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| Home : Volume 22 : Winter 1995-96 : | |
| SPECIAL: PARENTS' SECTION | |
| COE's Team Paradigm challenged to build FutureCar | |
Even after nearly 100 years of refinement, a modern automobile engine uses only about 15 percent of the energy contained in a gallon of gas to move a vehicle. The rest of the energy escapes as heat-- wasted in the brake, exhaust, coolant and lubrication systems. So when the government and "big three" auto makers challenged the College of Engineering's Team Paradigm to build an 80 mpg vehicle by June 10, 1996, they might just as well have asked them to do it on the moon. Considering the challenge, getting to the moon would not be the hard part.
Team Paradigm and 11 other student teams at North America's top engineering schools are competing in the FutureCar Challenge sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), a research venture between Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation. The FutureCar competition mirrors President Clinton's challenge to industry to build the low-emissions car of the future.
Students can use any technology they please, but the competition requires the car remain as "stock" as possible. Specifically, it must have 100 liters of luggage space, room for five passengers, acceleration of 0-60 mph in 16 seconds and a range of 250 miles--all while traveling up to 80 miles for every 114,000 btu of fuel consumed.
"It's an extremely challenging task," said team leader Patrick Maguire. "If we could actually attain everything they ask for, they would hire us right now and pay us a million dollars a day."
As impossible as it all seems, the 59 members of Team Paradigm are dedicated to coming as close to every requirement as they can.
Ted Bohn (left) and Pax Maguire place an engine replica in FutureCar to ensure the real engine will fit.
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"The students are limited only by their creativity and innovation," said Christine Ervin, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. "They may incorporate hybrid vehicle technologies such as ultracapacitors, flywheels and alternative energy conversion devices, but they must keep in mind the vehicle must be capable of mass production by 2007."
Team Paradigm plans to use part of the design created for the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Challenge in which a Ford Escort was made to run on batteries and a gas generator. The HEV Challenge stressed range and emissions in competition scoring. The emphasis of FutureCar Challenge is energy efficiency but cost and emissions will also be important.
"Cost is the overriding factor," said Arvin F. Mueller, vice president and general manager of GM's North American Operations Technical Center. "We know how to build cars with triple the fuel efficiency of vehicles today--we just can't make them affordable."
Two week-long design and performance evaluations will be conducted in June of 1996 and '97. The range, acceleration, energy efficiency, design and emissions will be evaluated as well as consumer acceptance based on criterion such as operational ease, available trunk space, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
"This is a pragmatic competition," said Francois J. Castaing, vice president of vehicle engineering for Chrysler. "Students won't be able to pull out the air conditioning to save weight or use the trunk to store a compressed natural gas storage tank. These cars have to be marketable."
Five groups (mechanical, electrical, engine, controls, and business) will work together to create the finished project. The team has an ambitious plan to remove the existing engine from the 1995 Dodge Intrepid and install a parallel power scheme. A diesel engine will maintain highway speeds via the transmission with an electric motor providing boost energy during acceleration. During inefficient drive time, as in the city, the vehicle will use a torque-splitting scheme. A portion of the engine power will drive the wheels while the remainder will charge the battery. If there is not sufficient demand for power, the diesel engine will not run and the car will pull power from the battery only. The plan proposes an effective regenerative breaking system that can recapture up to 40 percent of the energy typically thrown away as heat during breaking.
Some team members participate for course credit but most are volunteers and must balance the project with schoolwork.
"It's a lot of work and we count on team members to put in as much time as they can," said Maquire. "I have less time for schoolwork but when you consider the experience, it's worth it. I wouldn't expect to get hands-on experience or leadership experience like this in the classroom. This is like an internship."
By Jim Beal
Content by perspective@engr.wisc.edu
Date last modified: Friday, 17-Nov-2006 14:54:14 CST
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