Engineering motorsports teams gear up

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Competing in motorsports is more than an adrenaline rush for Buckeye engineers, it provides hands-on experience solving real engineering challenges in environments like no other.

Students on The Ohio State University’s Motorsports teams have been working hard all year to prepare to test their skills against their peers around the globe (and sometimes professionals!) in a variety of design-and-build challenges.

As the weather warms up in spring and summer, these Buckeyes tune up their vehicles for heated competition.
 

Formula Buckeyes expect strong showing up north

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The 2018 Formula Buckeyes team aim to win Formula North and finish in the top 10 in Formula SAE Michigan.
With a redesigned vehicle structure, the Formula Buckeyes SAE team has high expectations for their performance at Formula SAE Michigan, May 9-12, in Brooklyn, Michigan, and Formula North, May 31-June 3, in Ontario, Canada.

“We have our goals set high for this year's competitions,” said Team Leader Matt McMahan, a mechanical engineering major. “We plan to place within the top 10 in Michigan, and secure the overall win in the Formula North competition.”

The Formula Buckeyes will compete against 116 teams in Michigan and 30 teams in Ontario.

The International Formula SAE program challenges students to develop and construct a single-seat racecar for the non-professional autocross racer with the best overall package of design, construction, performance and cost.

The Buckeyes have redesigned their vehicle's structure over the past year to utilize a front carbon fiber monococque and a rear steel tube frame, decreasing overall vehicle weight by 50 pounds. By optimizing engine intake and exhaust, they added seven horsepower and increased the power-to-weight ratio by 18 percent.

In 2017, the team finished third overall and first in design at Formula North and 13th at Formula SAE Michigan, their best performance in that competition since 2004.

Follow the Formula Buckeyes via formulabuckeyes.engineering.osu.edu, Facebook and Twitter.
 

Ohio State speeds toward four-peat in EcoCAR 3 finals

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The Ohio State EcoCAR team aims to defend their title for the fourth consecutive year with their redesigned Chevrolet Camaro.
The Ohio State EcoCAR team aims to defend their title for the fourth consecutive year at the EcoCAR 3–Advanced Vehicle Technology Year Four Competition, May 10-22.

"The entire team is excited to demonstrate all of the hard work that has been completed over the past year,” said Team Leader Brandon Bishop, a mechanical engineering graduate student. “Everyone on the team has been dedicated to building the best vehicle possible and I believe we have accomplished that this year."

The event is the culmination of a four-year collegiate automotive engineering competition that challenges 16 universities across North America to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, improving its efficiency and emissions while retaining the iconic Camaro performance value.

EcoCAR 3 is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors, and managed by Argonne National Laboratory.

Competition events will kick off at GM’s Desert Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona, with safety inspections and dynamic vehicle events including emissions testing, drive quality and handling. In Fontana, California, teams will test their Camaro at the Auto Club Speedway and present to industry and government judges in six categories before heading Pomona, California, for a Media Ride and Drive event and the awards presentation.

The Buckeyes have won the past three years of the EcoCAR 3 competition as well as the final year of EcoCAR 2: Plugging In To The Future.

Follow Ohio State’s EcoCAR team via ecocar.osu.edu, Facebook and Twitter.


Baja Buckeyes head west

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The Baja Buckeyes are aiming for a top 25 finish in competitions in Kansas and Oregon.
The Baja Buckeyes SAE race team will head west this month, competing in Baja SAE Kansas, May 17-20, in Pittsburg, Kansas, and Baja SAE Oregon, May 30-June 2 in Portland, Oregon.

The team aims to finish in the top 25 in each competition, said Ben Moninger, team captain and mechanical engineering major. The Buckeyes will face nearly 100 teams at each event.

Baja SAE® tasks engineering students with designing and building a single-seat, all-terrain, sporting vehicle. Vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 19 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation. 

