The Buckeye Bullet 2 student team has returned from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah after finding further success in testing new hydrogen fuel cell technology for automobiles.
The Buckeye Bullet 2, a hydrogen fuel cell powered streamliner racer, last week traveled at the highest speed ever recorded by a hydrogen/fuel cell vehicle: 297 mph.
In October 2007, the Buckeye Bullet 2 set an official international record for a hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle with a speed of 132.129 mph, certified by worldwide motor sports governing body Federation Internationale de l’Automobile. The racer, powered by recycled fuel cell stacks donated by Ballard Power Systems, has been designed and built from the ground up since 2005 by engineering students with the assistance of Ballard, Ford Motor Co. and Roush Performance.
This year’s return to the Salt Flats, for the 60th anniversary of the Southern California Timing Association’s Speed Week, Aug. 18-24, resulted in another string of firsts:
- highest mile-averaged speed for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle: 280 mph (450 km/h)
- highest exit speed (last ¼-mile trap speed): 287 mph (462 km/h)
- highest instantaneous speed (from GPS measurement): 297 mph (478 km/h)
- 585 kW delivered by the stacks � the most power ever delivered by an automotive fuel cell
The Buckeye Bullet 2 is designed to break the speed record for electric vehicles. That record, 315 mph, is held by the original Buckeye Bullet, which ran on 2,000 pounds of nickel metal hydride batteries and set the national land speed record in 2004.
“Ohio State students have once again pushed the limit of fuel cell technology, another step toward the developing of alternative propulsions systems that may someday replace petroleum-fueled powertrains,” said Giorgio Rizzoni, director of Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research and adviser to the Buckeye Bullet team.
The team plans a return to the Bonneville Salt Flats this September or October for more test runs.
The fuel cells in the Buckeye Bullet 2 generate electrical power from the chemical energy contained in the on-board hydrogen and oxygen. The only byproducts of this reaction are water and heat.
The Buckeye Bullet 2 is driven by an 800-horsepower, three-phase AC induction motor, whose power is put to the ground through a six-speed transaxle. The heat produced in the fuel cells is dissipated through an ice bath cooling system, which melts 300 pounds of ice per run. The chassis is a chromium-molybdenum steel tube frame and enclosed by a wind tunnel proven carbon fiber body. Thanks to support from Goodrich, the vehicle is equipped with a five-disk carbon-carbon brake system from a Learjet. The brakes can stop the vehicle safely from 350 mph as a redundant system to deploying two parachutes.
The vehicle is driven by Roger Schroer, and the team is led by David Cooke, Cary Bork, and RJ Kromer. The team is advised by Giorgio Rizzoni and Donald Butler. Major program sponsors include the Ohio State College of Engineering, Ballard Power Systems, Ford Motor Co., Ohio Department of Development, Transportation Research Center, Penske Technology Group, Edison Welding Institute, Cowen Truck Lines and the OSU-Honda Partnership.
Editors: For more details, visit the Buckeye Bullet 2 team Web site at www.buckeyebullet.com. Contact Giorgio Rizzoni at rizzoni.1@osu.edu or (614) 688-3856.
