Engineering students at UW-Madison have yet another venue for extending classroom knowledge into practical experience.

Last year, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) joined the College of Engineering's repertoire of competitive design teams. HPVC provides an opportunity for engineering students not only to have a diversion from everyday study sessions, but also to transfer theories of engineering into a final product. In addition, the project requires students to develop skills in teamwork, organization and technical presentation.

"It's great to be involved with a project that allows me to practically apply the flood of technical information presented to me in class and gain a hands on opportunity to understand the technical concepts," Aaron Arnold, a junior in mechanical engineering, says.

At present there are several types of HPVs suited for land, air and water. ASME's challenge is a land-based competition in which the vehicles have the appearance of a bicycle but must meet a wide variety of design criteria. The purpose of the HPVC is to create a vehicle which incorporates principles of aerodynamics, aesthetics and safety. Once completed, the vehicles compete in three events: speed, utility and endurance.

UW-Madison's first generation Human Powered Vehicle. The team is looking for new ways to improve the design for this year's competition.

According to ASME's national HPVC Web site, prototypes with speeds of 60 miles per hour have been recorded in the speed event. In the utility event, prototypes are tested for flexibility in extreme maneuvers such as tight hairpin and S-turns. The last event tests the durability of the prototype in a forty-mile stretch that includes terrain differentials such as a C-shaped track, turns with varying radii and lengthy straight-aways.

The competition also incorporates a technical communication component. Team members prepare a written design report and a presentation to illustrate the processes leading to the final product.

In only a year, the team has learned a lot about the wide range of design possibilities, internal team organization strategies and logistical improvements. The guidelines for the HPVC allow for limitless variations in design. There are no constraining requirements such as number of wheels or number of prototype drivers. The potential for unbounded creativity in designing an HPV became evident after last year's competition.

"Last year we ran out of time," Jessica Sanfilippo, president of the team says. "It basically became our goal to get a bike out."

Last year was a perfect example of the challenges in the early stages of the engineering design process. New to the HPVC, the team was still frantically working on the finishing touches on the eve of the competition. The organization of the team has drastically changed from last year to this year.

Equipped with last year's experience, the team is eager to make the necessary improvements for an even better second year. One of the most crucial changes the team made is implementing a more task-oriented structure. The 21 members are currently divided into seven subgroups, each with a distinct focus in the vehicle's design:

o Brake and Drivetrain
o Energy Storage
o Frame
o Fairing
o Seat
o Steering
o Testing

"Since HPV is one of my first opportunities to get involved in the design process, I'm anxious to move forward on the project," Jason Scherk, a member of the seat subgroup, says. "It is also exciting to be part of the team in only its second year of existence here at Madison, since it should give us a chance to greatly improve on the bike from last year."

In addition to improving their organization, the team also is tackling new structural design challenges. For instance, the team is considering drastic changes to the drivetrain, the system that transfers the action of pedaling into forward motion.

UW-Madison's HPV team designed last year's vehicle with an aerodynamic fairing to reduce drag forces that could slow down the vehicle during competition.

"Our greatest challenge in this year's design is definitely making the transition from a rear-wheel driven system to a front-wheel driven system," Arnold says. "The drivetrain is the assembly most heavily impacted by the decision to go front wheel drive. The difficulty in a front-wheel driven bike lies in the availability of parts, and the potential necessity for custom parts."

The focused goals of the drivetrain and braking subgroup are just one example of what a single year of experience can do to improve future designs.

"Last year it was all straight pieces welded together. We want a little bit more fluidity in our design, which we hope we will get this year," Sanfilippo says.

Sanfilippo hopes this year's design will incorporate hydraulic and carbon fiber components, and do so in a way that is more aesthetically pleasing than last year's model. She also hopes the team can finish early in order to have an opportunity to test their prototype before the competition and make any necessary last-minute changes. Overall, the team has a positive outlook for their second year in a new engineering extracurricular activity.

"I look forward to being able to collaborate with my peers to work on a project that is truly ours, and I therefore take a lot of pride in my work on the HPV team," Arnold says. "The collective innovation and determination of HPV team members will be what propels us past any challenges that arise en route to our end goal."

The mistakes of last year are slowly transforming into the successful team organization and improved design ideas of this year. Past difficulties have driven the team to improve their approach and, they hope, their entry in the competition.