Ohio State‘s hybrid vehicle student team took third place in the Annual Student Exhibit Competition at the Society of Automotive Engineers‘ 2007 World Congress April 17.
The Challenge X team was one of more than 800 exhibiting companies at the World Congress, a global gathering of top automotive minds. In addition to attending the conference, team members participated in the student exhibit competition, which showcased SAE collegiate chapter activities and projects. This competition exhibits novel design concepts, engineering analyses and manufacturing methods employed to construct SAE collegiate design competition vehicles.
Challenge X is a four-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors and several other organizations and companies from the United States and Canada.
The Ohio State Challenge X team was invited to exhibit at the SAE World Congress with MathWorks Inc. to discuss their use of model-based design computer software to re-engineer the Chevy Equinox. They were the only students to take part in a professional booth, as opposed to a university one.
“Having the vehicle at this event helps raise awareness in the engineering community of the Challenge X program and the Ohio State team, and it‘s also an opportunity to show our appreciation for MathWorks Inc., a sponsor of the Challenge X competition,” says Kris Sevel, Challenge X team leader and master‘s student in mechanical engineering.
Sevel attended the conference in Detroit along with team members Mike Arnett, Kerem Koprubasi, John Neal and Shawn Midlam-Mohler, senior research associate at Ohio State‘s Center for Automotive Research.
Sevel says the Ohio State Challenge X vehicle is a biodiesel-electric hybrid. It consists of a 110-kilowatt, 1.9-liter diesel engine that runs off of biodiesel fuel; a 10.6-kilowatt, belted starter/alternator; a 67-kilowatt Ballard traction motor; and a 300-volt Panasonic nickel-metal hydride battery pack to power its two electric motors.
The Challenge X competition is limited to vehicle teams at 17 American and Canadian universities, all of whom have now completed their second year in the race to convert a gasoline-based 2005 Chevrolet Equinox SUV into a hybrid vehicle maximizing fuel economy and emissions ratings and maintaining stock performance.
In last year‘s competition, in Mesa, Ariz., the Ohio State Challenge X vehicle placed first in the MathWorks computer software “crossover to model-based design” and trailer tow categories, second place in the technical report and best realization of vehicle technical specifications categories, and third place in the outreach category. Overall, the team had a fourth-place finish nationally.
The 2007 competition, set for May 30 to June 6 at GM‘s Proving Grounds in Milford, Mich., requires students to enter a vehicle that is showroom ready. In 2008, the fourth and final year, an unprecedented level of refinement, durability and consumer acceptability is expected. Visit www.osuchallengex.com and www.challengex.org for more details.