Design of a Rubber V-belt Electronically-Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission for use in a Formula SAE Vehicle

Recent advances in various technologies have allowed the use of electronic controls to be brought into the world of continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). Although electronically-controlled CVTs (EC-CVTs) have been used in many applications, including modern commercially-available road vehicles, no instance of an EC-CVT on a Formula SAE vehicle exists. In this thesis, an EC-CVT is proposed, designed, fabricated, and installed on a Bradley University Formula SAE vehicle. Actuation is achieved with an electric actuator with a bell-crank. A simple control strategy is employed, which uses an Arduino based board with motor controller and a potentiometer as the driver input device. This strategy yielded acceptable results obtained on a test track using a data acquisition system. Recommendations are provided for future advances in the use of the proposed design, with an emphasis on control strategies and algorithms, with the hopes of achieving winning results in events in future Formula SAE competitions.