The Baja Buckeyes 19-member student team has been working hard on their vehicle all year,   Moninger said. They managed to reduce the frame weight of their vehicle by 20 percent, increased the rear final drive ratio from 8:1 to 12:1 for increased acceleration, and achieved a 52 percent weight reduction by developing a new suspension and custom-built front knuckles.

Follow the Baja Buckeyes at baja.engineering.osu.edu.


Supermileage team strives to improve fuel-efficiency

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After nearly two years spent improving their vehicle, the Supermileage SAE team will put it to the test June 7-8.
After nearly two years spent improving their vehicle, the Ohio State SAE Supermileage team will put it to the test during SAE Supermileage, June 7-8, in Marshall, Michigan.

“Our primary goal is to surpass our previous record of 265 miles per gallon and prove that our upgrades are robust enough to last the entire competition,” said Team Leader Mason Monter, an aerospace engineering major.

SAE Supermileage challenges students to develop and construct a single-person, fuel-efficient vehicle. Students have the opportunity to set a world fuel economy record and increase public awareness of fuel efficiency.

The most significant enhancement the team made to this year is to the vehicle’s required engine, a Briggs and Stratton 206cc go kart motor. The Buckeyes’ upgrades include adding a splined camshaft that allows for quick adjustments of intake and exhaust profiles of the engine to improve efficiency. They also built a custom dynamometer to test engine improvements.

The fairing was also improved. The team created an extremely lightweight and aerodynamic structure using a combination of composites, plus a wood and fabric stress skin.

Follow the SAE Supermileage team at motorsports.osu.edu/supermileage.

 

Buckeye Current to defend title at Pikes Peak

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The Buckeye Current team gathers for a photograph following a test session at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in April.
The Buckeye Current student electric motorcycle team looks to repeat their first place finish in the electric motorcycle division and be the fastest overall motorcycle when they return to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, June 18-26.

The second oldest motor sports race in America, the Hill Climb is run on a 12.42 mile course with 156 turns that finishes at the 14,115 foot summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado. 

The team’s student-designed and built bike, RW-3x3, features a new battery pack complete with a new battery cell that increases on board energy from 8 kWh to 15 kWh. They also redesigned the cooling system and raised the bellypan to increase the allowable lean angle.

The bike is raced by professional driver Rob Barber.

In addition to last year’s first place finish, the team earned consecutive third-place finishes at the 2014 and 2013 Isle of Man TT Zero, and set the East Coast Timing Association record for electric motorcycles at 144 miles per hour.

Follow Buckeye Current’s race to the top via org.osu.edu/buckeyecurrent, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

Underwater Robotics team sets sights high for San Diego

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The Underwater Robotics team hopes to navigate into the top 10 at the International RoboSub Competition.
After making the semifinals in 2017, the Ohio State Underwater Robotics team hopes to navigate into the top 10 at the International RoboSub Competition in San Diego, California, July 30-August 5.

The Buckeyes also want to complete more competition tasks than ever before. Challenges in the casino-themed competition include dropping a chip on a spinning roulette table underwater and shooting torpedoes into the correct slots of a slot machine.

“This is an ambitious goal for us, seeing that it is only our third year competing in AUVSI RoboSub,” said Team President Erika Klek, an electrical engineering major. “But we think it is achievable with our current system.”

Recent improvements to their robot, Riptide, include constructing a new chassis out of sheet metal. The team also added two functional outside housings to the robot, including an acoustics system and a pneumatics system.

This is just the team’s third year participating in an autonomous vehicle competition, Klek explained. Prior to 2016 their student-designed underwater vehicle was remotely operated.

“We’ve created a pretty sophisticated design that can complete many of the competition tasks,” Klek said. “Pretty much everything is manufactured and designed by us, from the outside body to the custom circuit boards.”

Go deep with the Underwater Robotics team on Twitter and Facebook.

by Candi Clevenger, College of Engineering Communications, clevenger.87@osu.edu

Category: Students