.0) and NCSU have teamed together for various programs at the depot, including the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree, which began this past fall, and the Institute for Maintenance Science and Technology (IMST).

The Bachelor of Science in engineering degree gives artisans and others at the depot the opportunity to earn an engineering degree through NCSU distance education program. In this program, students are able to take courses without traveling to the university’s Raleigh campus. The courses are offered live via high-speed connections allowing students to ask questions and participate in the class even though they are physically located at Craven Community College’s Havelock campus just outside the air station’s Cunningham gate. Several NADEP employees have already begun the program and are looking forward to graduating in a few years.

Activities offered by the IMST are funded largely through a grant by the Golden Leaf Foundation of North Carolina. Projects that team AIR 4.0 and NCSU include:

• Fatigue Analysis of Aging Aircraft
• Reverse Engineering Aircraft parts that are no longer available from the original manufacturer
• Vibration problems with aircraft, especially helicopters
• Non Destructive Inspection and Detection techniques for metals and composites
• Novel composite materialmanufacturing techniques

To learn more about programs offered through the partnership with NCSU and NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point, please contact Dr. Roger Sanwald; 919-513-2478.